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.
Dear Lonely Hearts
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a-writing to you
You said you could help
People looking for love
I've been so lonely
I don't know what to do
And that is why
(brackets indicates choir in background)
(It's no use living)
When you're alone
Please help me find
A love of my own
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (so grateful to you)
(She don't have to have money) She don't have to have money
(She don't have to be a queen) She don't have to be a queen
(As long as she loves me) As long as she loves me
(That's the important thing) That's the important thing
Cause I'm gonna love her (I'm gonna love her)
I'll always be true (I'll always be true)
Dear Lonely Hearts
Oh please see what you can do (see what you can do)
I guess that's all (I guess that's all)
I'm gonna close them now (I'm gonna close them now)
But try to find (Please try to find)
Somebody somehow (Somebody somehow)
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (grateful to you)
Nat King Cole's song "Dear Lonely Hearts" is a beautiful ballad that talks about the misery of being alone and the search for love. The singer starts by addressing a group of people who claim to help people looking for love. He tells them that he has been lonely and doesn't know what to do after having failed to find love by himself. The lyrics convey his desperation and sadness, which are further accentuated by the background choir. The refrain highlights the importance of finding love for people who are alone and how everyone deserves a chance at it.
In the second verse, the singer urges the lonely hearts to help him find someone who loves him back, regardless of their status or social hierarchy. The most important thing for him is that they share love, and he will always be faithful to the person he finds through the service of the lonely hearts. The last verse repeats his plea, and he implores them to help him find someone who could bring love and happiness to his life. The song ends with a sad and desperate note, symbolizing the agony of being alone and the uncertainty of finding love.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear Lonely Hearts
Addressing the person or organization that claims to aid people in finding love
I'm a-writing to you
I am currently writing and sending this message to you
You said you could help
I heard that you claim to have the ability to assist people who are seeking love
People looking for love
Individuals who desire companionship and affection
I've been so lonely
I have endured solitude and isolation
I don't know what to do
I am uncertain about how to cope with this feeling of loneliness
And that is why
This serves as the reason for my message
I'm writing this letter to you
I am expressing my thoughts and feelings through this written correspondence
When you're alone
Being by oneself is a futile experience
Please help me find
Assist me in discovering
A love of my own
A romantic partner that is exclusively mine
If you know someone
If you possess knowledge of an individual
Please tell me who
Kindly inform me of their identity
She don't have to have money
It is not important if she is wealthy
She don't have to be a queen
She does not have to have a prestigious or royal background
As long as she loves me
The crucial factor is if she has genuine feelings for me
That's the important thing
It is the most significant aspect
Cause I'm gonna love her
I intend to love her
I'll always be true
I promise to remain loyal and devoted
Oh please see what you can do
I implore you to attempt to assist me
I guess that's all
That concludes my message
I'm gonna close them now
I am concluding this communication
But try to find
However, please endeavour to search for
Somebody somehow
Any person that could potentially fulfil my desire for love
I'd be so grateful to you
I would appreciate your assistance immensely
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID HALLEY, EMIL ANTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@M.Sultan
"Dear Lonely Hearts"
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'm a-writing to you
You said you could help
People looking for love
I've been so lonely
I don't know what to do
And that is why
I'm writing this letter to you
(It's no use living)
When you're alone
Please help me find
A love of my own
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (so grateful to you)
(She don't have to have money) She don't have to have money
(She don't have to be a queen) She don't have to be a queen
(As long as she loves me) As long as she loves me
(That's the important thing) That's the important thing
Cause I'm gonna love her (I'm gonna love her)
I'll always be true (I'll always be true)
Dear Lonely Hearts
Oh please see what you can do (see what you can do)
I guess that's all (I guess that's all)
I'm gonna close them now (I'm gonna close them now)
But try to find (Please try to find)
Somebody somehow (Somebody somehow)
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (grateful to you)
@fuhserious
Wow! I have been searching for a live version of this song. My dad (Bob Halley) wrote it, and it is so special to see and hear it performed, live! Thanks for sharing this!
@lipingfeng
so charming. conveying the mood so perfectly. King!
@thebarbaralucas
Missing Bob..... He was a good friend of Matt’s for many many years and mine for his last years. He wrote some wonderful songs and he is missed
@jongenns
This song makes me so sad, i cry
@M.Sultan
"Dear Lonely Hearts"
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'm a-writing to you
You said you could help
People looking for love
I've been so lonely
I don't know what to do
And that is why
I'm writing this letter to you
(It's no use living)
When you're alone
Please help me find
A love of my own
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (so grateful to you)
(She don't have to have money) She don't have to have money
(She don't have to be a queen) She don't have to be a queen
(As long as she loves me) As long as she loves me
(That's the important thing) That's the important thing
Cause I'm gonna love her (I'm gonna love her)
I'll always be true (I'll always be true)
Dear Lonely Hearts
Oh please see what you can do (see what you can do)
I guess that's all (I guess that's all)
I'm gonna close them now (I'm gonna close them now)
But try to find (Please try to find)
Somebody somehow (Somebody somehow)
If you know someone
Please tell me who
Dear Lonely Hearts
I'd be so grateful to you (grateful to you)
@arnoldtrogman
wonderful
@maxinepitt7369
Dear Lonely Heart,
I'm writing to you...
@maxinepitt7369
...still searching...
@gildaafonso7668
Obrigada🙏🙋♀️💖🇵🇹🍀🍒
@isauranogueira9428
Gosto muito de este tipo de música adoro