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 Touch Of Your Lips
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And won't let me go.
I turn to you for consolation.
There I find new peace of mind;
To leave behind my woe,
I turn to you as I shall always do.
The touch of your lips upon my brow,
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress,
My heart forgets to beat.
The touch of your hands upon my head,
The love in your eyes a-shine,
And now, at last, the moment divine,
The touch of your lips on mine.
The touch of your hands upon my head,
The love in your eyes a-shine,
And now, at last, the moment divine,
The touch of your lips on mine.
The Touch Of Your Lips is a beautiful love song by Nat King Cole that speaks about finding solace and peace during a difficult phase in life, through the comforting touch of a loved one's lips. The lyrics describe the singer's struggles when faced with troubles and cares that refuse to leave them alone, leading them to turn to their significant other for comfort and reassurance. The touch of their lover's lips on their brow brings a calm and serene feeling that chases away their worries and leaves them feeling renewed.
The second stanza deepens the intimacy of the moment, describing the lover's tenderness as he caresses the singer's brow, rendering their heart still and peaceful. The touch of their hands on the singer's head and the love shining in their eyes bring about the divine moment of the kiss, the ultimate expression of love and connection. The song conveys the idea that in difficult times, the touch of the person we love can provide a sense of belonging, making everything feel right again.
Line by Line Meaning
When troubles get me, cares beset me,
Whenever I am troubled and weighed down by many cares,
And won't let me go.
And these troubles seem to cling on to me without any hope of release,
I turn to you for consolation.
I turn to you seeking comfort and reassurance,
There I find new peace of mind;
And in your presence, I find a renewed sense of calmness and tranquility,
To leave behind my woe,
So that I can finally put my worries and sorrows behind me,
I turn to you as I shall always do.
I will always turn to you because you are the one who brings me solace and consolation,
The touch of your lips upon my brow,
The mere touch of your lips on my forehead is enough to soothe and comfort me,
Your lips that are cool and sweet,
The lips that are comforting me are gentle and tender, and their touch is cool and refreshing,
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress,
The gentle and loving touch of your lips conveys a deep sense of tenderness and care,
My heart forgets to beat.
It is such a calming and electrifying experience that my heart seems to skip a beat or two.
The touch of your hands upon my head,
In addition to the comfort of your kiss, the touch of your hands on my head also brings a sense of security and warmth,
The love in your eyes a-shine,
I can see the depth of your love and affection for me shining in your eyes,
And now, at last, the moment divine,
Finally, I feel a perfect moment of bliss and rapture,
The touch of your lips on mine.
As we kiss, I feel the ultimate expression of your affection and love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ray Noble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alexmm1902
El toque de tus labios sobre mi frente
The touch of your lips upon my brow
Tus labios que son frescos y dulces
Your lips that are cool and sweet
Tanta ternura radica en su suave caricia
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress
Mi corazón se olvida de latir
My heart forgets to beat
El toque de tus manos sobre mi cabeza
The touch of your hands upon my head
El amor en tus ojos Ashine
The love in your eyes, ashine
Y ahora al fin el momento divino
And now at last the moment divine
El roce de tus labios, el amor en tus ojos
The touch of your lips, the love in your eyes
El roce de tus labios sobre los míos
The touch of your lips on mine
@robertocesar3884
The touch of your lips
Upon my brow
Your lips that are cool
And sweet
Such tenderness lies
In their soft caress
My heart forgets to beat
The touch of your hands
Upon my head
The love in your eyes ashine
And now, at last
The moment divine:
The touch of your lips
The love in your eyes
The touch of your lips
On mine...
@RoofLight00
Both Chet and Nat's versions are beautiful. I long to hear singers like this these days. The sad fact is that there aren't any. The world is poorer without the likes of these guys and others like Matt Monro.
@stanw909
RoofLight00 Wrong . Many singers like this , just not famous .
@whodatsuperbowlqueen5778
You are so correct! Just beautiful voices!
@DevonDandy
@@stanw909 Commercial Pop and radio station 'play lists' exclude all ballads now in favour of wailing and thumping noises.
@mjleger4555
Vic Damone, Perry Como, Matt Monro, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Jack Jones, Bobby Darin, Chet Baker; Dick Haymes, Robert Goulet; Vaughn Monroe -- all favorite baritones of mine, then there's tenors like Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, et al. Also, Pavarotti and Bocelli of the opera world, and others I haven't named here but who are simply incomparable! Plus my female favorites like Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald., Helen Reddy, Julie London, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horne, et al. All but a couple of them are gone now, except for their recordings, which we'll always have!
All, who gave us memorable music, not fly-by-night pop songs, that are fads today and mostly gone tomorrow, but music that stands the test of time and will probably still be enjoyed into the next century, if we haven't nuked ourselves out of existence by then!
@jamesgaches7449
The best voice. Ever. RIP nat cole. You are so loved
@DustInTheWind54
The touch of his voice on my ears❣️
@larrycourtney5638
This is the most romantic song of all time in my opinion the lyrics, the orchestra, and the greatest romantic voice and delivery of Mr.Nat King Cole, it just doesn't get any better.
@alexmm1902
El toque de tus labios sobre mi frente
The touch of your lips upon my brow
Tus labios que son frescos y dulces
Your lips that are cool and sweet
Tanta ternura radica en su suave caricia
Such tenderness lies in their soft caress
Mi corazón se olvida de latir
My heart forgets to beat
El toque de tus manos sobre mi cabeza
The touch of your hands upon my head
El amor en tus ojos Ashine
The love in your eyes, ashine
Y ahora al fin el momento divino
And now at last the moment divine
El roce de tus labios, el amor en tus ojos
The touch of your lips, the love in your eyes
El roce de tus labios sobre los míos
The touch of your lips on mine
@robertocesar3884
The touch of your lips
Upon my brow
Your lips that are cool
And sweet
Such tenderness lies
In their soft caress
My heart forgets to beat
The touch of your hands
Upon my head
The love in your eyes ashine
And now, at last
The moment divine:
The touch of your lips
The love in your eyes
The touch of your lips
On mine...