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.
I Just Found Out About Love
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I like what love has been doing to me
I hold you close in my arms and I like it, I like it
Oh, what a wonderful future I see
It's a one time only,
It's a lifetime deal
And I know it's real,
Right now I'm livin' it up and I like it, I like it
Hey you give me a clue
What's love doing to you
Looks like you could be liking it too
I like it
Oh, what a wonderful future I see
It's a one time only,
It's a lifetime deal
And I know it's real,
I can tell by the way that I feel
Right now I'm livin' it up and I like it, I like it
Hey you give me a clue
What's love doing to you
Looks like you could be liking it too
Hey you give me a clue
What's love doing to you
Looks like you could be liking it too.
Nat King Cole's I Just Found Out About Love song is an upbeat and joyful expression of the simplicity and beauty of love. In the opening verse, the singer is expressing that he is newly aware of love and that he likes it, he is enjoying the positive experiences that come with it. The second verse is dedicated to the singer's partner, whom he is holding close and feels amazing about doing so. He sees a bright future with this person and is eagerly anticipating what's to come. The refrain's repetition of "It's a one-time only," and "It's a lifetime deal," emphasizes that the singer recognizes the profound and special nature of love, and he knows it to be genuine and authentic based on his (very valid) feelings.
The bridge the singer says, 'Right now I'm living it up and I like it, I like it, Hey you give me a clue, what's love doing to you, Looks like you could be liking it too.' This gives a clear impression that the singer has fallen in love and is having the time of his life, and is inviting the listener to share his excitement. The line "Looks like you could be liking it too" implies that, from the singer's viewpoint, anyone who hasn't experienced love is encouraged to seek it so that they too can enjoy its pleasures.
Overall, the song is a message of positivity and encouragement towards the concept of love. The lyrics are simple, direct, and enjoyable, encouraging the listener to embrace and explore the idea of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I just found out about love and I like it, I like it
I have recently discovered love and I am enjoying it a lot.
I like what love has been doing to me
I enjoy the positive impact that love has had on me.
I hold you close in my arms and I like it, I like it
Being physically close to my loved one feels great to me.
Oh, what a wonderful future I see
I am optimistic about the future of my relationship and feel excited about it.
It's a one time only,
Opportunities for great love come rarely.
It's a lifetime deal
True love lasts forever.
And I know it's real
I am absolutely certain that my love is genuine.
I can tell by the way that I feel
My emotions and feelings for my loved one are unmistakable.
Right now I'm livin' it up and I like it, I like it
I am enjoying my current state of being thanks to my loving relationship.
Hey you give me a clue
Can you tell me how love is making you feel?
What's love doing to you
I am interested in hearing about your experiences with love.
Looks like you could be liking it too
From our conversation, it seems to me that you might also be enjoying love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HAROLD ADAMSON, JIMMY MC HUGH
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?