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.
Around the World
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I traveled on when hope was gone
To keep a rendezvous
I know somewhere, sometime, somehow
You'd look at me
And I would see the smile you're smiling now
Or in New York
In Gay Paree or even London Town
No more will I go all around the world
For I have found my world in you
It might have been in County Down
Or in New York
The lyrics to Nat King Cole's "Around the World" tell the tale of a long journey, both metaphorically and literally, to find love. The singer has traveled far and wide, even when hope seemed lost, in search of the person who holds their heart. They maintain a strong belief that they will eventually find their true love, somewhere, sometime, somehow. The song speaks to the universal experience of searching for love, and the joy and relief that comes with finally finding it.
Throughout the song, the lyrics reference specific places that the singer has traveled to in search of love. County Down, New York, Gay Paree (Paris), and London Town are all mentioned. These locations carry their own romantic connotations, and the singer's willingness to travel to them demonstrates the lengths they are willing to go in search of love. However, the lyrics are clear that the singer no longer needs to go "all around the world," as they have finally found the one they were looking for.
Overall, "Around the World" is a romantic, hopeful song about the universal human experience of searching for love. It tells a story of perseverance and dedication, and celebrates the joy of finally finding one's true love.
Line by Line Meaning
Around the world, I've searched for you
I have traveled all over the world in search of you.
I traveled on when hope was gone
I continued searching for you even when I had lost all hope.
To keep a rendezvous
To meet you at the predetermined time and place.
I know somewhere, sometime, somehow
I know that someday, somewhere, somehow we will be together.
You'd look at me
Once we finally meet, you will glance at me.
And I would see the smile you're smiling now
I will witness the same beautiful smile on your face that you have right now.
It might have been in County Down
Perhaps I would have found you in County Down.
Or in New York
Maybe you were in New York.
In Gay Paree or even London Town
You could have been in Paris or London.
No more will I go all around the world
I no longer have to travel the world in search of you.
For I have found my world in you
Because I have found you, my search for happiness is over.
Lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLIAM FULLER, OLADAPO TORIMIRO, BRETT YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alexandre Maltademoura
What a marvellous rendition by Nat ,
backing by Nelson Riddle orchestra
and a nice arran
gement.The songwriters of
this song are Victor
Young(Music) and
Harold Adamson
(Lyrics).
It's really a re
menbrance!
Sami
I had a music box to this tune as a child, I still have it. This is the best version of this song. 🇦🇺 ❤️
Jobel Garcela
This is the version that he released way back the teenage days of my Brother & Cousins in the late 60s. I played their Oldies LP records collections in my teens days in late 90s.
Prince Myshkin
Wonderful lyrics, beautiful music and the most wonderful velvet voice. It doesn’t get much better than this
Gad Dela Cruz
The man with a velvet voice ..that was Nat King Cole. Thanks for uploading. Very nostalgic song. I love it .❤
Tiana Haynes
My mom used to sing this as a lullaby for my brother and I. Now 34 years later I sing this song to my children to get them to sleep or calm them down. My mom passed away 3 years ago and I never knew this was an actual song until I just looked up the lyrics 😪. I miss my mom sooo much but memories from this song always brings her back to me for a moment. I have found my world in my children and I thank my mom for introducing me to this beautiful song.
freepal1
Tiana Haynes ❤️
Derek Morris
Tiana Haynes Your children are quite blessed, as were you.
Spark _
You made me cry !!! So beautiful ! You & your mom !!! What a story ! Thanks for sharing it w/ us !!! PRECIOUS !💜💜💜
Joaquim Barros
QUEM OS VIU E OUVIU NÓS ECRAM EM CINEMA E DISCOS .
Ddera Oj
Blessings to you my dear sister