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.
perfidia
Nat King Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tanto que ya no puedo sollozar
Solo temblando de ansiedad estoy
Todos me miran y se van
To you
My heart cries out "Perfidia"
For I find you, the love of my life
Your eyes are echoing "Perfidia"
Forgetful of the promise of love
You're sharing another's charms
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh
At what romantic fools we mortals be
And now, I know* my love was not for you
And so I take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, Goodbye
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh
At what romantic fools we mortals be
And now, I know* my love was not for you
And so I take it back with a sigh
Perfidious one, Goodbye
Goodbye
The song Perfidia, originally written by Alberto Domínguez and popularized by Nat King Cole, is a poignant and emotional story of unrequited love, betrayal, and heartbreak. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a person who is suffering deeply, unable to even cry anymore, as they see the love of their life in someone else's arms. The singer's heart is crying out "Perfidia," which means betrayal or treachery, as they come to the realization that the person they loved and trusted has been unfaithful. The pain is palpable as they describe themselves as trembling with anxiety while others look on, unable to truly understand the depths of their turmoil.
The lyrics also highlight the bittersweet and ironic nature of love. Despite the singer's heartbreak, they cannot help but notice the beauty of the person who has caused them pain. The line "Your eyes are echoing 'Perfidia'" suggests that the person's eyes are mesmerizing, even as they gaze upon their new love. The singer laments how quickly their former love has forgotten the promises and commitment they made to each other. The gods of love are portrayed as mocking and laughing at the foolishness of mortals who fall in love so easily but are left with nothing but broken dreams and faded melodies.
Finally, the singer comes to the painful realization that their love was never reciprocated. They bid a sad and tearful goodbye to the person who betrayed them, acknowledging that they were "perfidious," meaning deceitful or untrustworthy. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the singer resigned to the fact that they have lost the one they loved and must continue on without them.
Overall, Perfidia is a powerfully emotional song that captures the pain and heartache of unrequited love and the irony of human relationships. With haunting, evocative lyrics and Nat King Cole's soulful vocals, it remains a classic ballad that speaks to the universal experience of love and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Nadie comprende lo que sufro yo
Nobody understands the pain I am going through
Tanto que ya no puedo sollozar
So much so that I cannot even cry anymore
Solo temblando de ansiedad estoy
I am trembling with anxiety all alone
Todos me miran y se van
Everyone looks at me and leaves
To you
Directing the message to a specific person
My heart cries out "Perfidia"
My heart is filled with betrayal
For I find you, the love of my life
For the person who was my soulmate
In somebody else's arms
Is now in the embrace of another
Your eyes are echoing "Perfidia"
Even your eyes scream deceit
Forgetful of the promise of love
You have forgotten the commitment we made to each other
You're sharing another's charms
You are now sharing intimacy with another person
And now, I know* my love was not for you
I realize now that you were never the one I truly loved
And so I take it back with a sigh
I am taking back my feelings with regret
Perfidious one, Goodbye
Goodbye, unfaithful one
With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
My once beautiful dreams have been destroyed and rendered meaningless
While the gods of love look down and laugh
The higher powers who govern love mock our foolishness as humans
At what romantic fools we mortals be
We are all foolish when it comes to the matters of the heart
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Alberto Dominguez, Milton Leeds
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marthahidalgo7185
Mujer...
Si puedes tú con Dios hablar
Pregúntale si yo alguna vez
Te he dejado de adorar
Y al mar
Espejo de mi corazón
Las veces que me ha visto llorar
La perfidia de tu amor
Te he buscado donde quiera que yo voy
y no te puedo hallar
Para que quiero otros besos
Si tus labios no me quieren ya besar
Y tù ...
Quien sabe por donde andaràs
Quien sabe que aventura tendràs
Que lejos estàs de mí
Para que quiero otros besos
Si tus labios no me quieren ya besar
Y tù ...
Quien sabe por donde andaràs
Quien sabe que aventura tendràs
Que lejos estàs de mí
Que lejos estàs de mí
@melissavictoriabomfim
For me, this is the best version. Soft and easy.
@m.rizadjoeli357
Wow...the King of Music is Nat King Cole...
@arianecarrera1232
1939 y continua inmortal, que hermosa interpretación. King ❤
@alogeno54
«Perfidia» es un bolero mexicano. Del compositor Alberto Domínguez Borraz, originario de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México
@jimcopper7442
How rare for such a Iconic vocalist to be Proficient in bilingual artistry. Nat does so with ease. What a treasure he was to the music industry and subsequently humanity. In overcoming rampant bigotry with Poise & elegance his triumph was complete. Though his era produced a multitude of equally talented crooners such as Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Mel Torme, Jo Stafford & Julie London. Nat Distinguishes himself with subtle brilliance and command of precise diction. The myriad of superb orchestral accompaniments deserve no less acknowledgement and adulation.
@sonnysantana5454
he also had a few french classic love songs
@harrypercyvale123
I bet Fiddle Castro had listened to this version of Perfidia many times. 🤩
@dd317
To me this is the prettiest song ever composed and Nat King Cole's silky voice version is among the best.
@renatonunes2550
Great. song !. Beautiful voice ! One of the greatest singers America has ever had. He was the KING !
@Sofiadebu
"que lejos estas de mí..."💔💖