Inspired by the performances of Earl Hines, Cole began his performing career in the mid-1930s while still a teenager, adopting the name "Nat Cole". His older brother, Eddie, a bass player, soon joined Cole's band, and they made their first recording in 1936 under Eddie's name. They also were regular performers at clubs. Cole, in fact, acquired his nickname, "King", performing at one jazz club, a nickname presumably reinforced by the otherwise unrelated nursery rhyme about Old King Cole. He also was a pianist in a national tour of Broadway theatre legend Eubie Blake's revue, "Shuffle Along". When it suddenly failed in Long Beach, California, Cole decided to remain there. He would later return to Chicago in triumph to play such venues as the famed Edgewater Beach Hotel.
Cole and two other musicians formed the "King Cole Swingers" in Long Beach and played in a number of local bars before getting a gig on the Long Beach Pike for US$90 ($1,530 today) per week. The trio consisted of Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on double bass. The trio played in Failsworth throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions. Cole was not only pianist but leader of the combo as well.
Radio was important to the King Cole Trio's rise in popularity. Their first broadcast was with NBC's Blue Network in 1938. It was followed by appearances on NBC's Swing Soiree. In the 1940s, the trio appeared on the Old Gold, Chesterfield Supper Club and Kraft Music Hall radio shows. The King Cole Trio performed twice on CBS Radio's variety show The Orson Welles Almanac (1944).
Legend was that Cole's singing career did not start until a drunken barroom patron demanded that he sing "Sweet Lorraine". Cole, in fact, has gone on record saying that the fabricated story "sounded good, so I just let it ride". Cole frequently sang in between instrumental numbers. Noticing that people started to request more vocal numbers, he obliged. Yet the story of the insistent customer is not without some truth. There was a customer who requested a certain song one night, but it was a song that Cole did not know, so instead he sang "Sweet Lorraine". The trio was tipped 15 cents for the performance, a nickel apiece.
During World War II, Wesley Prince left the group and Cole replaced him with Johnny Miller. Miller would later be replaced by Charlie Harris in the 1950s. The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in 1943. The group had previously recorded for Excelsior Records, owned by Otis René, and had a hit with the song "I'm Lost", which René wrote, produced and distributed. Revenues from Cole's record sales fueled much of Capitol Records' success during this period. The revenue is believed to have played a significant role in financing the distinctive Capitol Records building near Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles. Completed in 1956, it was the world's first circular office building and became known as "The House that Nat Built".
Cole was considered a leading jazz pianist, appearing in the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts (credited on the Mercury Record label as "Shorty Nadine"—derived from his wife's name—as he was under exclusive contract to Capitol Records at the time). His revolutionary lineup of piano, guitar, and bass in the time of the big bands became a popular setup for a jazz trio. It was emulated by many musicians, among them Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and blues pianists Charles Brown and Ray Charles. He also performed as a pianist on sessions with Lester Young, Red Callender, and Lionel Hampton. For contract reasons, Cole was credited as "Aye Guy" on the album The Lester Young Buddy Rich Trio.Cole's first mainstream vocal hit was his 1943 recording of one of his compositions, "Straighten Up and Fly Right", based on a black folk tale that his father had used as a theme for a sermon. Johnny Mercer invited him to record it for his fledgling Capitol Records label. It sold over 500,000 copies, proving that folk-based material could appeal to a wide audience. Although Cole would never be considered a rocker, the song can be seen as anticipating the first rock and roll records. Indeed, Bo Diddley, who performed similar transformations of folk material, counted Cole as an influence.
In 1946, the Cole trio paid to have their own 15-minute radio program on the air. It was called, "King Cole Trio Time." It became the first radio program sponsored by a black performing artist. During those years, the trio recorded many "transcription" recordings, which were recordings made in the radio studio for the broadcast. Later they were used for commercial records.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Cole began recording and performing pop-oriented material for mainstream audiences, in which he was often accompanied by a string orchestra. His stature as a popular icon was cemented during this period by hits such as "The Christmas Song" (Cole recorded that tune four times: on June 14, 1946, as a pure Trio recording, on August 19, 1946, with an added string section, on August 24, 1953, and in 1961 for the double album The Nat King Cole Story; this final version, recorded in stereo, is the one most often heard today), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Mona Lisa" (1950), "Too Young" (the #1 song in 1951), 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 jazz roots; as late as 1956, for instance, he recorded an all-jazz album After Midnight. Cole had one of his last big hits in 1963, two years before his death, with the classic "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer", which reached #6 on the Pop chart.
Route 66
The King Cole Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Travel my way, take the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66
It winds from Chicago to LA
More than two thousand miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66
Joplin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
You'll see Amarillo
Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona
Don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino
Won't you get hip to this timely tip
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
Won't you get hip to this timely tip
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
Get your kicks on Route 66
Get your kicks on Route 66
The song "Route 66" by The King Cole Trio is a tribute to the iconic highway that stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles, famously known as "The Main Street of America." The lyrics encourage travelers to take Route 66 and experience the various sights and cities along the way. The song highlights some of the most notable stops on the route, such as Saint Louis, Joplin, Amarillo, Gallup, and Flagstaff.
The lyrics also emphasize the appeal and excitement of traveling on Route 66, and how it can provide a sense of adventure and enjoyment. The line, "Get your kicks on Route 66," is particularly memorable and has become an iconic phrase associated with the highway. Through the lyrics, the song captures the spirit and essence of Route 66 and the American West.
Line by Line Meaning
If you ever plan to motor west
In case you have any intentions of moving towards the west by vehicle
Travel my way, take the highway that's the best
Follow my lead and take the most preferable and efficient highway
Get your kicks on Route 66
Have fun and embark upon an enjoyable journey on Route 66
It winds from Chicago to LA
Route 66 twists and turns across a distance spanning from Chicago and ends in LA
More than two thousand miles all the way
Throughout the distance of the journey, the route connects over two thousand miles
Now you go through Saint Louis
When you travel across the route, you pass through Saint Louis
Joplin, Missouri
Further ahead, you cross Joplin in Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
A sight for sore eyes, Oklahoma City appears beautiful and attractive
You'll see Amarillo
You'll soon witness Amarillo
Gallup, New Mexico
Following Amarillo, you'll cross Gallup located in New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona
In your journey, you traverse Flagstaff, situated in Arizona
Don't forget Winona
In the route, there lies a settlement called Winona that must not be missed
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino
Further on the journey, you'll cross Kingman, Barstow, and San Bernardino
Won't you get hip to this timely tip
Won't you be clever and accept this relevant advice
When you make that California trip
In case you travel to California
Get your kicks on Route 66
Make sure you have fun on Route 66 during the journey
Won't you get hip to this timely tip
Again, won't you be clever and listen to this relevant advice
When you make that California trip
Once again, when you decide to travel to California
Get your kicks on Route 66
Make sure you have fun on Route 66 during the journey
Get your kicks on Route 66
Once more, enjoy yourself fully on Route 66
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bobby W Troup
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@endearingentertainment
With such a smooth groove, you gotta love the Nat King Cole trio!
@Bobbyjoeloverod
Wow! Still amazing! Everything pre-rock n' roll sounds better all than anything else since.
@JESL_TheOnlyOne
R&R is essentially a fusion of R&B and C&W. As s guitarist, my whole sensibility, what I'm trying to do, the sound I'm going for, is different, at least to some degree, between playing a blues tune and playing something more country.
The guitar player here is really just doing rythm (very well), aaaaaand if I were the player, I'd be thrown in a few quick licks, etc., which I'd have to view again just to see if he's doing that or not; he's pretty laid back (nothing wrong with that) & he solos in a pretty straightforward bluesy line. Mission accomplished.
@thedutchfisherman7078
No it doesn't.
@tbx59
You're missing out on lots of great music by thinking like this.
@dwightpowell6673
@@tbx59an opinionated Caucasian obviously.
@AlessioRomaMusic
Real Music ✨️🎶
@SoulfulSounds
Can’t beat the best!
@HolographicSkux
Yes you can. This is not fantastic. He could not project his voice at all. Much much better performers of the day.
@joaocardoso
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" (Leonardo Da Vinci).