Artist:Nat King ColeSong:Unforgettable
Album:Nat King Cole
Today it's hard for folks to understand how difficult it was for Nat King Cole to be a black pop music star in the 50s. There was not only the obvious racism but Cole was lambasted by jazz critics who thought he was betraying them by singing pop music. Nat King Cole was a pioneer of popular music. Unforgettable is his signature song and this 4CD box set is the perfect comp for all his hits. He was born Nathaniel Adams Coles Mar. 17, 1919 in Montgomery, AL and grew up in Chicago. His dad was a Baptist minister and his mom played the church organ. Cole hung around Chicago clubs as a teen and idolized legendary jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines. He formed a band with his brother Eddie and acquired the nickname King from the Old King Cole nursery rhyme. Cole was on tour with Eubie Blake's revue Shuffle Along when the show abruptly shut down in Long Beach, CA. He decided to stay in California. Cole started performing in Los Angeles clubs with his trio and sang between instrumental numbers. He signed with Capitol in 1943 and remained until his death. He also played piano on sessions and was involved in the original Jazz At The Philharmonic concerts. He started recording as a pop singer in the mid 40s and continued to record jazz. But his 1946 hit The Christmas Song convinced Cole and Capitol to emphasize his vocals. The 1951 hit Unforgettable was one of many hits and is acknowledged today as Cole's signature song. Jazz critics accuse Cole of selling out but he continued to record jazz occasionally. I prefer his jazz recordings too but some of the pop recordings are good too. On Nov. 5, 1956, Nat King Cole became the first black to host a prime time TV show on NBC. Unfortunately the show had trouble finding sponsorship and Cole pulled the plug in Dec. 1957. He continued to have some success as a singer and started doing films. Cole smoked three packs of cigarettes a day and died of lung cancer on Feb. 15, 1965 at age 45. This 4CD box set has everything you could possibly want. Of course we're all familiar with his singer daughter Natalie Cole and she did a 1991 tribute video of Unforgettable. I've decided to go with this version of Nat King Cole performing Unforgettable on the Nat King Cole Show in 1957.
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