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 sixteen. 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 twenty-seven LPs or eighteen CDs.
Throughout the 1950s Cole continued to rack up hit after hit, including Smile, Pretend, A Blossom Fell, and If I May. Most of his pop hits were collaborations with famed arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle. It was with Riddle that Cole released his first ten-inch long-play album in 1953 entitled Sings for Two in Love. Several more albums followed, including the Gordon Jenkins arranged Love Is the Thing, which reached number one on the album charts in April 1957.
Inspired by a trip to Havana, Cuba in 1958, Nat went back there that same year and recorded Cole Espanol, an album sung entirely in Spanish and Portuguese. The album was a hit not only in the U.S., but in Latin America as well. The album was so popular, that two others followed: A mis amigos in 1959, and More Cole Espanol in 1962.
Musical tastes were changing in the late 1950s, and despite a successful stab at rock n' roll with Send for Me, Cole's ballad singing had grown old to younger listeners. Like contemporaries Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Nat found that the pop singles chart had been almost entirely taken over by youth oriented acts. In 1960, Nat's longtime collaborator Nelson Riddle, left Capitol Records for Frank Sinatra's newly formed Reprise Records label. The two parted ways with one final hit album Wild Is Love, based on lyrics by Ray Rasch and Dotty Wayne. Nat would later re-tool the concept album into an off-Broadway production called I'm With You.
As the 1960s progressed, Nat once again found success on the American singles chart, starting with the country/pop flavored hit Ramblin' Rose in August of 1962. Three more hit singles followed: Dear Lonely Hearts, Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer, and That Sunday, That Summer. Nat's final album was entitled L.O.V.E, and was recorded in late 1964. It was released just prior to his death and reached number four on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965. A "Best Of" album went gold in 1968. His 1957 song When I Fall in Love was a chart topping hit for the U.K. in 1987.
Cole was the first African-American to have his own radio program. He repeated that success in the late-1950s with the first truly national television show starring an African-American. In both cases, the programs were ultimately canceled because sponsors shied away from a black artist. Cole fought racism all his life, refusing to perform in segregated venues. In 1956, he was attacked on stage in Birmingham, Alabama by members of the White Citizens' Council who apparently were attempting to kidnap him. Despite injuries, Cole completed the show but vowed never to perform in the South again.
On 23rd August 1956, Cole spoke at the Republican National Convention in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California. He was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960, to throw his support behind President John F. Kennedy. Cole was also among the dozens of entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the Kennedy Inaugural gala in 1961. Nat King Cole frequently consulted with President Kennedy (and later President Johnson) on the issue of civil rights. Yet he was dogged by critics, who felt he shied away from controversy when it came to the civil rights issue. Among the most notable was Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who was upset that Cole didn't take stronger action after the 1956 on-stage attack.
In 1948, Cole purchased a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The property owners association told Cole they didn't want any undesirables moving in, to which Cole retorted "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."
He and his second wife, Maria Ellington, were married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. They had five children, including twin girls. Daughter Carol Cole, and son Kelly Cole were adopted. Kelly Cole died in 1995. Nat's daughter, Natalie Cole, and his younger brother, Freddie Cole are also singers.
Natalie and her father had an unexpected hit in the summer of 1991. The younger Cole mixed a 1961 recording of her father's rendition of Unforgettable with her own voice, creating an electronic duet. Both the song and the album of the same name won several Grammy awards the following year.
Cole performed in many short films, and played W. C. Handy in the film Saint Louis Blues. He also appeared in The Nat King Cole Story, China Gate, and The Blue Gardenia.
Nat King Cole was a heavy smoker of Kool menthol cigarettes, believing that smoking up to three packs a day gave his voice the rich sound it had (Cole would smoke several cigarettes in rapid succession before a recording for this very purpose). Cole died of lung cancer at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, on 15th February 1965. His funeral was held at St. Victor's Catholic Church in West Hollywood, and he was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Cat Ballou, his final film, was released several months later.
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There was magic abroad in the air.
There were angels dining at the ritz,
And a nightingale sang in berkeley square.
I may be right, i may be wrong,
But i'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me,
The moon that lingered over londontown
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown.
How could he know that we two were so in love?
The whole darn world seemed upside down.
The streets of town were paved with stars,
It was such a romantic affair.
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A nightingale sang in berkeley square.
When dawn came stealing up, all gold and blue
To interrupt our rendez-vous,
I still remember how you smiled and said,
"was that a dream? or was it true?"
Our homeward step was just as light
As the dancing of fred astaire,
And like an echo far away
A nightingale sang in berkeley square.
Nat King Cole's song A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square tells the story of two people who meet and fall in love on a magical night in London. The imagery of angels dining at the Ritz and a nightingale singing in Berkeley Square contributes to the romantic atmosphere of the song. The moon, often a symbol of love, seems perplexed that the two lovers have found each other. The entire world seems to be inverted, as the streets are paved with stars and a nightingale provides the background music for the couple's first kiss.
The song is nostalgic and dreamlike, as if the singer is recalling a perfect moment from the past. The final lines suggest that the two lovers must leave this perfect moment behind as they return to real life: "Our homeward step was just as light / As the dancing of Fred Astaire / And like an echo far away / A nightingale sang in Berkeley square." Even though they must leave the enchanted space that they have created, the memory of that night will always be with them.
Line by Line Meaning
That certain night, the night we met,
On the particular evening that we first encountered each other,
There was magic abroad in the air.
There existed an enchanting and captivating atmosphere all around us.
There were angels dining at the ritz,
Angelic beings were partaking of a meal at the prestigious Ritz hotel.
And a nightingale sang in berkeley square.
The sweet sounds of a bird known as a nightingale were being heard from Berkeley Square.
I may be right, i may be wrong,
Perhaps my statement is accurate, or maybe it isn't.
But i'm perfectly willing to swear
However, I am entirely prepared to pledge an oath
That when you turned and smiled at me,
At the moment when you rotated your body and presented a smile in my direction,
A nightingale sang in berkeley square.
The melodies of a nightingale bird were audible from Berkeley Square.
The moon that lingered over londontown
The celestial body known as the moon that remained present over the area of London
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown.
Unfortunately, the moon appeared disgruntled and perplexed.
How could he know that we two were so in love?
In what way could the moon have been aware of the depth of our affection for each other?
The whole darn world seemed upside down.
It appeared as though the entire world was in a state of confusion and chaos.
The streets of town were paved with stars,
The streets of the locality were constructed with sparkling celestial bodies.
It was such a romantic affair.
The entire occasion was exceptionally charming and passionate.
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
While we were embracing and bidding farewell,
A nightingale sang in berkeley square.
The sounds of a nightingale were audible from Berkeley Square.
When dawn came stealing up, all gold and blue
As soon as the break of day appeared, bringing with it golden and blue hues,
To interrupt our rendez-vous,
To disrupt our meeting,
I still remember how you smiled and said,
I still retain a vivid memory of your expression when you smiled and uttered,
"Was that a dream? or was it true?"
"Do you believe that was merely a figment of imagination, or was it factual?"
Our homeward step was just as light
Our journey back home was equally unburdened
As the dancing of fred astaire,
Just like the steps of the talented dancer Fred Astaire,
And like an echo far away
And akin to a reverberation distant and faint,
A nightingale sang in berkeley square.
The captivating sounds of a nightingale bird were being heard from Berkeley Square.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hughgraham6587
Lyrics:
That certain night, the night we met
There was magic abroad in the air
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
I may be right, I may be wrong
But I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
The moon that lingered over London town
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown
How could he know that we two were so in love?
The whole darn world seemed upside down
The streets of town were paved with stars
It was such a romantic affair
And as we kissed and said goodnight
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
When dawn came stealing up, all gold and blue
To interrupt our rendez-vous
I still remember how you smiled and said
"Was that a dream or was it true?"
Our homeward step was just as light
As the dancing of Fred Astaire
And like an echo far away
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
@christhong7421
It was 1985. I was a teenager. I was the only one I knew who had memorised all the words to this beautiful song. I heard this again for the first time in over 30 years. It brought me back.
@Slegger0404
Nat had a voice straight from heaven....boy what a singer!
@DelvingEye
He began as a pianist -- a terrific one, too. It was only when bandmembers urged him to sing publicly that his second musical career took off, surpassing his first.
@andrewroberts4736
I used to go to Berkeley Square a lot when I was younger. There was a Casino there and I was a member. When I left at 2am or so, this was all I could hear in my mind.
Great song , great singer and lovely memories.
@aelfweard9242
I used to go to the Palm Beach Casino in the early 90's just off the Square, and yes this was in my head as well upon leaving.
@user-zx6gt5te8t
A beautiful song sang by a great artist. Tears come to my eyes each time I listen to Nat's version. The little twists of his voice and his phrasing and sense of rhythm made all the difference. I love Nat. I love this song. And I love Nat singing this song.
@dwannbrown6275
platinum voice of Natural Class. Never gonna be another like Nat King Cole
@MJLeger-yj1ww
I love this song, and Nat King Cole is one of the very best of the dozens who recorded this beautiful song. I love his tempo, emphasis on certain tones and words -- just gorgeous!
@kennewicksheri
Pure Delight
What a joy to discover this voice covering this song .. today
Thank you ...
Touching my soul......
Thank you for placing this upon youtube ...
@KenwoodAnderson
Yes!!! This is one of my all time favorites!!! Nat's version tops all others. ;)