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.
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're nobody 'til somebody cares
You may be king, you may possess the world and it's gold
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're growing old
The world still is the same, you'll never change it
As sure as the star shines above
You're nobody 'til somebody loves you
The world still is the same, you'll never change it
As sure as the star shines above
You're nobody 'til somebody loves you
So find yourself somebody to love
So find yourself somebody to love
The lyrics of Nat King Cole's song "Yours Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" speak to the inherent human need for love and connection. The song suggests that one's worth and identity are defined by the love and care they receive from others. Until someone loves and cares for you, you feel like an insignificant and overlooked individual in this vast world.
The lyrics further emphasize that material possessions and worldly success cannot bring true happiness and fulfillment, especially as one grows older. No matter how successful or powerful you may be, without love, you will feel empty and incomplete. The repetition of the line "You're nobody 'til somebody loves you" reinforces this notion, highlighting the importance of finding someone to love and who loves you in return.
The phrase "The world still is the same, you'll never change it" implies that the world remains indifferent to an individual's accomplishments or status. Whether you are wealthy or famous, the external world remains unaffected, and your true worth is determined by the love you receive. The song concludes with a call to action, urging the listener to find themselves somebody to love, as if to suggest that the pursuit of love is the ultimate quest for happiness and self-fulfillment.
Overall, "Yours Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" highlights the universal human desire for love and serves as a reminder that true happiness lies in the connections we form with others.
Line by Line Meaning
You're nobody 'til somebody loves you
You're not truly recognized or valued until someone deeply loves you
You're nobody 'til somebody cares
Your worth and significance are realized when someone genuinely shows concern for you
You may be king, you may possess the world and it's gold
Even if you hold authority and possess immense wealth
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're growing old
Material possessions cannot bring lasting happiness as you age
The world still is the same, you'll never change it
The world remains constant, and you cannot alter its nature
As sure as the star shines above
Just like the certainty of stars shining in the sky
So find yourself somebody to love
Therefore, seek to find someone to deeply love and be loved by
So find yourself somebody to love
So, make it a priority to find someone to share love and affection with
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James Cavanaugh, Larry Stock, Russ Morgan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JustinTuckisabeast
Whenever I listen to any Nat King Cole music, time seems to slows down a little. It just makes me remember how beautiful life really is.
@teddyedwards6820
I am very ill but my darling wife is doing nearly everything, I love her very much and am going to play this song to her. I don't mean I will play it but she will understand I love her so much. I hope this does not sound too sloppy, thanks for passing by
@christenawiseman8324
It sounds lovely and I'm sure she will appreciate it.
@ray1love1
I hope your doing better sorry to hear your not feeling well
@davekana8388
Great stuff, glad you found this gem!
@Tsaiyuhsiang
I love this version
@WilWithOneL117
Can't get enough of this.
@superbassmario
i was surprised i had to really search for this song! its so well done
@DHudelson
I'm kinda in love with the Dino version, but this one's pretty sweet...sounds 40's by the recording quality. Some very tasty jazz guitar here, fo' sho' I look at Bublé as "pretty good", as a singer not up with Sinatra, Dino, Tormé (best vocalist ever) & Nat. The great thing about Bublé tunes is having some fabulous arrangements recorded with today's clarity & fullness of sound.
@kevinhagan17
I'd give my right arm for a voice like Nat King Cole