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 Little Christmas Tree
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one to buy you, give yourself to me
You're worth your weight in precious gold, you see
My little Christmas tree
Promise you will be
Nobody else's little Christmas tree
I'll make you sparkle, just you wait and see
I'll put some tinsel in your hair
And you'll find that there's a strange new change
That you have never seen
I'll bring my boy a toy
He'll jump for joy
To see his bright new queen
With me you will go far
I'll show Saint Nick the tree you really are
And there'll be peace on Earth when Daddy lights your star
My little Christmas tree
With me you will go far
I'll show Saint Nick the tree you really are
And there'll be peace on Earth when Daddy lights your star
My little Christmas tree
You're big enough for three
My little Christmas tree
Nat King Cole's song The Little Christmas Tree is a heartwarming holiday ballad about a small Christmas tree that no one seems to want. The lyrics describe the little tree as being worth its weight in precious gold, and the singer promises to take care of it and make it shine. The singer pledges to take the tree home, decorate it with tinsel, and put a star on top of it. The song's narrator imagines taking this little Christmas tree, that has been otherwise forgotten, into their home and making it a beautiful centerpiece of the holiday season.
The song's deeper meaning is found in its message of inclusivity and the embodiment of the spirit of the holiday season, which is the idea of spreading love and cheer to all, no matter how big or small, rich or poor. The little tree represents the forgotten ones, the ones who are ignored and left behind during this time of year. The singer promises to give the tree a special place and love it enough, so it will not feel forgotten or ignored. The song is a reminder, that the holidays are a time to spread love and kindness and share joy with everyone we come across.
Line by Line Meaning
Little Christmas Tree
The singer refers to a small Christmas tree that stands alone waiting to be picked up by someone.
No one to buy you, give yourself to me
The singer addresses the tree, telling it that as nobody else has picked it up, it should give itself to him.
You're worth your weight in precious gold, you see
The singer assures the tree that even though it is small, it is very valuable and precious in his eyes.
Promise you will be, nobody else's little Christmas tree
The artist asks the tree to promise that it will be his alone and not anyone else's Christmas tree.
I'll make you sparkle, just you wait and see, my little Christmas tree
The artist promises to decorate and make the tree shine and sparkle like never before.
I'll put some tinsel in your hair, and you'll find that there's a strange new change that you have never seen
The singer will adorn the tree with tinsel and it will witness its own transformation that it has never experienced before.
I'll bring my boy a toy, he'll jump for joy, to see his bright new queen
The singer will bring his son a toy and he will be thrilled to see the tree as the new centerpiece decoration in their abode.
With me you will go far, I'll show Saint Nick the tree you really are, and there'll be peace on Earth when Daddy lights your star, my little Christmas tree
The artist tells the tree that it will be in good company as it will be displayed for Santa Claus to see, and will be lit with a star by him which will bring peace on Earth.
You're big enough for three, my little Christmas tree
The artist is happy that even though the tree is small, it is conventionally big enough to be a decoration for three people.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mickey Rooney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hasrattmohamed2995
This song was played in our home in South America every Christmas by my mom.We were poor, but this song represented how gentle my mom was. She cared for all and this made us so rich in spirit. She always had a little Christmas tree. So special.I am so tearful now.
@josealfredogarcialopez9325
Sounds amazing! Merry christmas
@nicholasampson300
My grandparents had this record in our home in South America too, very nostalgic
@user-tr9uv7tw1y
We were also poor but having a tree was so special to all 6 of us kids.
@katrinahameed1424
I heard this song for the first time this past Christmas and I fell in love with it. Infact this now my favorite Christmas song my the legendary Nat king Cole. Why isn't this song isn't played during the holidays?
@MarkFloyd7451
I love the part where he sings "and there wil be Peace on Earth when Daddy lights your Star my little Christmas Tree". Makes me think of the Christmases when I was very young and my dad went all out with the tree and presents to make us kids so happy. Nat King Cole had a very special unique beautiful voice. Perfect for this song.
@rodolfolera2217
One of my favorites Christmas songs...Nat king Cole songs so beautiful
@jiyoungkwon8692
I love you Nat King Cole...beautiful voice, beautiful man. I cry every time I hear this song. ❤❤❤
@irwinashby-im9ft
When I was a little boy and brothers a sister my mom n dad would play this song from Nat king Christmas album. I get teary eyes an being. Nostalgic ...gives me memories by the score, why is this not play on the radio CBS fm. Maybe if requested I guess. Sung so beautiful by the great Nat king cole.
@salvacionacosta2953
Im from philippines i love this christmas song so much i was only in my twenties when i first heard this on the radio im now 72 yrs old and still listening to this wonderfull song every christmas love you nat king cole