Nat King Cole

2,596,321 plays (296,663 listeners)

jazz, swing, oldies, jazz vocal, blues… see all

Nat “King” Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was a popular American singer and jazz musician.

As a piano player, he formed a jazz trio in 1938 that played Los Angeles nightclubs, one of the first jazz trios featuring guitar and piano. Prior to this he had played music since he was a child and had worked with bands since he was 16. He was raised in Chicago and exposed to the abundant jazz scene there. He was heavily influenced by pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines.

Later he became more popularly known as a singer and crooner and his work became more orchestrated.

His first mainstream vocal hit was in 1944 with

Straighten Up and Fly Right, based on a black folk tale that his father had used as a theme for a sermon. Although hardly a rocker, the song’s success proved that an audience for folk-based material existed. It is considered a predecessor to the first rock and roll records. Indeed, Bo Diddley, who performed similar transformations of folk material, counted Cole as an influence.

Beginning in the late 1940s, Cole began recording and performing more pop-oriented material for mainstream audiences, often accompanied by a string orchestra. His stature as a popular icon was cemented during this period with such hits as

The Christmas Song (1946),

Nature Boy (1948),

Mona Lisa (1950), and his signature tune

Unforgettable (1951). While this shift to pop music led some jazz critics and fans to accuse Cole of selling out, he never totally abandoned his musical roots; as late as 1956, for instance, he recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight. In 1991, Mosaic Records released the Complete Nat King Cole Trio Recordings on Capitol, which contained 349 songs on 27 LPs or 18 CDs.

The Ultimate Collection
Nat King Cole
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The World of Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
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The Christmas Song
Nat King Cole
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The Legendary Nat 'King' Cole
Nat King Cole
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Top Tracks

1	Unforgettable full track	1,411
2	L-O-V-E full track	1,381
3	Nature Boy full track	863
4	When I Fall in Love full track	773
5	Mona Lisa full track	697
6	Smile full track	611
7	The Christmas Song full track	578
8	Let There Be Love	540
9	Stardust full track	484
10	Straighten Up and Fly Right full track	407
11	Too Young full track	398
12	Walkin' My Baby Back Home full track	325
13	(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 full track	313
14	Aquellos Ojos Verdes	309
15	It's Only A Paper Moon full track	293

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Goose666 wrote:
yesterday evening

The song smile always makes me smile.I love his voice

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mihaelkataaa wrote:
Tuesday afternoon

L is for the way you look at me <3

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paris_atlantis wrote:
Tuesday morning

please tagg jazz, not swing

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bexestabueno wrote:
11 days ago

damn, his voice is like butter. i loooove him.

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CaNy22 wrote:
11 days ago

nature boy is one of the greatest songs!

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mr_flapalapacus wrote:
last month

wow!!! so powerful songs!!! great lyrics through even better music!!!! :o)

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nickJeffWarner wrote:
last month

awesome jazz

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driada3 wrote:
last month

ciiiiiii :)

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sipoflife wrote:
last month

Mooooona Leeeesaaaa.....I just love it !....

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iMeggo wrote:
last month

Unforgettable...

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VenusTreat wrote:
August 2008

http://www.last.fm/group/The+Group+That+Carries+Music+Everywhere+They+Go%2C+Even+To+Places+They%27re+Not+Supposed+To

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blumiciel wrote:
August 2008

good music!

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LittleVL wrote:
July 2008

L-O-V-E ROCKS!!!!!

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onitorment wrote:
July 2008

He's cool!

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kturner423 wrote:
July 2008

i love "looking back" it's kind of Sam Cooke esque

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superheidizz wrote:
July 2008

His hat is back in fashion. His voice never did get out.

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sennatrem wrote:
July 2008

Is anything like Nature Boy? LOVE IT.

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buburuzza wrote:
June 2008

Ador melodiile lui!!!

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icebluej11 wrote:
June 2008

kee-mo ky-mo!

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elyssiawashere wrote:
May 2008

wonderful voice :)

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Recent Activity

imanilov, ssssdavies, ColonelLazers and 14 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. 30 minutes ago
billyduss tagged Nat King Cole with ‘vocal jazz’, ‘easy listening’, ‘jazz’, ‘jazz vocal’ and ‘swing’. yesterday afternoon
SAMYGOZ added Nat King Cole to SAMYGOZ’s library. yesterday afternoon
Alkarinkwo tagged Nat King Cole with ‘blues’ and ‘jazz’. yesterday afternoon
mpjorgens, sir_almo, Colnce21 and 29 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
lostmember tagged Nat King Cole with ‘swing’. August 2008
mcw1954, crispengray, marvelesque and 2 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. August 2008
ala7 tagged Nat King Cole with ‘jazz’. August 2008
kress60 tagged Nat King Cole with ‘jazz vocal’. August 2008
jordeboy added Nat King Cole to jordeboy’s library. August 2008