Cole’s Rising Stardom At the age of 12, Nathaniel Adams Coles played the organ and sang in the choir of his father’s church at the Truelight Spiritual Temple on the South Side of Chicago. Cole, inspired by show business, formed his own big band, the Rogues of Rhythm. The band worked in Chicago nightclubs and dance halls, where Cole developed and featured his pianist and singing skills.

Leaving Chicago, Cole ventured to California and played a brief booking at the Ubangi Club in Maywood. After the gig, the Rogues of Rhythm broke up and Cole went on as a solo act at the Century Club. Cole was hired by Bob Lewis, the owner of the Swanee Inn in Hollywood, where Lewis insisted on forming a trio. The Genius of Cole, Moore, and Miller in the King Cole Trio Cole formed his legendary trio with two other talented musicians. Oscar Moore was a famous movie studio-guitarist. Johnny “Thrifty” Miller was the trio’s talented bass player. The trio was extremely successful because each musician possessed exceptional improvisational skills. The King Cole Trio was one of the first and original jazz combos in history.

According to legend, Cole received his nickname “King” in the Swanee Inn where a young woman presented him a crown, and giving him this name that stuck with him forever. After the trio played at Swanee Inn, they worked at several nightclubs in Hollywood and Chicago. Soon afterwards, they were invited to the West Coast to play during 1943-1944. During this time, the trio produced hit songs like “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “I Just Can’t See for Lookin,” “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You?,” “Bring Another Drink,” “If You Can’t Smile and Say Yes,” “Shy Guy,” “Frim Fram Sauce,” and “Route 66.”

The King Cole Trio made many accomplishments during the trio’s existence. The trio became involved in seven film contracts, a long-term contract with the NBC Kraft Music Hall, recording contracts with Decca and Capital, Top-Ten Hits, Metronome Poll Awards, Gold Piano and Silver Singing Esquire awards, and a Gold Esquire Guitar award for Moore. The trio won the coveted Downbeat small combo award from 1944-1947, and the Metronome Apollo award in 1945-1948. The group was also the first African American jazz combo to have its own sponsored radio series, from 1948-1949.

The trio disbanded when each member became fascinated by solo jazz compositions and went on their own paths. Cole decided to lead his life into the commercial arena, leaving the smaller and more private jazz community. In later years, if he wished to return to the "purity" of jazz, his new lifestyle would not have permitted it. Albert McCarthy wrote:

“Cole's success as a popular singer virtually robbed jazz of a talented pianist. ... Prior to that date Cole's vocals had occupied a chorus or so on otherwise instrumental recordings by his piano-guitar- bass trio.”Huge Success as a One-Man Star Cole became a successful jazz vocalist, as popular vocalization increased. Cole recorded his hit cover of Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song,” in 1947, which launched his amazing solo career and increased his fame reached phenomenal levels. His singing style was relaxed, disarming, and authoritative. His singing had an immense popularity with both white and black audiences. His recordings were selling a million copies each. Many also believed that his most sensational recording was Cole's 1948 hit "Nature Boy." According to James Haskins:

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“Within a week, it was the number one song in the country, and Nat King Cole became one of the first black male singers to accomplish a nearly complete crossover to the white market. ... His recordings ... consistently topped the white and black record charts for many years. As a vocalist, Cole never sang a sour note in his life because he knew how to hold vowels and let go of consonants. He was the master of the art of understatement, and knew how to capitalize on brief spaces of silence, and mastered the art of rubato, which resulted in his intricate ability to phrase a melodic line and tell a lyric story.”

By 1952, he was more of a popular singer than a jazz pianist. He gained enormous publicity for being a popular singer. Cole's first European tour was in 1950. In 1955, he made ten guest appearances for CBS-TV. He was the featured star of the movie, The Nat "King" Cole Musical Story, produced by Universal Pictures. In 1956 and 1957, he became the first black performer to have his own series on network television. In 1958, he was honored by the Ralph Edwards television show, This Is Your Life. Cole achieved great success with vocal recordings such as "Mona Lisa" (1950) and "Unforgettable" (1951). Cole also made several films, including St. Louis Blues (1958, a life of W. C. Handy), and Cat Ballou (1965).Becomes Unforgettable After the successes of "Dance, Ballerina, Dance," "Nature Boy," and "Lush Life," came the abrupt and sad end to the artist's life and the society’s shift into native American music. The sound quality of Cole's voice derived not only from his Southern dialect, impeccable ear, his idiosyncratic pronunciation of "I", or from his velvet falsetto, but also from his cigarette smoking. On a WNEW New York interview before Cole’s untimely death in 1965 by throat cancer, he was asked by host William B. Williams how he could smoke so much and still be a singer. Cole responded by saying he had learned two things: the choice of the right key for a song meant everything and that smoking helped him get a husky sound in his voice that the audience loved--"so, if you want to sing, keep on smoking."

Even after his death, Cole still received awards in respect towards his singing. On February 17, 1965, a permanent memorial was made at Los Angeles's new music center in honor of Cole. He was a consistent winner of popularity polls conducted by Down Beat, Metronome, Esquire, and Billboard. This proved that Cole’s music still remained popular, even up to today. Cole received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd Grammy Awards Ceremony in 1990, and Capitol Records declared February of 1990 as Nat King Cole month. His gifted singing daughter Natalie released a duet adaptation with her father. The remixed version of the original 1961 song "Unforgettable" earned her Grammy Awards for record of the year and album of the year in 1991. On March 6, 2000 Cole was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influences category. The category included artists whose music inspired and had a profound effect on rock and roll music. Nat

King Cole paved the way for future African American entertainers on the stage, in radio, movies, and television. Both his name and his music have endured in our society up to this day.

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NIGEL C ITCHON Monday, March 7, 2011 8:32:44 AM ET