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 Wish You Love
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's all I'm dreaming of
And now you call it madness
But I call it love
You made a promise to be faithful
By all the stars above
And now you call it madness
My heart is beating
It keeps repeating
For you constantly
You're all I am needing
So I am pleading
Please come back to me
You made a plaything out of romance
What were you thinking of?
For now you call it madness
But I call it love
You've made a plaything out of romance
And what were you thinking of?
For now you call it madness
But I call it love
The song "I Wish You Love" by Nat King Cole talks about the end of a relationship, where the two parties have accepted that they can never be together as lovers or even friends. The lyrics suggest that it's time to move on and say goodbye to each other. The singer acknowledges the importance of their relationship but ultimately understands that they must part ways. Before the other person leaves, the singer expresses their well wishes for them.
The lyrics of the song depict the desire for the other person's happiness and the desire to see them loved and cared for. The singer wishes bluebirds in the spring, which represents the joyous and happy feelings associated with the season. He also wishes a kiss but more than that, wishes them love, indicating that love is more important than anything else. Similarly, in July, he wishes them lemonade to cool off and wishes them health and love more than wealth. The singer goes on to say that his breaking heart agrees that they cannot be together, so he sets them free.
In the end, he wishes the other person shelter from the storm, a cozy fire to keep them warm, and most of all, when snowflakes fall, he wishes them love. This song manifests the bittersweet feeling that comes along with endings. The goodbyes bring a mix of emotions that are both sad and happy. The wish for love signifies that love is a universal emotion that is bigger than any relationship and can be shared with anyone.
Line by Line Meaning
Goodbye, no use leading with our chins, this is where our story ends,
We're saying goodbye, but no need to pretend that everything is alright. Our relationship is over.
Never lovers ever friends.
We can't go back to being just friends after being in a romantic relationship.
Goodbye, let our hearts call it a day, but before you walk away,
Let's put an end to this and say goodbye, but before you go,
I sincerely want to say.
I genuinely want to express my feelings.
I wish you bluebirds in the spring, to give your heart a song to sing,
I hope you find happiness and joy in life.
And then a kiss, but more than this, I wish you love.
I hope you find someone who loves you deeply and shares a genuine connection with you.
And in July, lemonade to cool you in some leafy glade,
I hope you get to experience the simple pleasures in life, like enjoying a refreshing drink in a peaceful setting.
I wish you health, and more than wealth, I wish you love.
I hope you remain healthy and take care of yourself, but most importantly, find love and happiness.
My breaking heart and I agree that you and I could never be,
This is hard for me too, but deep down, we both know that we're not meant to be together.
So with my best, my very best, I set you free.
I'm letting you go with all the best wishes for your future.
I wish you shelter from the storm, a cozy fire to keep you warm,
I hope you find comfort and security, even when life is tough.
Most of all, when snowflakes fall, I wish you love.
Above all, I hope you find love and warmth in your heart, even on the coldest of days.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Russ Columbo, Con Conrad, Gladys Dubois, Paul Gregory
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yur_Jones
You just don't get that...feeling anymore nowadays with majority of the music. Cole and other magical musicians during this time happen to make me feel bubbly, loved and comforted with their voices. This is in it's most natural form. No voice altering or any of that extra stuff. Real instruments too. I can listen to this all day
Arthur Davis
dominsmith * Such voice control
Vê de Oliveira
Dude, I totally agree with you! No cheat, just the real shit! That's music!
Celestea Deanes
music has been weaponized , technically , soically its geopolitics , and the kids have no idea the difference
Ness Miller
I think this is the best version of this song - among hundreds. Amazing Nat King Cole!
Alejandro M
Sam Cooke's version is better.
TpX Thinnr
@Alejandro M Keely Smith's is the best!
Glenn Thompson
Check out Gloria Lynn's version, and also not suprisingly, Nat's daughter's, Natalie's version.
Manuel Fernandez
Try Cher Baker:)
vodkamarie
Nat's voice creates an aura of calm and warmth..no other voice can claim this.......