Gonella played and recorded with many prominent jazz musicians, including Billy Cotton, Archie Alexander, Digby Fairweather and Lew Stone. His distinctive vocal style was reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, though the voice was often eclipsed by his achievements as a band leader and trumpeter. Gonella has been a major influence on other British jazz trumpeters, including Humphrey Lyttelton and Digby Fairweather.
Gonella was born in a deprived area of East London, but took up cornet while attending an institution for underprivileged children, St Mary's Guardian School in Islington. His first professional job arrived when, after a short spell as a furrier's apprentice, he joined Archie Pitt's Busby Boy's Band in 1924, a small junior pit orchestra and touring review band. He remained with the band until 1928, and it was during this period that he became acquainted with the early recordings of Louis Armstrong, and the New Orleans jazz style in general.
He transcribed Armstrong's solos and learned them by heart, and went on to develop his own individual variation on the style in time-honoured jazz fashion. He worked with Bob Bryden's Louisville Band for a time in 1928-9, and with pianist Archie Alexander in Brighton, then joined the Billy Cotton band at the end of 1929, a move which provided him with a more prominent platform, both on the concert stage and also on radio, and allowed him to record his first jazz solos and vocal features. He played briefly with Roy Fox in 1931, and then joined Lew Stone the following year, where he firmly established his reputation.
He managed to meet his idol when Armstrong visited London in 1932, by begging the staff at Boosey and Hawkes's music shop to allow him to return Armstrong's trumpet, left at the shop for cleaning, to his hotel room. The American was apparently initially amused to find such an ardent devotee, but appreciated his willingness to help, and the pair became good friends.
Gonella's standing grew even more quickly after the formation of his own band, The Georgians, in 1935. They took their name from Gonella's highly-popular version of "Georgia On My Mind", which he recorded for Lew Stone in 1932, and began as a featured band within Stone's shows, before setting up as an independent unit. Gonella formed his own big band, and quickly became a headline artist on the still-thriving variety circuit, and they continued to top bills around the country until the outbreak of the war.
He joined the army in 1941, and was recruited into the Stars in Battledress campaign, touring allied camps in Europe and North Africa. Whilst in Europe and North Africa Gonella served as the personal servant or Batman (military) to Major Alexander Karet and once the war had ended was offered the position as personal Butler to the Major but politely refused to peruse his music career. He reformed his band after the war, but the economic and musical climate was changing rapidly at that time. He flirted briefly with bebop, acknowledged that it was not for him, and returned to the variety stage during the Fifties, touring with the likes of the comedian Max Miller.
The revival in traditional jazz in the late Fifties allowed him to reform his Georgians in 1960, and he was featurd on the television show This Is Your Life the following year. Which yielded an album for him, The Nat Gonella Story, modelled on Armstrong's A Musical Autobiography. All of this attention re-established Gonella as a major name, at least until the advent of The Beatles brought the trad jazz boom to a shuddering halt.
He moved to Lancashire in 1962, and toured regularly on the Northern club circuit until his alleged retirement on the occasion of his 65th birthday, on 7 March, 1973. That retirement did not last long. Drummer Ted Easton persauded him to come to his club in Holland to play during the mid-1970s, and a new recording of a song he had first cut with Roy Fox in 1931, "Oh, Monah", became a big hit in Holland.
It was to be his final flourish on trumpet, but he continued to sing after moving to Gosport, Hampshire, in 1977, where a square was re-named in his honour in 1994, and was always happy to stand up and do so in a local pubs or at the Gosport Jazz Club.
Digby Fairweather's New Georgians paid tribute to Gonella's musical heritage in 1984, and Fairweather and fellow trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton co-hosted a television tribute, Fifty Years of Nat Gonella, the following year, in which Gonella himself was an enthusiastic participant. He continued to sing occasionally with various bands, and made the headlines again in 1997 when a sampled excerpt of his trumpet playing from a recording he made in 1932 was used in White Town's number one pop hit, "Your Woman".
Nat Gonella died at his home on August 6, 1998 in Gosport aged 90.
Gonella was a down to earth and unassuming character, and remained so throughout his life. Humphrey Lyttelton is among those who have testified to the fact that fame and success sat easily on his shoulders, and reports that he would show genuinely astonishment when Lyttelton would confess, as well as other prominent musicians, to Gonella having been his first jazz hero.
I Can't Dance
Nat Gonella Lyrics
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It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from
simply rotten to something worse
Who knows, some day I will win too.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
Now though I see what our end is,
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
You have a lifetime before you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
Please don't be blue for the present,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
The lyrics to Nat Gonella and His Georgians' song I Can't Dance describe the struggle of a person who is broke and unable to provide materialistic things to their lover. The opening line, "Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse," sets the tone for the entire song. The singer is aware of their financial situation and how difficult it is to deal with. The line "My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse" suggests that things are not going well for the singer.
Despite these difficulties, the singer promises their love that they will eventually succeed and provide everything they desire. They express hope for the future, saying "Who knows, some day I will win too," and "I'll begin to reach my prime." The chorus "I can't give you anything but love, baby. That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby," emphasizes that love is the most precious gift one can offer, and the singer assures their lover that they will find happiness and all the things they have always wanted.
Throughout the song, the singer reminds their partner that they are willing to wait and that they have a lifetime ahead of them. The line "Rome wasn't built in a day, kid. You have to pay, kid, for what you get" acknowledges that success takes time and effort, but the singer is committed to making it happen. In the end, the song concludes with the promise that, until things improve, all they can give is love.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid.
Being financially broke is not a pleasant experience.
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
The situation of being broke is not a laughing matter.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse
Things are not going well as the situation is going from bad to worse.
Who knows, some day I will win too.
There is a hope that someday the situation will improve.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
The improvement in the situation will help to achieve one's full potential.
Now though I see what our end is, All I can spend is just my time.
Currently, there are no financial resources, so all that can be invested is time.
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
There is nothing much to offer at the moment except love.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Love is abundant, but nothing materialistic can be provided.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile We're sure to find happiness and I guess all those things you've always pined for.
Let's dream and plan together to find happiness and all the desired things.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
It would be wonderful to see you happy and well-off.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
The desired things cannot be found at cheap places like Woolworth.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby. I can't give you anything but love.
Until the time things change for the better, all that can be given is love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
Things take time to shape up and nothing can be built in a day.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
One has to pay the price for anything they wish to have/achieve.
But I am willing to wait, dear, Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
I am willing to be patient and wait for the things to materialize. I won't forget that we are together in this.
You have a lifetime before you. I'll adore you, come what may.
We have a long time to be together, and I promise to love you unconditionally.
Please don't be blue for the present, When it's so pleasant to hear you say
Don't be sad about the present situation when it's delightful to hear you talk.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind