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.
To The Ends Of The Earth
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll follow my star
To the ends of the earth
Just to be where you are
No matter where you roam
I'll never be far behind
Who cares where the path may wind
Though the melody dies
The song lingers on
And a thousand goodbyes
Won't convince me you're gone
I'll follow you, my love
You'll never be free
To the ends of the earth
'Til you've given your love to me
(To the ends of the earth)
(I'll follow my star)
(To the ends of the earth)
(Just to be where you are)
No matter where you roam
I'll never be far behind
Who cares where the path may wind
As long as I find you?
Though the melody dies (though the melody dies)
The song lingers on (the song lingers on)
And a thousand goodbyes (and a thousand goodbyes)
Won't convince me you're gone (won't convince me you're gone)
I'll follow you, my love
You'll never be free
To the ends of the earth
'Til you've given your love to me
The lyrics to Nat King Cole's song "To the ends of the earth" express a deep sense of devotion and commitment to someone the singer loves. The song speaks to the desire to follow one's star to find and be near a loved one, no matter where they may roam. The singer shares that no matter where the path may wind or how many goodbyes they may have to say, they will continue to follow their love to the ends of the earth until their love is reciprocated.
Through the lyrics, the singer conveys both perseverance and hope in the face of adversity. The repeated phrase "to the ends of the earth" emphasizes the extent to which the singer is willing to go for their love. The line "though the melody dies, the song lingers on" speaks to the power of love to endure even when other aspects of life may fade away. The singer's unwavering devotion is further emphasized by the line "you'll never be free, till you've given your love to me." Overall, the lyrics of "To the ends of the earth" are a beautiful expression of the kind of all-consuming love that some people are lucky enough to experience.
Line by Line Meaning
To the ends of the earth
I am willing to go to the furthest and most distant places in the world.
I'll follow my star
I will pursue my destiny and dreams no matter how challenging they may be.
To the ends of the earth
I am willing to go to the furthest and most distant places in the world.
Just to be where you are
I will go anywhere just to be close to you.
No matter where you roam
Wherever you go, I will always be there for you.
I'll never be far behind
I will always be near and supportive of you.
Who cares where the path may wind
I am not worried about any obstacles or detours, as long as I am with you.
As long as I find you?
As long as I am with you, everything else is insignificant.
Though the melody dies
Even when the sound fades away,
The song lingers on
Our love will continue to exist despite any challenges.
And a thousand goodbyes
Multiple farewells and separations
Won't convince me you're gone
Will not make me believe that you are lost.
I'll follow you, my love
I will continue to pursue you even when you try to escape.
You'll never be free
I will always be present in your life.
To the ends of the earth
I am willing to go to the furthest and most distant places in the world.
'Til you've given your love to me
Until you surrender your heart to me, I will not give up on our love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joe Sherman, Noel Sherman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
andrea magali s oliveira
sou de 1964, mas sou fã dele. música ñ tem idade. sou apaixonada por Nat King Cole.
Kirk Barkley
A wonderful era with a beautiful ring to it
Timothy Hughes
Over the years, Nat recorded several versions of To the Ends of the Earth. Don't believe I heard this one before.
PKFlashOmega
There’s a reason that he’s Nat KING Cole. Greatest voice of all time.
Carol Griffith
Love Nat King Cole's work, but this song is my favorite!
Reuben Mwape
Carol Griffith me too!
Michael Flory
Carol Griffith I don't blame you, Carol!!! Will never forget where I was when I heard this song for the first time! Was living in Malden, Massachusetts and was 17 years old. Heard it on the now disfunct 1430AM WXKS by radio announcer, then later close friend, the late Kate Murray.
Nora Johnson
loved this in my wild 20's!!!
andrea magali s oliveira
lindaaa!
Edmur Nico
what a voice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!