Natalie cole

Nat King Cole was a musical trailblazer, activist and undeniably unique. He sold more than nine million records in his lifetime and won numerous awards including a Grammy and Golden Globe. He was posthumously awarded the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. Hits such as "The Christmas Song" (1946), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Mona Lisa" (1950), and "Unforgettable" (1951) continue to transcend generations of music lovers.

Here are 6 facts you may not have known about the late, great Nat King Cole:

• In 1946, Cole had a 15-minute national radio program called, “King Cole Trio Time”. It was the first of its kind to be hosted by an African American musician.
• In 1948, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on the front lawn of his home in Beverly Hills, California stating that they didn't want any undesirables in their neighborhood. Cole fearlessly replied that neither did he, and would be the first to report any if he saw them.
• In 1956, he became the first major African American entertainer to host his own national network TV show called&nbs
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  Nat King Cole
  March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965
  1985 Inductee

  Montgomery native Nathaniel Adams Coles – better known by his stage name, Nat King Cole – earned prominence as a jazz pianist before switching to a singing career that would ultimately carry him to musical immortality.

  The son of a butcher who yearned to be a preacher, Cole relocated to Chicago with his family when his father became pastor of True Light Baptist Church. Cole learned to play music from his mother, who served as the church organist. At the age of four, Cole made his musical debut with a performance of the novelty tune “Yes, We Have No Bananas.”

  Inspired by Earl Hines, Cole spent much of his teenage years in the clubs of Chicago, listening to performances by jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong and Earl “Fatha” Hines. He earned his nickname “King” (inspired by the nursery rhyme “Old King Cole”) and dropped the “s” from his surname when he began playing piano in the Chicago clubs. Eventually, Cole and his older brother Eddie formed a jazz sextet, Eddie Cole’s Swingsters, and made their recording debut

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  Nat King Cole

  American singer and jazz pianist (1919–1965)

  Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965),^[1] known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.

  Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed the King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil r