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.
Let True Love Begin
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're afraid of the dark
Then you grow up
Unafraid of the dark
So, darling, when I kiss you
And your heart goes in a spin
Don't be afraid
Oh, when you're alone
You're afraid that it's true
Love won't come
It won't hapoen to you
So to let this chance
For happiness go by
Would be a sin
Don't be afraid
Let true love begin
I know the feeling
That you're feeling is new
And your heart still
Wants to hide
This feeling that
Sends you reeling
I'm feeling too
It's love, it cannot be denied
So take my hand
I'll always be at your side
There's no need
For you to hide
So listen to your heart that's
Telling you from deep within
Don't be afraid
Let true love begin
Don't be afraid
Let true love begin
Don't be afraid
Let true love begin
The lyrics to Nat King Cole's song, "Let True Love Begin," explore the emotional transition from childhood to adulthood and the fear of taking a chance on love. The first stanza describes how children fear the dark but as they grow up, they become unafraid. Cole uses this as a metaphor for love being scary as well. When someone has never experienced love before, it can be daunting to take a chance on it. However, as they grow and mature, they become stronger and willing to take that risk.
In the second stanza, Cole sings about the fear of being alone and not experiencing love. Many people have this fear, and they may feel like love will never happen to them. But Cole encourages his audience not to give up on the chance for happiness. He believes it would be a sin to let that opportunity pass by. He wants his audience to embrace love and not be afraid of what it might bring.
In the final stanza, Cole speaks directly to his love interest. He understands that the feeling can be overwhelming and new, but he assures his partner that he is always going to be by their side. He encourages them not to hide from their emotions or be afraid to take a chance. He believes they should listen to their heart and let true love begin.
Overall, the message of the song is that love is scary, but it is worth the risk.
Line by Line Meaning
When you're young
In your early years
You're afraid of the dark
You fear the unknown
Then you grow up
As you mature
Unafraid of the dark
You are no longer afraid of the unknown
So, darling, when I kiss you
When we are intimate
And your heart goes in a spin
Your heart races with excitement
Don't be afraid
Do not fear
Let true love begin
Allow real love to take root
Oh, when you're alone
When you are by yourself
You're afraid that it's true
You fear the possibility
Love won't come
Love will not appear
It won't happen to you
It will not occur for you
So to let this chance
To miss an opportunity
For happiness go by
To not pursue joy
Would be a sin
Is wrong
I know the feeling
I understand the sensation
That you're feeling is new
The emotions are fresh
And your heart still
Your emotions remain
Wants to hide
Yearns to be concealed
This feeling that
This sensation that
Sends you reeling
Overwhelms you
I'm feeling too
I am similarly impacted
It's love, it cannot be denied
It is true love, undeniable
So take my hand
Hold my hand
I'll always be at your side
I will always be here for you
There's no need
It is unnecessary
For you to hide
For you to conceal yourself
So listen to your heart that's
Trust your emotions are
Telling you from deep within
Conveying from your inner self
Don't be afraid
Do not fear
Let true love begin
Allow real love to take root
Don't be afraid
Do not fear
Let true love begin
Allow real love to take root
Don't be afraid
Do not fear
Let true love begin
Allow real love to take root
Contributed by Joseph F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
barrygioportmorien1
I have never heard Nat's excellent version of this song before, I have it by The Crests, with Johnny Maestro they also do an excellent version ....
Amma & hari
Nat King Cole's voice was specially custom-crafted by Divine Decree. I have been hearing this song from 1963 and yet it feels as new and fresh as it did for the first time. Wow ! What an incredible voice !
GILMARSOUL1
Verdadeira obra prima.
changabang changabang
The greatest singer to ever grace this world
Kirsten Cox
@MsAquablue https://youtu.be/6bxeE6_oEv0
Bajanman997
So true
france jackson-ashley
wonderful song!
NEWTON FORREST JA.
HOW GREAT A SONG,GOOD MEMORIES THANKS
OSCAR SUAREZ OYARCE
EXCELENTE
Yvonne Plet
What a voice.beautifull