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 Ruby and the Pearl
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can love be as pure as the pearl
Just look in the heart of my love for you
You'll find the ruby and the pearl
My love will endure as the diamond
And shine with the shimmer of gold
It glows as the bright star above for you
Come close and cling to my kiss
Stay close and share the passion of this
Yes love is as warm as the ruby
And love is as pure as the pearl
[Chorus:]
Just look in the heart of my love for you
You'll find the ruby and the pearl
Yes love is as warm as the ruby,
And love is as pure as the pearl
[Chorus]
The Ruby and the Pearl is a love song that compares love to precious gemstones - ruby and pearl, and precious metals such as diamond and gold. The song opens with the thought-provoking question of whether love can be as warm as a ruby and as pure as a pearl. The lyrics reveal the depth of the singer's love for his partner, stating that his love is enduring like a diamond and is as bright as a shining star. The singer encourages his partner to come close and share the passion of their love. The chorus reaffirms that in the heart of his love for her, she will find both the ruby and the pearl.
The songwriter offers a unique way to express the beauty of love by comparing it to precious gems and metals. The Ruby and the Pearl is about finding true love that lasts, and that is as precious and valuable as gemstones and metals. Love is warmth and purity, and it endures. The singer invites his partner to look into his heart and see the ruby and the pearl there.
In conclusion, The Ruby and the Pearl is a romantic classic that uses gemstones and metals to describe the beauty and depth of love. The songcaptures the essence of true love and the quest to find it.
Line by Line Meaning
Can love be as warm as the ruby
Is it possible for love to feel as intensely warm as the color red of a ruby gemstone, a symbol of passion and desire?
Can love be as pure as the pearl
Can love be as innocent and pure as the white color of a pearl, a symbol of purity and simplicity?
Just look in the heart of my love for you
If you search within the depths of my heart where I hold my deepest affections for you, you will find...
You'll find the ruby and the pearl
...the intense passion of a ruby and the purity of a pearl, combined in my love for you.
My love will endure as the diamond
My love for you will last forever, shining as brilliantly and enduringly as the hardest gemstone, a diamond.
And shine with the shimmer of gold
My love will also glow with the luster and beauty of yellow gold, symbolizing richness and abundance.
It glows as the bright star above for you
My love for you radiates as dazzling and luminous as a star in the sky, visible to you and inspiring awe and wonder.
A thing of beauty to behold
My love for you is a beautiful and captivating sight to see and experience, worthy of admiration and wonder.
Come close and cling to my kiss
Move closer to me and hold on to the intimacy of our kiss, the physical expression of our love.
Stay close and share the passion of this
Remain near me and actively participate in the desire and excitement of our relationship.
Yes love is as warm as the ruby
I confirm that love can indeed feel as intense and fiery as the color red of a ruby gemstone.
And love is as pure as the pearl
Love can also feel as serene and innocent as the white color of a pearl gemstone.
Just look in the heart of my love for you
Once again, if you search deep within my heart, where I have kept my love for you, you will see...
You'll find the ruby and the pearl
...both the passion and desire of a ruby and the purity and simplicity of a pearl combined in my love for you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAY LIVINGSTON, RAY EVANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nielrishoi8156
Can love be as warm as the ruby?
Can love be as pure as the pearl?
Just look in the heart of my love for you;
You'll find the ruby and the pearl.
My love will endure as the di'mond
And shine with the shimmer of gold.
It glows as a bright star above for you;
A thing of beauty to behold.
Come close and cling to my kiss.
Stay close and share the passion of this.
Yes, love is as warm as the ruby
And love is as pure as the pearl.
Just look in the heart of my love for you;
You'll find the ruby and the pearl.
Can love be as warm as the ruby?
Can love be as pure as the pearl?
Just look in the heart of my love for you;
You'll find the ruby and the pearl;
The ruby and the pearl.
@rebeccataylor1662
I had this CD and I love this song. On our 25th anniversary I sang this song to my husband at our party. I lost my beloved husband of 37 years ago. 01/04/24 he was my soulmate and best friend this song reminds me of him the most
@rikjimiera5757
my Dad used to sing this song before bedtime.i miss him very much.
@liamwatson5125
This song makes me want to cry.
@26milerunner
This is my mom and dad's love song. They have lived a full life and been together for 59 years.
@TwiliGhtGirLz09
This Song Is Beyond.....His Voice Is So Clean And Perfect, .....Every Time I Hear Him I Want To Cry, The Word`s To This Song Are Unexplainable To beautiful To Explain, .. He Is And Alway`s Will Be My Favorite <3
@dominicscoccola5685
If you love this tune...try Branford Marsalis' lyrical non vocal version! It is ETERNAL!
@brucescott4261
@Dominic Scoccola ...Branford Marsalis also likes Nat "King" Cole.
@vhnassar
A great rendition of a beautiful lyrical song. Great Many Thanks.
@dipaknandy3681
One of Nat King Cole's distinctive glories, as an Italian 'restorateur owner in Oxford remarked to me in the 1990s: "Frankie will sing anything, but Nat's choice of the songs he recorded is part of his greatness." Next time I am in Oxford I will thank him for opening my eyes (and ears) to his heart-of-the-matter comment. Dipak Nandy
@angeltambora2664
During the 60's we had a radio program that features top singers and their top songs competitions, the last two finalist were Elvis Presley's Jail house rock and Nat King Cole's The Ruby and the Pearl and Nat King Cole won!!