When I perform it's like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories. Facebook Twitter Email. Died Feb. While Nat "King" Cole started his own band, the King Cole Trio, in , he found real chart success after going solo in In total, Cole recorded 28 Top 40 hits.

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Nat King Cole was an American musician who first came to prominence as a jazz pianist. He owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. In , Cole became the first African American performer to host a variety television series, and for many white families, he was the first black man welcomed into their living rooms each night. He has maintained worldwide popularity since his death in Cole was born on March 17, , in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Aware that he had cancer, the singer thought he was recovering after the removal of his lung, but doctors said the disease had spread beyond control. Only the day before his death, Cole was taken for a short ride in his car by his wife, and a few days earlier he had visited his children briefly at the family home, an imposing brick mansion at S. Muirfield Road in the Hancock Park district. But last week, when comedian Jack Benny was visiting another friend, he inquired about Cole, and the singer invited him in for a minute chat. Cole wrote and released her own optimistic statements — as if they had come from him. We could see him change right then. Funeral services for the singer have not been completed, but a family spokesman said they probably will be private, at 11 a. Thursday in St. James Episcopal Church, Wilshire Blvd. An outpouring of his admirers is expected Wednesday, however, when the sealed casket will be on view to the public in the church from 3 p.
We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra , Perry Como , and Dean Martin. He shared with those peers a career that encompassed hit records, international touring, radio and television shows, and appearances in films. But unlike them, he had not emerged from a background as a band singer in the swing era. Instead, he had spent a decade as a celebrated jazz pianist, leading his own small group. Oddly, that was one source of controversy.