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.
All I Want For Christmas
The King Cole Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is my two front teeth
My two front teeth
My two front teeth
Gee, if I could only have
My two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
It seems so long
Since I could say
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle"
Gosh, oh gee
How happy I'd be if I could only whistle
All I want for Christmas
Is my two front teeth
My two front teeth
My two front teeth
Gee, if I could only have
My two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
All I want for Christmas
Is my two front teeth
Two front teeth
Two front teeth
Gee, if I could only have
My two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
It seems so long
Since I could say
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle"
Gosh, oh gee
How happy I'd be if I could only whistle
All I want for Christmas
Is my two front teeth
Two front teeth
Two front teeth
Gee, if I could only have
My two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
It seems so long
Since I could say
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle"
Gosh, oh gee
How happy I'd be if I could only whistle
So all I want for Christmas
Is my two front teeth
Two front teeth
My two front teeth
Gee, if I could only have
My two front teeth
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas (Christmas)
The King Cole Trio's song "All I Want for Christmas" is a charming novelty holiday tune that highlights the innocence and simplicity of childhood. The song revolves around the singer's desire for his two front teeth, which he believes will allow him to properly express his Christmas greetings. The song begins with the repeated line "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth," which introduces the central theme of the song. The childlike vocals and bouncy melody of the song reinforce the sense of innocence and simplicity, underscoring the idea that the holiday season is all about the simple things in life.
The song's second verse elaborates on the singer's longing for his two front teeth by highlighting how much he misses being able to whistle and enunciate certain words. He fondly recalls the phrase "Sister Susie sitting on a thistle" and how much he'd love to say it again if only he had his two front teeth. The song's chorus is sung twice more in between the verses, emphasizing the central importance of the singer's two front teeth to his ability to fully celebrate the holiday season.
Despite its simple subject matter, the song captures the joyful spirit of Christmas by celebrating the small things in life that make us happy. Anyone who has experienced the frustration of missing teeth as a child can relate to the singer's yearning for his two front teeth and the desire to properly wish others a Merry Christmas.
Line by Line Meaning
All I want for Christmas
I have only one thing on my wish list for Christmas.
Is my two front teeth
What I want for Christmas is to finally have my two front teeth.
My two front teeth
My desire for Christmas is very specific; it is the acquisition of my two missing front teeth.
My two front teeth
I want my front two teeth for Christmas, and I will repeat this wish many times.
Gee, if I could only have
I'm expressing my lament, acknowledging that currently, my inability to produce a wholesome smile is a problem.
My two front teeth
I want my two front teeth so badly, that all of my effort has gone into getting them.
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas
With joy in my heart stemming from finally having my two front teeth, I would wish you a very Merry Christmas.
It seems so long
It has been a while now.
Since I could say
I have been unable to recite a specific phrase for some time now.
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle"
The phrase I have missed saying is “Sister Susie sitting on a thistle”
Gosh, oh gee
I am expressing just how much I yearn for the chance to be able to carry out the desires of my heart.
How happy I'd be if I could only whistle
If I could whistle, I would burst with immense happiness.
Two front teeth
I keep emphasizing my desire for my two missing front teeth, indicating its significance in my life.
So all I want for Christmas
I have declared explicitly that what I am in need of is only one thing, and it's been said multiple times.
Christmas
My expectation is that by the time Christmas comes around, I will have my two front teeth, and my joy will be full.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Donald Yetter Gardner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind