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.
Blue Moon
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
Blue moon!
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Without a love of my own
Without a love of my own
In this classic song, Nat King Cole sings about a man standing alone beneath a blue moon, lost and without hope. He has no dream in his heart and no love to call his own. But the blue moon seems to understand his loneliness and knows why he is there. The man is saying a prayer for someone to come into his life, someone he can truly care for. And then, as if in response to his prayer, the person appears before him. There is an immediate connection between the two, and he knows that this is the only one he will ever hold in his arms.
As they embrace, he hears a whisper from the person, pleading with him to adore them. And as he looks up, he sees that the blue moon has turned to gold, almost as if it is a sign of their love. No longer alone, the man is filled with hope and purpose. The dream he once thought was unattainable has now come true, and he finally has love of his own.
This song speaks to the universal human desire for love and connection. It tells the story of someone who was lost and alone, and how they found hope and happiness in another person. The blue moon serves almost as a mystical, ethereal guide, leading the man to the love he so desperately craved. And in its beautiful melody and romantic lyrics, "Blue Moon" has become one of the most beloved songs in American popular music.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue moon you saw me standing alone
The singer was alone and feeling lost or sad.
Without a dream in my heart
The singer did not have any hopes or aspirations.
Without a love of my own
The singer did not have a romantic partner or companion.
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
The artist felt that the moon understood their situation or need.
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
The artist was praying for someone special or significant to enter their life.
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
The singer found someone who they believe they will care for forever.
I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
The singer heard a voice asking to be loved, and then something magical or wonderful happened.
Blue moon! Now I'm no longer alone
The artist is no longer alone, and the moon may have played a role in helping them find love.
Without a love of my own
The artist repeats their earlier statement, but now it has a different, happier meaning.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patricio Gomes
Lyrics
Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold
Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked the Moon had turned to gold
Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Philomena Peterson
Nat King Cole is irreplaceable. He'll always be one of the top artistes in my books
Soul
Blue Moon na voz de Nat King Cole é maravilhoso, amo esta música e adoro o interprete. Parabéns pela postagem, obrigado
Lorell Wood
I grew up listening to Nat King Cole with my mother and to day he is still the Best singer-songwriter of all time.
Peter Diaz
Thanks for such a great video and music, this man was a once in a century artist, his voice was not grandiose, was just perfect, a true romantic tone!
1CEB0RG
This song is absolutely amazing. I can never erase it from my mind, it's like as if it's permanent! And, I love this song.
Ann Nevitt
My all time favourite, still listen to his music, I remember crying when I heard he had died, just an amazing talent.
Karen Cilman
The voice! The delivery! The backups!
Armélia Salles
Encantador! Amo!
Imani M
First time hearing Nat's rendition of Blue Moon and i am so glad I came here and gave it a chance 💙 I love Nat King Cole! He made this song his own
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ
Bella y hermosa música, que vivirá por siempre y para siempre entre los amantes de la buena música.