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.
Dinner for One Please James
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The madame will not be dining
Yes, you may bring the wine in
Love plays such funny games
Dinner for one please, James
Close Madame's room, we've parted
Please, don't look so downhearted
Seems my best friend told her of another
I had no chance to deny
You know there has never been another
Someday she'll find out the lie
Maybe she's not to blame
Leave me with silent hours
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Dinner for one please, James
Maybe she's not to blame
Leave me with silent hours
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Dinner for one please, James
In Nat King Cole's song "Dinner for One Please, James," the lyrics introduce a scene of heartbreak and rejection. The unnamed narrator of the song is trying to convey a message to James, likely a server in a fine dining restaurant, that his plans for the evening have been suddenly ruined. The "madame" that the singer is referring to has decided not to join him for dinner. He asks James for a table for one and requests that he bring wine. The reason given for the cancellation of the dinner is that "love plays such funny games."
As the song progresses, the true reason for the change in plans comes to light. The singer's best friend has told his lover about another woman, leaving him with no way to deny the accusation. Given that there "has never been another," it is clear that he has been falsely accused. The remainder of the song is a reflection on the singer's love for his partner, and how he wishes she could understand the situation. He insists that she is not to blame and asks James not to remove her favorite flowers.
While the lyrics are simple, they effectively convey a sense of heartbreak and loss. The imagery of the flowers and the wine create a romantic atmosphere that is shattered by the sudden change in plans. The singer seems resigned to eating alone, but his sorrow is palpable. The song is a classic example of Nat King Cole's soulful delivery and ability to capture deep emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Dinner for one please, James
I would like a table for one, please. I will be dining alone.
The madame will not be dining
My significant other will not be joining me for dinner.
Yes, you may bring the wine in
I am still going to enjoy some wine with my meal.
Love plays such funny games
Love can be unpredictable and cause unexpected problems.
Close Madame's room, we've parted
My significant other and I have separated; please close off her room.
Please, don't look so downhearted
I don't want to see anyone feel sad because of my situation.
Seems my best friend told her of another
I found out that my best friend told my significant other about someone else I was seeing.
I had no chance to deny
Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to explain things to her and clear up the situation.
You know there has never been another
I have been faithful to my significant other, and there has never been anyone else.
Someday she'll find out the lie
Hopefully, someday my significant other will realize the truth and understand that what she heard wasn't accurate.
Maybe she's not to blame
Perhaps it's not her fault that she heard something incorrect, and I shouldn't hold it against her.
Leave me with silent hours
I want some time alone to reflect and think things over in peace.
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Even though she's not here, I don't want anyone to move things that remind me of her.
Dinner for one please, James
Once again, I am requesting a table for one and will be dining alone.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL CARR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
john
on A Blossom Fell
i want the song" I'll never settle for less" lyrics,would somebody be so kind to give it to me?