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.
Skip To My Lou
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What'll I do?
Lost my partner,
What'll I do?
Lost my partner,
What'll I do?
Skip to my lou, my darlin'.
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
The lyrics to Nat King Cole's "Skip To My Lou" are not as innocent and joyful as they may seem at first glance. The song is actually rooted in the American slave trade, and "Skip To My Lou" was a call-and-response song that originated on plantations where enslaved people worked.
The first verse sets up a scenario where the singer has lost their partner and is looking for a new one. The repetition of the line "Lost my partner, what'll I do?" conveys a sense of desperation and loneliness. The refrain "Skip to my Lou, my darlin'" seems to suggest that the singer is encouraging their new partner to join in the joy of skipping and dancing, as a way to forget their troubles.
However, the second verse takes a darker turn. The singer asserts that they will "get another one prettier than you," indicating a sense of ownership over their partner and treating them as a disposable object. The third verse includes the line "Can't get a red bird, jay bird'll do," which translates to "If I can't have something I want, I'll settle for something less." This line reinforces the idea that the singer sees their partner as a replaceable commodity.
Despite its dark origins, "Skip To My Lou" has evolved into a popular folk song that has been covered by countless artists over the decades. Its upbeat melody and call-and-response structure make it a favorite for children's sing-a-longs. However, understanding the song's history and lyrics adds a layer of complexity that is often overlooked.
Line by Line Meaning
Lost my partner,
I have lost my dance partner, and I am feeling lost without them.
What'll I do?
I am not sure what I will do without them, and I am feeling uncertain.
Skip to my lou, my darlin'.
But I will keep on dancing and skip to my own beat, my beloved friend.
I'll get another one
I will find a new partner to dance with, and I am confident I will succeed.
Prettier than you,
I will find someone who is more attractive than you, and I will flaunt it.
Can't get a red bird,
I am searching for something specific, and I am facing some difficulties.
Jay bird'll do,
But I will settle for something similar, a substitute that will make do.
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
And I will keep on moving, skipping to my Lou once again, my dear friend.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HUGH MARTIN, RALPH BLANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joe Morin
Great, gone to soon, beautiful voice from GOD, that we can enjoy over & over , GOD BLESS.
todd canton
knock down any color barriers, add a little substance, a golden voice and there you have it, "Our" Nat King Cole! Still touching our hearts some fifty years later.......
Tyrone De Silva
Just beautiful
H V S Manral
Great song by the Immortal Nat King Cole.
Joe Morin
I have this cd, it's great. One of my favorite nat king cole cds. Gone to
Soon , God bless you nat king cole.
Singing in Heaven now.😇
Lowell Aaron Court
Excellent! A much needed diversion with the anticipation of skipping exercise in dance form! Thanks for sharing :)
Saxon C
The greatest male singer ever!
barracuda7018
The greatest voice ever !
jenny
Fint 😊 vakker sangstemme
Spiller denne melodien på piano 🎶🎵🎶🎹🎹🎹🎹
Petri547
This guy flew away way too soon. May he rest in peace.