NAT KING COLEBy Kimberly Casey

1919

Teddy Roosevelt Passes Away in his sleep

Prohibition goes into effect

1st tax on gasoline

19 th Amendment is approved for women’s rights to vote

BABE RUTH IS TRADED TO THE NEW YORK YANKEES

CHICAGO RACE RIOTS BEGIN

March 17: St. Patrick’s DayNathaniel Adams Coles was born

Paris Peace Conference in Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

Afghanistan gains independence fro

m UK

Felix the Cat becomes the 1st popular cartoon

character

Early Life

• Nat King Cole was born “Nathaniel Adams Coles”. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, and at 4 years old, he and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois. He had 3 brothers: Ike, Eddie, and Freddy, a half sister, Joyce, a Pastor father, and a church choir instructor mother who began teaching him to play the organ at the age of 4. He had his first performance that year, playing the song “Yes! We Have No Bananas”

Nathaniel Adams Coles began taking formal lessons at the age of 12. He learned Jazz and Gospel as well as Classical music. He would sneak out of his house at night to go to night clubs and hang out outside to listen to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jimmie Noone.

Louis Armstrong

Earl Hines

Jimmie Noone

At Age 15, Coles dropped out of school to follow his dream of becoming a Jazz Pianist. He worked with his brother Eddies, a bassist, for a little while and they did his first recording under his brothers name. Together they performed regularly at nightclubs.

Nat King Cole was, for a time, the pianist for the National Broadway tour of ‘Shuffle Along” which took him to Longbeach, Ca.

In Longbeach, Ca Nathaniel Adams Coles met 2 other musicians, Oscar Moore (a guitarist) and Wesley Price (a double bassist) and together they formed the King Cole Swingers aka the King Cole Trio.; Nat King Cole was the pianist as well as the leader. They were performing at bars until they finally got a paying gig.

Romance: Nat King Cole married Nadine Robinson in 1948; they later got divorced. He then married his 2nd wife Maria Hawkins Ellington, who with he raided 5 children. 4

were biological and 1 was adopted from a relative.

The Involvement of Radio:Radio was very important in Cole’s career. In 1928 they were broadcast on NBC’s Blue Network. This was followed by appearances on NBC’s Swing Soiree. In the 1940’s the trio appeared on Old Gold, Chesterfield Supper Club, and Kraft Music Hall radio shows.

Cole finally got his start singing when a bar room patron requested a song, Cole not knowing it, sang “Sweet Lorraine” and ever since people requested

him to sing.

The trio hit the charts with “that ain’t right. Straighten up and fly” which was inspired by a sermon of Nat King Cole’s father. They continued to rise in popularity with the Christmas hit “The Christmas Song” and the ballad “(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons”

In the 1950’s Cole emerged as a popular solo performer with his hits like “Nature Boy”, “Mona Lisa”, “Too Young” and “Unforgettable”. He was able to work with some of the greats such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and arranger Nelson Riddle. Cole also befriended many stars of the era including Frank Sinatra.

Being African-American, Cole had to struggle to be taken seriously by the white community. He had to deal with racism, especially during the Civil Rights Movement.

Nat King Cole was assaulted by a white man during a mixed race performance in Alabama.

Cole earned some disapproval of some African American fans when he commented after the show in which he was assaulted. He stated that “I am an entertainer not an activist”

When moving to an “all white” neighborhood in L.A. KKK members made a statement by burning a cross on his lawn.

Members of the property owners association told him that they did not want any “undesirables” moving in. He said neither did he and “if I see anybody undesirable coming in here I’ll be the

first to complain”.

Still, some of the neighbors expressed their displeasure by firing shots through their windows and even poisoning their family dog.

In 1948 the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York refused to let he and his wife get married there.

In 1958, while performing in Cuba, Nat King Cole wanted to stay at the Nacional De Cuba, but was not allowed to because of the “color bar”. He still

honored his contract and made his concert a huge success. The following year he returned and performed a few songs in Spanish. There is now a tribute to

him, a bust and a jukebox, in the same hotel that refused him.

In 1956 Nat King Cole became the first African American to host a variety show. The Nat King Cole Show featured many performers such as Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr.. The Show was canceled due to it’s lack of sponsors, which was sadly because no one wanted to sponsor a show back then that featured African American entertainers.

Peggy Lee

Count Basie

Ella FitzgeraldSammy Davis Jr.

Nat King Cole also appeared in a few movies. He played bit parts in Istanboul (1957), China Gate (1957).

He had a major roll in St. Louis Blues (1958) where he played blues legend W.C. Handy. His final movie was where he

performed with Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou (1965).

Smoking was a stress reliever for Nat King Cole and in 19654 he was diagnosed with lung cancer; from which he died of in 1965, at the age of 65, in Santa Monica, Ca.

Works Cited

Nat King Cole. Biography: www. Biography.com/people/nat-king-cole-9253026

20/20: Nat “King” Cole, an American Legend, Dec. 15, www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=124176&page=1

Nat King Cole: May 17, 2006www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/nat-king-cole/558/

Music SF Jazz Collective: Live 2009- 6th Annual Concert Tour Dist 1: 05 Free Jazz