Play Nat King Cole Radio
Nat King Cole
5,374,495 plays (608,211 listeners)
Listening now: FurryBoots93
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 asThe 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.
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.
Top Albums
-
Unforgettable
Nat King ColeBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $1.42
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
New
-
Greatest Hits
Nat King ColeBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
New
-
The Ultimate Collection
Nat King Cole Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
The World of Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $14.99
- eBay Search
Top Tracks
| 1 |
|
Unforgettable
full track
|
|||
| 2 |
|
L-O-V-E
full track
|
|||
| 3 |
|
The Christmas Song
full track
|
|||
| 4 |
|
||||
| 5 |
|
When I Fall In Love
full track
|
|||
| 6 |
|
Mona Lisa
full track
|
|||
| 7 |
|
Smile
full track
|
|||
| 8 |
|
The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
full track
|
|||
| 9 |
|
Stardust
full track
|
|||
| 10 |
|
Straighten Up And Fly Right
full track
|
|||
| 11 |
|
Too Young
full track
|
|||
| 12 |
|
Let There Be Love
full track
|
|||
| 13 |
|
Silent Night
full track
|
|||
| 14 |
|
||||
| 15 |
|
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
full track
|
Shoutbox
-
gloathcrusade wrote:
O Holy Night is seriously amazing.
-
LionWalk wrote:
Gotta get your kicks. What a great vibe. sounds so smooth on this recording. http://www.song-list.net/natkingcole/getyourkicksonroute66/tracks
-
vjsupersaint wrote:
Come join us at Unsigned Christmas. A group designed for raising awareness of new artists taking Christmas & all music into a new decade. The Unsigned Christmas album has the top tunes to be heard this Christmas. http://www.last.fm/group/Unsigned+Christmas
-
ihaveadream1963 wrote:
unforgettable - that's who you are. and forever more.......................
-
maizaornellas wrote:
unforgettable voice. perfect. [2]
-
babamulon wrote:
"Nature Boy" makes it rain every time. :D
-
skank_pit wrote:
One of those rarest of diamonds
-
cicca8 wrote:
Nat King Cole The Great !!!
-
fiftyseven wrote:
Love his stuff in spanish.
-
SiliaPsychi wrote:
That's why, Darling, it's incredible [2]
-
pRAtt_aka_Ali wrote:
музыка этого человека - масса положительных эмоций!
-
yaghma wrote:
love his voice and music
-
svenge wrote:
The best.
-
Sunzy wrote:
unforgettable voice. perfect.
-
neverland_resim wrote:
喜欢你摇摆的节奏 永远永远
-
kschro wrote:
perfect voice.
-
Batiste369 wrote:
For the longest I couldn't get that part out myself
-
wyld_life21 wrote:
"Unforgettable in every way and forever more that's how you stay .... that's why darling its incredible that someone so unforgettable" Cant get this line out of my mind ..... charmed I am by this man ....
-
marcelodylan wrote:
MONA LISA MONA LISA PARARARA´TR00
-
kepler789-982 wrote:
Maestro d'orchestra di vita
Videos
See more
Listeners
-
ninjaperuano
Listening now
to Unforgettable -
fayeshkadoo
Listening now
to Send For Me -
onlyth1smoment
Listening now
to The Christmas Song -
kreisky
Top Listener
-
parsifal72
Top Listener
-
little_fuku
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
wecanhavefun connected Nat King Cole to the group How To Be So Real. 1 hour ago
-
shantanumoitra, whatadusty, celiapouzet and 26 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. 2 hours ago
-
idlebird tagged Nat King Cole with ‘jazz’. yesterday morning
-
dirk39, jaked89, luiza1514 and 8 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. yesterday morning
-
GrimOnMbient wrote about Nat King Cole in Grim on Mbient - Best of 2009. Wednesday evening
-
graygargan added Nat King Cole to graygargan’s library. Wednesday evening
-
tihsymtae connected Nat King Cole to the group Musical Lists. Wednesday evening
-
tihsymtae wrote about Nat King Cole in Best Songs of 1951 - One Man's Opinion. Wednesday evening
-
jkourafa tagged Nat King Cole with ‘jazz’. Wednesday evening
-
jkourafa, NarutoBleach25, nap72 and 20 other people added Nat King Cole to their libraries. Wednesday evening
Related Journals
-
Grim on Mbient - Best of 2009
by GrimOnMbient |
6 Jan 2010 | Add comment
-
Best Songs of 1951 - One Man's Opinion
by tihsymtae |
6 Jan 2010 | Add comment
-
Time broadcast
by Uhwelluh |
30 Dec 2009 | Add comment
Groups (85)
-
Nat King Cole
42 members
-
Standards
37 members
-
78 RPMs
69 members
-
1989 - born
15,655 members
-
Jazz
4,369 members
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Nat King Cole from Universal Music.
