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.
When Rock and Roll Came to Trinidad
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They had a peaceful
Little island in the ocean
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
You should have seen the way
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
They got some records
From the USA and played em
Then the natives begun
To jump like mad
I heard Calypso Joe
He hollered, go, man, go
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
La la la
Now on the market street
You hear the crazy beat
And since they heard the news
They're wearing blue suede shoes
Gone is Calypso song
They're rocking all night
No time for drinking rum
Since rock and roll
To this fair island come
La la la
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
Then the natives begun
To jump like mad
I heard Calypso Joe
He hollered, go, man, go
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
La la la
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
The lyrics to Nat King Cole's song "When Rock and Roll Came to Trinidad" tell the story of the impact of rock and roll music on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. The song starts by describing the island as peaceful, but everything changed when rock and roll arrived. The lyrics mention how the locals obtained records from the United States and started to dance wildly in the streets, forsaking their traditional Calypso music for the new sounds. The song also references the popularity of "blue suede shoes," a staple of the rock and roll era.
The lyrics also portray how the arrival of rock and roll music had a transformative influence on the culture of Trinidad, leading to changes in the way people dressed and behaved. The song celebrates the power of rock and roll music and the excitement it brought to the people of Trinidad. The lyrics suggest that the island's inhabitants embraced the new musical style with open arms, leaving behind the traditional sounds of Calypso music in favor of something fresh and exciting.
Overall, the lyrics to "When Rock and Roll Came to Trinidad" are a testament to the power of music to bring people together and to effect change in society.
Line by Line Meaning
They had a peaceful
Little island in the ocean
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
Trinidad used to be a serene and quiet place until they were introduced to rock and roll music.
You should have seen the way
It started a commotion
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
The arrival of rock and roll in Trinidad caused a huge stir and lots of excitement.
They got some records
From the USA and played em
Then the natives begun
To jump like mad
The Trinidadians obtained some rock and roll records from the United States and began dancing with great enthusiasm.
I heard Calypso Joe
He hollered, go, man, go
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
Calypso Joe exclaimed 'go, man, go' in encouragement of the new rock and roll music that had arrived in Trinidad.
Now on the market street
You hear the crazy beat
And since they heard the news
They're wearing blue suede shoes
The lively beat of rock and roll can now be heard on the market streets and the Trinidadians have even started wearing blue suede shoes in celebration of the music.
Gone is Calypso song
They're rocking all night
No time for drinking rum
Since rock and roll
To this fair island come
Since the arrival of rock and roll, Calypso music has faded into the background and the Trinidadians are now rocking all night instead of drinking rum.
When rock and roll
Come to Trinidad
The arrival of rock and roll in Trinidad caused a huge stir and lots of excitement among the locals.
Then the natives begun
To jump like mad
The Trinidadians became incredibly enthusiastic and excited about rock and roll, leading them to jump and dance like crazy.
La la la
These repeated nonsense syllables serve to highlight the fun, lively nature of rock and roll music.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jorge Mario Rodas
Nat King Cole's fabulous voice is evident in this nice song. One of my favorites through the years, nice to remember when I was carefree and young.
Jorge Mario Rodas
I like this old song I used to hear when I was a child and I remembered it today and decided to hear it again. Very good to hear in Nat King Cole's fabulous voice. I remember in those days some fads like Rock and Roll were slow to travel to places which were relatively out of the mainstream. Now everything is known everywhere almost instantly.
Daphne Lewin
Beautiful reminder of my youth!🎶
onieka asseviro
Loving it! Trinibagion 🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹
NEWTON FORREST JA.
FANTASTIC NICE BEAT
Jorge Mario Rodas
I remember my late Dad did not like Rock and Roll, and that this song said everything in Trinidad would become spoiled when Rock and Roll arrived there.