Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was an American singer a… Read Full Bio ↴Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) was an American singer and musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres.
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.

If You Can't Smile and Say Yes
The King Cole Trio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Knock me a kiss, you'll never miss
When I'm ready to go.
But if you can't smile and say yes,
Please don't cry and say no!
Squeeze me a squoze in these fine clothes,
Mmmm...I love you so.
But if you can't smile and say yes,
Please don't cry and say no!

When I ask for a date, the answer is no.
You don't know what you're saying.
Don't you know the war's on,

Everything is rationed,
How 'bout that jive, keep me alive?
Baby, let bygones be bygones,
'Cause men are scarce as nylons.
And if you can't smile and say yes,
Please don't cry and say no!
Baby, let bygones be bygones,
'Cause men are scarce as nylons.
And if you can't smile and say yes,

Please don't cry and say no, no, no, baby
Please don't cry and say no

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to the song If You Can't Smile and Say Yes by The King Cole Trio speak to the attitude of perseverance and positivity that was necessary during the war years. The song is essentially a plea to a potential romantic partner to be open to love and affection, despite the harsh realities of wartime conditions. The lyrics emphasize the scarcity of men due to the war, and use the image of rationing to convey the idea that love is just as precious and valuable. The phrase "knock me a kiss" suggests a playful, light-hearted tone, while the repeated refrain of "if you can't smile and say yes, please don't cry and say no" is a reminder to keep a positive attitude in the face of hardship.

The lyrics also speak to the changing gender roles during the war. The line "everything is rationed, how 'bout that jive, keep me alive?" refers to the fact that women were taking on more responsibility and often working outside the home to support the war effort. The song acknowledges this shift in gender roles and suggests that men and women need to work together to navigate difficult times.

Overall, If You Can't Smile and Say Yes is an upbeat and optimistic song that reflects the resilience and determination of people during wartime.

Line by Line Meaning

Knock me a kiss, you'll never miss
Give me a kiss, and you won't regret it

When I'm ready to go.
When I'm leaving

But if you can't smile and say yes,
If you can't agree and show enthusiasm

Please don't cry and say no!
Please don't be negative

Squeeze me a squoze in these fine clothes,
Hold me closely while I'm looking good

Mmmm...I love you so.
I really love you

When I ask for a date, the answer is no.
When I ask you out, you say no

You don't know what you're saying.
You don't understand

Don't you know the war's on,
Don't you know there's a war happening

Everything is rationed,
Everything is limited