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.
The Ballad of Cat Ballou
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For you're now about to hear
The ballad of Cat Ballou-ou
It's a song that's newly made
And Professor Sam the Shade
And the Sunrise Kid are singin' it for you
Cat Ballou
Cat Ballou
It's a hangin' day in Wolf City, Wyomin'
Wolf City, Wyomin', eighteen-ninety-four
They're gonna drop Cat Ballou-ou
Through the gallows floor
She killed a man in Wolf City, Wyomin'
Wolf City, Wyomin', killed a man it's true
And that is why they're a-hangin'
Hangin' Cat Ballou
She has the smile of an angel (fights like the Devil)
The eyes of an angel (bites like the Devil)
The face of an angel (I say she's the Devil)
She's mean and evil through and through
Cat Ballou
Cat Ballou-ou-ou
She's mean and evil through and through
With her outlaw band, they're now tellin' a story
Now tellin' a story, how she rode the plain
The wildest gal in the West
Since Calamity Jane
And today's the day, that she's goin' to glory
She's goin' to glory, for the way she sinned
They'll be a-speedin' her soul
On the wayward wind
She has the smile of an angel (fights like the Devil)
The eyes of an angel (bites like the Devil)
The face of an angel (I say she's the Devil)
She's mean and evil through and through
Cat Ballou (Cat Ballou)
Cat Ballou-ou-ou (Cat Ballou-ou-ou)
She's mean and evil through and through
Cat Ballou
Cat Ball-ou-ou-ou
She's mean and evil through and through
"The Ballad of Cat Ballou" is a story about the legend of Cat Ballou, a notorious outlaw in Wolf City, Wyoming, in 1894. The Professor and the Sunrise Kid, along with other band members, are singing this song commemorating Cat Ballou. The town authorities are about to execute Cat Ballou, who killed a man before she was caught. The lyrics describe her as a mean and evil woman who smiles and looks like an angel but also fights and bites like the devil. The song portrays Cat Ballou as a wild and fearless woman who rode the plains of the West and was just about to go to her glory on the wayward wind.
Line by Line Meaning
Well now friends just lend an ear
Listen up, folks!
For you're now about to hear
What I'm about to say is important, so pay attention.
The ballad of Cat Ballou-ou
I'm going to tell you a story about Cat Ballou.
It's a song that's newly made
This is a new song about her.
And Professor Sam the Shade
Professor Sam and his friend are singing it.
And the Sunrise Kid are singin' it for you
The Sunrise Kid is also singing it with them.
It's a hangin' day in Wolf City, Wyomin'
Today is a day for hanging in Wolf City, Wyoming.
Wolf City, Wyomin', eighteen-ninety-four
This happened in Wolf City, Wyoming, in 1894.
They're gonna drop Cat Ballou-ou
They're going to hang Cat Ballou.
Through the gallows floor
They'll hang her by the neck until she's dead.
She killed a man in Wolf City, Wyomin'
Cat Ballou killed a man in Wolf City, Wyoming.
Wolf City, Wyomin', killed a man it's true
It's true that she really did kill someone in Wolf City, Wyoming.
And that is why they're a-hangin'
She's hanging because of that murder.
Hangin' Cat Ballou
Cat Ballou is being hanged.
She has the smile of an angel (fights like the Devil)
Although she looks innocent, she's a fierce fighter.
The eyes of an angel (bites like the Devil)
Although she looks innocent, she's a fierce biter.
The face of an angel (I say she's the Devil)
Although she looks innocent, I believe she's evil.
She's mean and evil through and through
Overall, she's a cruel and wicked person.
With her outlaw band, they're now tellin' a story
Her group of outlaws are telling tales about her.
Now tellin' a story, how she rode the plain
They're telling stories of her time on the Wild West.
The wildest gal in the West
She was the wildest woman in the Wild West.
Since Calamity Jane
She was even wilder than Calamity Jane.
And today's the day, that she's goin' to glory
Today she's going to die and go to heaven (or hell).
She's goin' to glory, for the way she sinned
She's probably going to hell for her sins.
They'll be a-speedin' her soul
Her soul is being sent away quickly.
On the wayward wind
Perhaps her soul is going somewhere bad.
Cat Ballou (Cat Ballou)
This song is about Cat Ballou.
Cat Ballou-ou-ou (Cat Ballou-ou-ou)
This song is about Cat Ballou.
She's mean and evil through and through
Overall, she's a cruel and wicked person.
Cat Ballou
This song is about Cat Ballou.
Cat Ball-ou-ou-ou
This song is about Cat Ballou.
She's mean and evil through and through
Overall, she's a cruel and wicked person.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jerry Livingston, Mack David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JeffChilds
Whoever thought to pair Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye was brilliant. I love both of their voices, and they blend beautifully.
@Anonymous-Joker74
Harmonies as close as butter on toast ..✋🏼
@teruin2
I like that they swapped names without telling the director, and it wasn't considered worth reshooting the song for.
@beaudare4717
What a wonderful voice Nat King Cole has.. Strong, powerful and uplifting.. Thanks Nat, for being you..
@BeauDare-ov7py
The music industry could take a lesson from him..
@glennng4727
I was nine when I saw this in the theater, and the only thing I remember was the music of Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye. Having watched the movie years later, I still feel the music carried the movie. The Oscar winning performance by Marvin came in second, but that's my opinion. Thank you Paul for making this available and for editing out the ballad.
@sweettrt
Lee Marvin was 2nd due to playing a duel role and winning best actors LOL... What did you think of" Something about Mary?" The story was different, but they totally ripped of Cat Ballou, and I loved every second of it, difference is I watched that once, I watch this over and over, Technology is great! am i right? or am I right?
@TheRonnie63
WEĹL SAID I AGREE 100 PERCENT
@JamesAinsworth-AA
I remember this movie as a kid, and this duo captured my imagination - such a great feeling to this song - and I loved the movie...
@sportz2493
Stubby Kaye was incredibly talented! He was amazing in "Guys and Dolls"...what a voice!