Nat King Cole

American singer and jazz pianist (1919–1965)

Nat King Cole

Cole in 1959

Born|

Nathaniel Adams Coles

(1919-03-17)March 17, 1919

Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.

Died| February 15, 1965(1965-02-15) (aged 45)

Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Occupations|

* Singer
* pianist
* actor

Years active| 1934–1965
Spouses|

* Nadine Robinson

(m. 1937; div. 1948)​

* Maria Hawkings

(m. 1948)​

Children| 5, including Natalie and Carole
Musical career
Genres|

* Jazz
* traditional pop
* easy listening

Occupation(s)|

* Singer
* pianist
* actor

Instrument(s)|

* Vocals
* piano

Discography| Nat King Cole discography
Labels|

* Ammor
* Excelsior
* Decca
* Capitol

Musical artist

Signature

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally by his stage name Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.

Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed The King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil rights organizations. From 1956 to 1957, Cole hosted the NBC variety series The Nat King Cole Show, which became the first nationally broadcast television show hosted by an African American.

Some of Cole's most notable singles include "Unforgettable", "Smile", "L-O-V-E", "Nature Boy", "When I Fall in Love", "Let There Be Love", "Mona Lisa", "Autumn Leaves", "Stardust", "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "The Very Thought of You", "For Sentimental Reasons", "Embraceable You" and "Almost Like Being in Love". His 1960 Christmas album The Magic of Christmas (also known as The Christmas Song), is the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s; and was ranked as one of the 40 essential Christmas albums (2019) by Rolling Stone.[1] In 2022, Cole's recording of "The Christmas Song", broke the record for the longest journey to the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, when it peaked at number nine, 62 years after it debuted on the chart; and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry.[2][3] NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. Cole received numerous accolades including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960) and a Special Achievement Golden Globe Award.[4] Posthumously, Cole has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1990), along with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award (1992) and has been inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame (1997), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000), and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2020).

Cole was the father of singer Natalie Cole (1950–2015), who covered her father's songs in the 1991 album Unforgettable... with Love.

## Early life[edit]

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919.[5] He had three brothers: Eddie (1910–1970), Ike (1927–2001), and Freddy (1931–2020),[6] and a half-sister, Joyce Coles.[7] Each of the Coles brothers pursued careers in music.[7] When Cole was four years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his father, Edward, became a Baptist minister.[8]

Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina Coles, the church organist.[9] His first performance was "Yes! We Have No Bananas" at the age of four.[10] Cole began formal piano lessons at 12,[11] learning jazz, gospel, and classical music "from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff".[12] As a youth, Cole joined the news delivery boys' "Bud Billiken Club" band for The Chicago Defender.[13]

Cole and his family moved to the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago,[14] where Cole attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School,[15] the school Sam Cooke attended a few years later.[16] Cole participated in Walter Dyett's music program at DuSable High School.[17] He would sneak out of the house to visit clubs, sitting outside to hear Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jimmie Noone.[18]

## Career[edit]

### Early career[edit]

Nat King Cole, Paramount Theater, New York City, November 1946

When he was 15, Cole dropped out of high school to pursue a music career. After his brother Eddie, a bassist, came home from touring with Noble Sissle, they formed a sextet and recorded two singles for Decca in 1936 as Eddie Cole's Swingsters. They performed in a revival of the musical Shuffle Along. Nat Cole went on tour with the musical. In 1937, he married Nadine Robinson, who was a member of the cast. After the show ended in Los Angeles, Cole and Nadine settled there while he looked for work.[19]

Cole led a big band and found work playing piano in nightclubs. When a club owner asked him to form a band, Cole hired bassist Wesley Prince and guitarist Oscar Moore. They called themselves the King Cole Swingsters after the nursery rhyme in which "Old King Cole was a merry old soul". They changed their name to the King Cole Trio before making radio transcriptions and recording for small labels.[19]

### 1940s[edit]

Cole recorded "Sweet Lorraine" in 1940, and it became his first hit.[20] According to legend, his career as a vocalist started when a drunken bar patron demanded that Cole sing the song. He said that this fabricated story sounded good, so Cole did not argue with it. There was a customer one night who demanded that he sing, but because it was a song Cole did not know, he sang "Sweet Lorraine" instead. As people heard Cole's vocal talent, they requested more vocal songs, and he obliged.[21]

In 1941, the trio recorded "That Ain't Right" for Decca, followed the next year by "All for You" for Excelsior.[19] They recorded "I'm Lost", a song written by Otis René, the owner of Excelsior.[22]

> I started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime I started singing and I sang the way I felt and that's just the way it came out.

> — Nat King Cole, Voice of America interview, c. 1956.[23][24]

Cole was the original house pianist for Jazz at the Philharmonic and performed at the first recorded concert in 1944. He was credited on Mercury as "Shorty Nadine", a derivative of his wife's name, because Cole had an exclusive contract with Capitol[25] since signing with the label the year before. He used a variety of other pseudonyms for the same reason, including Eddie Laguna, Sam Schmaltz, Nature Boy and A Guy, "or whatever name for himself he could think of, but only as an instrumentalist, never as a vocalist."[26] Cole recorded with Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young.[20]

King Cole Trio Time on NBC with Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on double bass, 1947

In 1946, the trio broadcast King Cole Trio Time, a 15-minute radio program. This was the first radio program to be hosted by a black musician. From 1946 to 1948, the trio recorded radio transcriptions for Capitol Records Transcription Service.[27][28] They performed on the radio programs Swing Soiree, Old Gold, The Chesterfield Supper Club, Kraft Music Hall, and The Orson Welles Almanac.[29][30]

Cole began recording and performing pop-oriented material in which he was often accompanied by a string orchestra. Cole's stature as a popular star was cemented by hits such as "All for You" (1943), "The Christmas Song" (1947),[31] "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" (1946), "There! I've Said It Again" (1947), "Nature Boy" (1948), "Frosty the Snowman", "Mona Lisa" (No. 1 song of 1950), "Orange Colored Sky" (1950), "Too Young" (the No. 1 song of 1951).[32]

### 1950s[edit]

On June 7, 1953, Cole performed for the ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Chicago which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Shorty Rogers, Earl Bostic, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton.[33][34]

On November 5, 1956, The Nat 'King' Cole Show debuted on NBC. The variety program was one of the first hosted by an African American.[35] The program started at a length of fifteen minutes but was increased to a half-hour in July 1957. Rheingold Beer was a regional sponsor, but a national sponsor was never found. The show was in trouble financially despite efforts by NBC, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, and Mel Tormé.[36] Cole decided to end the program. The last episode aired on December 17, 1957.[37] Commenting on the lack of sponsorship, Cole said shortly after its demise: "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."[38][39]

Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to record hits that sold millions throughout the world, such as "Smile", "Pretend", "A Blossom Fell", and "If I May". His pop hits were collaborations with Nelson Riddle,[23] Gordon Jenkins, and Ralph Carmichael. Riddle arranged several of Cole's 1950s albums, including Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love (1953), his first 10-inch LP. In 1955, "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" reached number 7 on the Billboard chart. Love Is the Thing went to number one in April 1957 and remained his only number one album.

In 1959, Cole received a Grammy Award for Best Performance By a "Top 40" Artist for "Midnight Flyer".[40]

The Capitol Records Building, known as "The House That Nat Built" on Vine St.

In 1958, Cole went to Havana, Cuba, to record Cole Español, an album sung entirely in Spanish. It was so popular in Latin America and the U.S. that it was followed by two more Spanish-language albums: A Mis Amigos (1959) and More Cole Español (1962).

After the change in musical tastes, Cole's ballads appealed little to young listeners, despite a successful attempt at rock and roll with "Send for Me",[23] which peaked at number 6 on the pop chart. Like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett, Cole found that the pop chart had been taken over by youth-oriented acts.

### 1960s[edit]

In 1960, Cole's longtime collaborator Nelson Riddle left Capitol to join Reprise Records, which was established by Frank Sinatra. Riddle and Cole recorded one final hit album, Wild Is Love, with lyrics by Ray Rasch and Dotty Wayne. Cole later retooled the concept album into an Off-Broadway show, I'm with You.

Nevertheless, Cole recorded several hit singles during the 1960s, including "Let There Be Love" with George Shearing in 1961, the country-flavored hit "Ramblin' Rose" in August 1962 (reaching No. 2 on the Pop chart), "Dear Lonely Hearts" (No. 13), "That Sunday, That Summer" (No. 12) and "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"[23] (his final top-ten hit, reaching number 6 on the Pop chart). Cole performed in many short films, sitcoms, and television shows and played W. C. Handy in the film St. Louis Blues (1958). Cole appeared in The Nat King Cole Story, China Gate, and The Blue Gardenia (1953).

In January 1964, Cole made one of his final television appearances, on The Jack Benny Program. He was introduced as "the best friend a song ever had" and sang "When I Fall in Love". Cat Ballou (1965), Cole's final film, was released several months after his death.

Earlier on, Cole's shift to traditional pop led some jazz critics and fans to accuse him of selling out, but he never abandoned his jazz roots; as late as 1956, Cole recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight, and many of his albums after this are fundamentally jazz-based, being scored for big band without strings, although the arrangements focus primarily on the vocal rather than instrumental leads.

Cole had one of his last major hits in 1963, two years before his death, with "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer", which reached number 6 on the Pop chart. "Unforgettable" was made famous again in 1991 by Cole's daughter Natalie when modern recording technology was used to reunite father and daughter in a duet. The duet version rose to the top of the pop charts, almost forty years after its original popularity.[41]

Cole's final studio album was titled L-O-V-E. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965.

## Personal life[edit]

Around the time Cole launched his singing career, he entered into Freemasonry. Cole was raised in January 1944 in the Thomas Waller Lodge No. 49 in California. The lodge was named after fellow Prince Hall mason and jazz musician Fats Waller.[42][43] Cole joined the Scottish Rite Freemasonry,[44] becoming Master Mason.[45] Cole was "an avid baseball fan", particularly of Hank Aaron. In 1968, Nelson Riddle related an incident from some years earlier and told of music studio engineers, searching for a source of noise, finding Cole listening to a game on a transistor radio.[23]

### Marriages and children[edit]

Cole and his second wife, Maria, 1951

Cole met his first wife, Nadine Robinson, while they were on tour for the all-black Broadway musical Shuffle Along. Cole was 18 when they married and she was the reason why he moved to Los Angeles and formed the Nat King Cole trio.[46] Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948.[47]

On March 28, 1948 (Easter Sunday), six days after his divorce became final, Cole married singer Maria Hawkins. The Coles were married in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. They had five children: Natalie (1950–2015), who had a successful career as a singer before dying of congestive heart failure at age 65; an adopted daughter, Carole (1944–2009, the daughter of Maria's sister), who died of lung cancer at the age of 64; an adopted son, Nat Kelly Cole (1959–1995), who died of AIDS at the age of 36;[48] and twin daughters, Casey and Timolin, born September 26, 1961. Maria supported Cole during his final illness and stayed with him until his death. In an interview, she emphasized his musical legacy and the class he exhibited despite his imperfections.[49]

A bust of Nat King Cole in the Hotel Nacional de Cuba

### Experiences with racism[edit]

In August 1948, Cole purchased a house from Col. Harry Gantz, the ex-husband of silent film actress Lois Weber, in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, a burning cross was placed on his front lawn and the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any "undesirables" moving into the neighborhood. Cole responded, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."[50] His dog died after eating poisoned meat, something likely to be connected to his moving to the neighborhood.[51]

In 1956, Cole was contracted to perform in Cuba. He wanted to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana but was refused because it operated a color bar. Cole honored his contract, and the concert at the Tropicana Club was a huge success. The following year, Cole returned to Cuba for another concert, singing many songs in Spanish.

#### 1956 Birmingham assault[edit]

Further information: Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy § Rock music and Cole assault

Cole was assaulted during a concert on April 10, 1956, in Birmingham, Alabama, while singing the song "Little Girl" on stage with the Ted Heath Band. After photographs of Cole with white female fans were circulated bearing such incendiary, boldface captions as "Cole and His White Women" and "Cole and Your Daughter,"[52] three men belonging to the North Alabama Citizens Council attacked Cole in an apparent attempt to kidnap him.

The three assailants ran down the aisles of the auditorium towards Cole. Local law enforcement quickly ended their invasion of the stage, but not until Cole was toppled from his piano bench and received a slight injury to his back. He did not finish the concert.[53] Police later found rifles, a blackjack, and brass knuckles, in a car outside the venue.[54] A fourth member of the group was later arrested. All were tried and convicted.[53]

Six men, including 23-year-old Willie Richard Vinson, were formally charged with assault with intent to murder Cole, but the charges against four of them was later changed to conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. The original plan to attack Cole included 150 men from Birmingham and nearby towns.[55]

"I can't understand it," Cole said afterwards. "I have not taken part in any protests. Nor have I joined an organization fighting segregation. Why should they attack me?" Cole wanted to forget the incident and continued to play for segregated audiences in the American South. He said he could not change the situation in a day. He contributed money to the Montgomery bus boycott and previously sued Northern hotels that had hired him but refused to serve him.

#### Criticism and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement[edit]

Thurgood Marshall, then-the chief legal counsel of the NAACP, said "All Cole needs to complete his role as an Uncle Tom is a banjo." Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP, wrote him a telegram that said:

> You have not been a crusader or engaged in an effort to change the customs or laws of the South. That responsibility, newspapers quote you as saying, you leave to the other guys. That attack upon you clearly indicates that organized bigotry makes no distinction between those who do not actively challenge racial discrimination and those who do. This is a fight which none of us can escape. We invite you to join us in a crusade against racism.[56]

The Chicago Defender said that Cole's performances for all-white audiences were an insult to his race. The New York Amsterdam News said that "thousands of Harlem blacks who have worshiped at the shrine of singer Nat King Cole turned their backs on him this week as the noted crooner turned his back on the NAACP and said that he will continue to play to Jim Crow audiences". To play "Uncle Nat's" discs, wrote a commentator in The American Negro, "would be supporting his 'traitor' ideas and narrow way of thinking".

Deeply hurt by the criticism in the black press, Cole was chastened. Emphasizing his opposition to racial segregation "in any form", he agreed to join other entertainers in boycotting segregated venues. He paid $500 to become a lifetime member of the Detroit branch of the NAACP. Until his death in 1965, Cole was an active and visible participant in the civil rights movement, playing an important role in planning the March on Washington in 1963.[57][58]

### Politics[edit]

Cole performed in 1956 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's televised birthday celebration.[59] At the 1956 Republican National Convention, he sang "That's All There Is to That" and was "greeted with applause".[60]

Cole was also present at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 to support Senator John F. Kennedy. Cole was among the dozens of entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the Kennedy Inaugural gala in 1961. Cole consulted with Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, on civil rights.

## Illness and death[edit]

In September 1964, Cole began to lose weight and experienced back problems.[61] He collapsed with pain after performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. In December, Cole was working in San Francisco when he was finally persuaded by friends to seek medical help. A malignant tumor in an advanced state of growth on Cole's left lung was observed on a chest X-ray. Cole, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, had lung cancer and was expected to have only months to live.[62] Against his doctors' wishes, Cole carried on his work and made his final recordings between December 1 and 3 in San Francisco, with an orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. The music was released on the album L-O-V-E shortly before Cole died.[63] His daughter noted later that he did this to assure the welfare of his family.

Cole entered Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica on December 7, 1964, and cobalt therapy was started on December 10. Frank Sinatra performed in Cole's place at the grand opening of the new Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center on December 12.[64] Cole's condition gradually worsened, but he was released from the hospital over the New Year's period. At home, Cole was able to see the hundreds of thousands of cards and letters that had been sent after news of his illness was made public. Cole returned to the hospital in early January 1965. He also sent $5,000 (US$49,000 in 2023 dollars[65]) to actress and singer Gunilla Hutton, with whom Cole had been romantically involved since early 1964.[66]

Hutton later telephoned Maria and implored her to divorce him. Maria confronted her husband, and Cole finally broke off the relationship with Hutton.[67] Cole's illness reconciled him with his wife, and Cole vowed that if he recovered, he would go on television to urge people to stop smoking. On January 25, Cole's entire left lung was surgically removed. His father died of heart problems on February 1.[68] Throughout Cole's illness, his publicists promoted the idea that he would soon be well and working, despite the private knowledge of his terminal condition. Billboard magazine reported that "Nat King Cole has successfully come through a serious operation and... the future looks bright for 'the master' to resume his career again".[69] On Valentine's Day, Cole and his wife briefly left St. John's to drive by the sea. Cole died at the hospital early in the morning hours of Monday, February 15, 1965, at the age of 45.[70]

Cole's vault at Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Cole's funeral was held on February 18 at St. James' Episcopal Church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles; 400 people were present inside the church, and thousands gathered outside. Hundreds of members of the public had filed past the coffin the day before.[71] Honorary pallbearers included Robert F. Kennedy, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, George Burns, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Alan Livingston, Frankie Laine, Steve Allen, and Pat Brown, the governor of California.[72]

The eulogy was delivered by Jack Benny, who said that "Nat Cole was a man who gave so much and still had so much to give. He gave it in song, in friendship to his fellow man, devotion to his family. He was a star, a tremendous success as an entertainer, an institution. But he was an even greater success as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend."[72] Cole's remains were interred in Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California.[73]

## Posthumous releases[edit]

Cole's last album, L-O-V-E, was recorded in early December 1964—just a few days before he entered the hospital for cancer treatment—and was released just before his death. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Albums chart in the spring of 1965. A Best Of album was certified a gold record in 1968. His 1957 recording of "When I Fall in Love" reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1987, released in reaction to a version by Rick Astley challenging for the coveted Christmas number 1 spot.

In 1983, an archivist for EMI Electrola Records, a subsidiary of EMI (Capitol's parent company until 2013) in Germany, discovered some unreleased recordings by Cole, including one in Japanese and another in Spanish ("Tu Eres Tan Amable"). Capitol released them later that year as the LP Unreleased.

In 1991, Mosaic Records released The Complete Capitol Records Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio, a compilation of 349 songs available as an 18-CD or a 27-LP set. In 2008, it was re-released in digital-download format through services like iTunes and Amazon Music.

Also in 1991, Natalie Cole recorded a new vocal track that was mixed with her father's 1961 stereo re-recording of his 1951 hit "Unforgettable" for a tribute album of the same title on Elektra Records. The song and album won seven Grammy awards in 1992 for Best Album and Best Song.

There have been many tribute albums, including one by his brother, Freddy. [74] Randy Napoleon, Freddy Cole's guitarist and arranger for 13 years, has performed and recorded tributes to the Cole family. [75]

## Discography[edit]

Main article: Nat King Cole discography

* The King Cole Trio (1944)
* The King Cole Trio, Volume 2 (1946)
* The King Cole Trio, Volume 3 (1947)
* The King Cole Trio, Volume 4 (1949)
* Nat King Cole at the Piano (1950)
* Harvest of Hits (1950)
* King Cole for Kids (1951)
* Penthouse Serenade (1952)
* Top Pops (1952)
* Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love (1953)
* Unforgettable (1954)
* Penthouse Serenade (1955)
* Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love (1955) (12-inch re-release)
* The Piano Style of Nat King Cole (1955)
* After Midnight (1957)
* Just One of Those Things (1957)
* Love Is the Thing (1957)
* Cole Español (1958)
* St. Louis Blues (1958)
* The Very Thought of You (1958)
* To Whom It May Concern (1958)
* Welcome to the Club (1958)
* A Mis Amigos (1959)
* Tell Me All About Yourself (1960)
* Every Time I Feel the Spirit (1960)
* Wild Is Love (1960)
* The Magic of Christmas (1960)
* The Nat King Cole Story (1961)
* The Touch of Your Lips (1961)
* Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays (1962)
* Ramblin' Rose (1962)
* Dear Lonely Hearts (1962)
* More Cole Español (1962)
* Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer (1963)
* Where Did Everyone Go? (1963)
* Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady (1964)
* Let's Face the Music! (1964, recorded 1961)
* I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore (1964)
* L-O-V-E (1965)
* Nat King Cole Sings His Songs From 'Cat Ballou' and Other Motion Pictures (1965)
* Live at the Sands (1966, recorded 1960)

His hit singles include "Straighten Up and Fly Right" 1944 No. 8, "The Christmas Song" 1946/1962/2018 No. ?/No. 65/No. 11, "Nature Boy" 1948 No. 1, "Mona Lisa 1950 No. 1, "Frosty, The Snowman" 1950 No. 9, "Too Young" 1951 No. 1, "Unforgettable" 1951 No. 12, "Somewhere Along the Way" 1952 No. 8, "Answer Me, My Love" 1954 No. 6, "A Blossom Fell" 1955 No. 2, "If I May" 1955 No. 8, "Send for Me" 1957 No. 6, "Looking Back" 1958 No. 5, "Ramblin' Rose" 1962 No. 2, "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" 1963 No. 6, and "Unforgettable" 1991 (with daughter Natalie).

## Filmography[edit]

### Film[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1943  | Here Comes Elmer | Himself  |
1943  | Pistol Packin' Mama | As part of the King Cole Trio  | Uncredited
1944  | Pin Up Girl | Canteen pianist  | Uncredited
1944  | Stars on Parade | As part of the King Cole Trio  |
1944  | Swing in the Saddle | As part of the King Cole Trio  | Uncredited
1944  | See My Lawyer | Specialty act  | As part of the King Cole Trio
1944  | Is You Is, or Is You Ain't My Baby? | Himself  | Short subject
1945  | Frim Fram Sauce | Himself  | Short subject
1946  | Breakfast in Hollywood | As part of the King Cole Trio  |
1946  | Errand Boy for Rhythm | Himself  | Short subject
1946  | Come to Baby Do | Himself  | Short subject
1948  | Killer Diller | Himself  | As part of the King Cole Trio
1949  | Make Believe Ballroom | Himself  | As part of the King Cole Trio
1950  | King Cole Trio & Benny Carter Orchestra | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | You Call It Madness | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | When I Fall in Love | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | The Trouble with Me Is You | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Sweet Lorraine | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Route 66 | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Nature Boy | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Mona Lisa | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Home | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | For Sentimental Reasons | Himself  | Short subject
1951  | Calypso Blues | Himself  | Short subject
1952  | Nat "King" Cole and Joe Adams Orchestra | Himself  | Short subject
1953  | The Blue Gardenia | Himself  |
1953  | Small Town Girl | Himself  |
1953  | Nat "King" Cole and Russ Morgan and His Orchestra | Himself  | Short subject
1955  | Kiss Me Deadly | Singer  | Voice
1955  | Rhythm and Blues Revue | Himself  | Documentary
1955  | Rock 'n' Roll Revue | Himself  | Short subject
1955  | The Nat 'King' Cole Musical Story | Himself  | Short subject
1955  | Rhythm and Blues Revue | Himself  | Documentary
1956  | The Scarlet Hour | Nightclub vocalist  |
1956  | Basin Street Revue | Himself  |
1957  | Istanbul | Danny Rice  |
1957  | China Gate | Goldie  |
1958  | St. Louis Blues | W. C. Handy |
1959  | Night of the Quarter Moon | Cy Robbin  | A.k.a. The Color of Her Skin
1959  | Premier Khrushchev in the USA | Himself  | Documentary
1960  | Schlager-Raketen | Sänger, Himself  |
1965  | Cat Ballou | Shouter  | Released posthumously, (final film role)
1989  | Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs | Himself  | Documentary

### Television[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1950  | The Ed Sullivan Show | Himself  | 14 episodes
1951–1952  | Texaco Star Theatre | Himself  | 3 episodes
1952–1955  | The Jackie Gleason Show | Himself  | 2 episodes
1953  | The Red Skelton Show | Himself  | Episode #2.20
1953–1961  | What's My Line? | "Mystery guest"  | 2 episodes
1954–1955  | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Himself  | 4 episodes
1955  | Ford Star Jubilee | Himself  | 2 episodes
1956–1957  | The Nat King Cole Show | Host  | 42 episodes
1957–1960  | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Himself  | 2 episodes
1958  | The Patti Page Show | Himself  | Episode #1.5
1959  | The Perry Como Show | Himself  | Episode: January 17, 1959
1959  | The George Gobel Show | Himself  | Episode #5.10
1960  | The Steve Allen Show | Himself  | Episode #5.21
1960  | This Is Your Life | Himself  | Episode: "Nat King Cole"
1960  | Academy Award Songs | Himself  | TV movie
1960  | Special Gala to Support Kennedy Campaign | Himself  | TV movie
1961  | Main Event | Himself  | TV movie
1961–1964  | The Garry Moore Show | Himself  | 4 episodes
1962–1964  | The Jack Paar Program | Himself  | 4 episodes
1963  | An Evening with Nat King Cole | Himself  | TV movie
1963  | An Evening with Nat King Cole | Himself  | BBC Television special
1963  | The Danny Kaye Show | Himself  | Episode #1.14
1964  | Freedom Spectacular | Himself  | TV movie
1964  | The Jack Benny Program | Nat  | Episode: "Nat King Cole, Guest"

## Awards and honors[edit]

Cole's birthplace on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery

Cole was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. In 1992, Cole received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[76] He was also inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. A United States postage stamp with Cole's likeness was issued in 1994. Cole was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.[77] NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices.[78]

Cole's success at Capitol Records, for which he recorded more than 150 singles that reached the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts, has yet to be matched by any Capitol artist.[79] Cole's records sold 50 million copies during his career.[80] His recording of "The Christmas Song" still receives airplay every holiday season, even hitting the Billboard Top 40 in December 2017.[81] In 2020, Cole was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.[82]

## See also[edit]

* Music portal
* Biography portal

* List of African-American firsts
* List of Freemasons
* The Ethel Waters Show

## References[edit]

1. ^ Edwards, Gavin (November 30, 2019). "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
2. ^ Garcia, Thania (January 3, 2023). "SZA's 'SOS' Rules Album Chart for Third Week; Nat King Cole's 'Christmas Song' Finally Hits Top 10 After 62 Years". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
3. ^ "Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin, Wu-Tang Clan & More Selected for 2022 National Recording Registry: See the Full List". Billboard. April 13, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
4. ^ "Nat King Cole". Golden Globe Award. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
5. ^ Biography NatKingCole.org Archived February 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ "NPR's Jazz Profiles: Freddy Cole". www.npr.org. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
7. ^ a b Crawford, Trish (June 12, 2015). "How I got the jazz gene: seven artists reveal their roots". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
8. ^ "The Pittsburgh Courier from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 13, 1965 · Page 2". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
9. ^ Hornsby, Alton Jr. (2011). Black America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-0313341120. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
10. ^ "From the Archives: Nat 'King' Cole dies of cancer at 45". Los Angeles Times. February 16, 1965. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
11. ^ "Blue Light Special". Spin. June 1990. pp. 1–. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
12. ^ Ruuth, Marianne (1992). Nat King Cole. Holloway House Publishing. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-0870675935. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
13. ^ Hinton, Rachel (August 9, 2018). "Bud Billiken Day Parade reaches 89th year". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
14. ^ Brewer, John M. Jr. (2007). Pittsburgh Jazz. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1439634646. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
15. ^ "Phillips High School is cradle of history". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
16. ^ "Tracing the Highs and Tragic End of Sam Cooke". NPR. January 19, 2006. Archived from the original on May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
17. ^ Bonner, Wilma F. (2011). The Sumner Story: Capturing Our History Preserving Our Legacy. Morgan James Publishing. pp. 162–. ISBN 978-1600377822. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
18. ^ "Nat "King" Cole Is Born". History Channel. June 20, 2016. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
19. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, William. "Nat King Cole". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
20. ^ a b Yanow, Scott (2000). Swing. San Francisco: Miller Freeman. p. 203. ISBN 978-0879306007.
21. ^ Cole, Maria (1971). Nat King Cole: An Intimate Biography. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0688021535.
22. ^ "Buck-Five Disk of Indies Seen Different Ways". Billboard. September 1, 1945. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
23. ^ a b c d e Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 22 – Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66: A Skinny Dip in the Easy Listening Mainstream. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
24. ^ "Pop Chronicles Interviews #131 - Nat "King" Cole". Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009.
25. ^ Holmes, Roy; Windisch, Simon. "Nat King Cole Biography". Highstreets.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
26. ^ Ruuth, Marianne (1992). Nat King Cole. Melrose Square Black American series. Los Angeles: Melrose Square Pub. Co. p. 66\. ISBN 9780870675935. OCLC 26884864. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
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30. ^ "Orson Welles Almanac — Part 1". Internet Archive. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
31. ^ Cole recorded "The Christmas Song" four times — on June 14, 1946, with the Nat King Cole Trio; 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. The final version, recorded in stereo, is the one most often heard today.
32. ^ "Billboard website". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
33. ^ Reed, Tom. (1992). The Black music history of Los Angeles, its roots : 50 years in Black music : a classical pictorial history of Los Angeles Black music of the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s : photographic essays that define the people, the artistry and their contributions to the wonderful world of entertainment (1st, limited ed.). Los Angeles: Black Accent on L.A. Press. ISBN 096329086X. OCLC 28801394.
34. ^ "Nat King Cole Star of Cavalcade", Headliner AD Los Angeles Sentinel, May 28, 1953.
35. ^ Chilton, Karen (October 15, 2009). "Hazel Scott's Lifetime of High Notes". smithsonian.com. Smithsonian. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2016. "[Hazel Scott was] the first black performer to host her own nationally syndicated television show...."
36. ^ Shulman, Arthur; Youman, Roger (1966). "Chapter 3: The Sounds of Music". How Sweet It Was — Television: A Pictorial Commentary (PDF). New York: Bonanza Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc., by arrangement with Shorecrest, Inc. ISBN 978-0517081358. OCLC 36258864. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2021. (Book has page numbers)
37. ^ Gourse, Leslie (1991). Unforgettable : the life and mystique of Nat King Cole. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0312078775. "The network supported this show from the beginning. From Mr. Sarnoff on down, they tried to sell it to agencies. They could have dropped it after the first thirteen weeks. Shows that made more money than mine were dropped. They offered me a new time at 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays on a cooperative basis, but I decided not to take it. I feel played out."
38. ^ "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark", Star Quotes. Archived November 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine "(1956) Quoted in article at the Songwriters Hall of Fame."
39. ^ "Study: Ad Agencies Exhibit 'Pervasive Racial Discrimination' | News". AdAge.com. January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
40. ^ "Grammy Awards 1959". Grammy. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
41. ^ Teachout, Terry (1992). "Nat King Cole". The American Scholar. 26. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
42. ^ "Famous Masons". Pinal Lodge No. 30. Archived from the original on December 24, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2018. "member of Thomas Waller Lodge No. 49, of Los Angeles, CA, being initiated on January 9, 1944, the lodge appropriately named for another legendary jazz musician, Fats Waller, himself a Prince Hall Freemason."
43. ^ "U.S. Notable Freemasons". Matawan Lodge No. 192. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008.
44. ^ C. Sterbenz; R. Johnson (March 20, 2014). "17 Of The Most Influential Freemasons Ever". businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
45. ^ "Famous Master Masons". Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
46. ^ "Nat King Cole — Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
47. ^ "Gale:Free Resources:Black History:Biographies: Nat King Cole". Gale. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
48. ^ "TCM". TCM. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
49. ^ "Gale:Free Resources:Black History:Biographies: Nat King Cole". Gale. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
50. ^ Levinson, Peter J. (2005). September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle. Taylor Trade. pp. 89–. ISBN 978-1589791633. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
51. ^ Lewis, Andy (February 19, 2015). "L.A.'s Ugly Jim Crow History: Nat King Cole's Dog Poisoned in Hancock Park". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
52. ^ Burford, Mark (April 2012). "Sam Cooke as Pop Album Artist—A Reinvention in Three Songs". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 65 (1): 113–178. doi:10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113. JSTOR 10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113.
53. ^ a b Eyewitness account published in the Birmingham News. Felts, Jim. Letter to the editor. December 15, 2007.
54. ^ On this day (Apr 10, 1956) - White Men Attack Nat King Cole During Performance in Birmingham, Alabama, from the Equal Justice Initiative
55. ^ "Nat 'King' Cole attacked on stage – archive, 12 April 1956". TheGuardian.com. April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
56. ^ Altschuler, Glenn C. (2003). All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198031918. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
57. ^ Gilbert, James (1988). A Cycle of Outrage: America's Reaction to the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950s. Oxford University Press. p. 9\. ISBN 978-0195363562. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
58. ^ Sussman, Warren (1989). "Did Success Spoil the United States". In May, Lary (ed.). Recasting America. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226511757.
59. ^ "It's All Right to Still Like Ike: History: Once Painted as a 'Distanced' President, Dwight Eisenhower Now is Heralded for his Strong Sense of Service". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 1990. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
60. ^ Official Report of the Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Republican National Convention, August 20–23, 1956, p. 327.
61. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 338.
62. ^ "Tobacco Victim Nat King Cole". Quitsmoking.about.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
63. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 342.
64. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 347.
65. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
66. ^ "Unforgettable", The New York Times, December 26, 1999
67. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 350.
68. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 355.
69. ^ "Blues News". Billboard. February 6, 1965. p. 28\. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
70. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 356.
71. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 358.
72. ^ a b Epstein 1999, p. 359.
73. ^ Epstein 1999, p. 360.
74. ^ "He Was the King / Freddy Cole". allmusic.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
75. ^ "Now Hear This 2023-24 / Randy Napoleon / The Cole School". The Shedd Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
76. ^ "Nat King Cole | Songwriters Hall of Fame". www.songhall.org. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
77. ^ "Special Awards – Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame". Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. 2013. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
78. ^ "Nat King Cole: An Incandescent Voice". NPR.
79. ^ "Documentary Profiles Nat 'King' Cole". ProQuest. May 4, 2006. ProQuest 367705214.
80. ^ "Remembering The Legendary Nat King Cole". ProQuest. February 23, 2000. ProQuest 365061846.
81. ^ "Holiday Airplay". Billboard. January 10, 2015. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
82. ^ rush360 (July 24, 2022). "Inductees | R&B HOF". Retrieved February 11, 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

## Further reading[edit]

* Will Friedwald, Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole, Oxford University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0190882044.
* Epstein, Daniel Mark (1999). Nat King Cole. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 978-0374219123.
* Bill Dobbins and Richard Wang. "Cole, Nat 'King'." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. September 28, 2016.
* Pelote, Vincent. "Book Reviews: "Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole," by Leslie Gourse." Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, vol. 49, no. 3, 1993., pp. 1073–1074,

## External links[edit]

Nat King Cole at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote

* Nat King Cole at IMDb
* Nat King Cole at AllMusic
* Nat King Cole discography at Discogs
* Nat King Cole at NPR.org
* Nat "King" Cole article in the Encyclopedia of Alabama Archived December 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
* "Nat King Cole". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

* v
* t
* e

Nat King Cole

* Discography

Studio albums|

* The King Cole Trio
* Nat King Cole at the Piano
* King Cole for Kids
* Penthouse Serenade
* Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love
* The Piano Style of Nat King Cole
* After Midnight
* Just One of Those Things
* Love Is the Thing
* Cole Español
* St. Louis Blues
* The Very Thought of You
* To Whom It May Concern
* Welcome to the Club
* A Mis Amigos
* Tell Me All About Yourself
* Every Time I Feel the Spirit
* Wild Is Love
* The Magic of Christmas
* The Nat King Cole Story
* The Touch of Your Lips
* Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays
* Ramblin' Rose
* Dear Lonely Hearts
* More Cole Español
* Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
* Where Did Everyone Go?
* Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady
* Let's Face the Music!
* I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore
* L-O-V-E

Compilation albums|

* Harvest of Hits
* Top Pops
* Unforgettable
* 10th Anniversary Album
* Ballads of the Day
* This Is Nat King Cole
* The Beautiful Ballads
* 20 Golden Greats
* For Sentimental Reasons
* Love Songs

Tribute albums|

* All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio
* Dear Mr. Cole
* Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
* The Nat King Cole Songbook
* P.S. Mr. Cole
* A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole
* With Respect to Nat
* You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs)
* Nat King Cole & Me

Songs|

* "That Ain't Right
* "All for You"
* "Straighten Up and Fly Right"
* "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You"
* "It's Only a Paper Moon"
* "The Frim-Fram Sauce"
* "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66"
* "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"
* "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"
* "What'll I Do"
* "Nature Boy"
* "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea"
* "Don't Blame Me"
* "For You My Love"
* "I Almost Lost My Mind"
* "Mona Lisa"
* "Orange Colored Sky"
* "Frosty the Snowman"
* "Too Young"
* "Red Sails in the Sunset"
* "Unforgettable"
* "Somewhere Along the Way"
* "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"
* "Because You're Mine"
* "Pretend"
* "I Am in Love"
* "Lover, Come Back to Me"
* "Answer Me, My Love"
* "Tenderly"
* "Smile"
* "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup"
* "A Blossom Fell"
* "That's All There Is to That"
* "Night Lights"
* "To the Ends of the Earth"
* "Ballerina"
* "When I Fall in Love"
* "Stardust"
* "Send for Me"
* "Looking Back"
* "Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)"
* "Non Dimenticar"
* "You Made Me Love You"
* "Just as Much as Ever"
* "Let There Be Love"
* "Ramblin' Rose"
* "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"
* "That Sunday, That Summer"
* "People"
* "L-O-V-E"
* "Let's Face the Music and Dance"

Family|

* Maria Cole (wife)
* Carole Cole (daughter)
* Natalie Cole (daughter)
* Eddie Cole (brother)
* Ike Cole (brother)
* Freddy Cole (brother)
* Lionel Cole (nephew)

Awards for Nat King Cole

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Record of the Year

1950s|

* "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno (1958)
* "Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin (1959)

1960s|

* "Theme from A Summer Place" – Percy Faith (1960)
* "Moon River" – Henry Mancini (1961)
* "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" – Tony Bennett (1962)
* "Days of Wine and Roses" – Henry Mancini (1963)
* "The Girl from Ipanema" – Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz (1964)
* "A Taste of Honey" – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1965)
* "Strangers in the Night" – Frank Sinatra (1966)
* "Up, Up and Away" – The 5th Dimension (1967)
* "Mrs. Robinson" – Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
* "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" – The 5th Dimension (1969)

1970s|

* "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
* "It's Too Late" – Carole King (1971)
* "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Roberta Flack (1972)
* "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Roberta Flack (1973)
* "I Honestly Love You" – Olivia Newton-John (1974)
* "Love Will Keep Us Together" – Captain & Tennille (1975)
* "This Masquerade" – George Benson (1976)
* "Hotel California" – Eagles (1977)
* "Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel (1978)
* "What a Fool Believes" – The Doobie Brothers (1979)

1980s|

* "Sailing" – Christopher Cross (1980)
* "Bette Davis Eyes" – Kim Carnes (1981)
* "Rosanna" – Toto (1982)
* "Beat It" – Michael Jackson (1983)
* "What's Love Got to Do with It" – Tina Turner (1984)
* "We Are the World" – USA for Africa (1985)
* "Higher Love" – Steve Winwood (1986)
* "Graceland" – Paul Simon (1987)
* "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" – Bette Midler (1989)

1990s|

* "Another Day in Paradise" – Phil Collins (1990)
* "Unforgettable" – Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole (1991)
* "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton (1992)
* "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston (1993)
* "All I Wanna Do" – Sheryl Crow (1994)
* "Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (1995)
* "Change the World" – Eric Clapton (1996)
* "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin (1997)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – Celine Dion (1998)
* "Smooth" – Santana featuring Rob Thomas (1999)

2000s|

* "Beautiful Day" – U2 (2000)
* "Walk On" – U2 (2001)
* "Don't Know Why" – Norah Jones (2002)
* "Clocks" – Coldplay (2003)
* "Here We Go Again" – Ray Charles & Norah Jones (2004)
* "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – Green Day (2005)
* "Not Ready to Make Nice" – Dixie Chicks (2006)
* "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (2007)
* "Please Read the Letter" – Alison Krauss & Robert Plant (2008)
* "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Lady Antebellum (2010)
* "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele (2011)
* "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye featuring Kimbra (2012)
* "Get Lucky" – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers (2013)
* "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – Sam Smith (2014)
* "Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2015)
* "Hello" – Adele (2016)
* "24K Magic" – Bruno Mars (2017)
* "This Is America" – Childish Gambino (2018)
* "Bad Guy" – Billie Eilish (2019)

2020s|

* "Everything I Wanted" – Billie Eilish (2020)
* "Leave the Door Open" – Silk Sonic (2021)
* "About Damn Time" by Lizzo (2022)
* "Flowers" – Miley Cyrus (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

1963–1990|

* 1963
* Bing Crosby
* 1965
* Frank Sinatra
* 1966
* Duke Ellington
* 1967
* Ella Fitzgerald
* 1968
* Irving Berlin
* 1971
* Elvis Presley
* 1972
* Louis Armstrong
* Mahalia Jackson
* 1984
* Chuck Berry
* Charlie Parker
* 1985
* Leonard Bernstein
* 1986
* Benny Goodman
* The Rolling Stones
* Andrés Segovia
* 1987
* Roy Acuff
* Benny Carter
* Enrico Caruso
* Ray Charles
* Fats Domino
* Woody Herman
* Billie Holiday
* B.B. King
* Isaac Stern
* Igor Stravinsky
* Arturo Toscanini
* Hank Williams
* 1989
* Fred Astaire
* Pablo Casals
* Dizzy Gillespie
* Jascha Heifetz
* Lena Horne
* Leontyne Price
* Bessie Smith
* Art Tatum
* Sarah Vaughan
* 1990
* Nat King Cole
* Miles Davis
* Vladimir Horowitz
* Paul McCartney

1991–2000|

* 1991
* Marian Anderson
* Bob Dylan
* John Lennon
* Kitty Wells
* 1992
* James Brown
* John Coltrane
* Jimi Hendrix
* Muddy Waters
* 1993
* Chet Atkins
* Little Richard
* Thelonious Monk
* Bill Monroe
* Pete Seeger
* Fats Waller
* 1994
* Bill Evans
* Aretha Franklin
* Arthur Rubinstein
* 1995
* Patsy Cline
* Peggy Lee
* Henry Mancini
* Curtis Mayfield
* Barbra Streisand
* 1996
* Dave Brubeck
* Marvin Gaye
* Georg Solti
* Stevie Wonder
* 1997
* Bobby "Blue" Bland
* The Everly Brothers
* Judy Garland
* Stéphane Grappelli
* Buddy Holly
* Charles Mingus
* Oscar Peterson
* Frank Zappa
* 1998
* Bo Diddley
* The Mills Brothers
* Roy Orbison
* Paul Robeson
* 1999
* Johnny Cash
* Sam Cooke
* Otis Redding
* Smokey Robinson
* Mel Tormé
* 2000
* Harry Belafonte
* Woody Guthrie
* John Lee Hooker
* Mitch Miller
* Willie Nelson

2001–2010|

* 2001
* The Beach Boys
* Tony Bennett
* Sammy Davis Jr.
* Bob Marley
* The Who
* 2002
* Count Basie
* Rosemary Clooney
* Perry Como
* Al Green
* Joni Mitchell
* 2003
* Etta James
* Johnny Mathis
* Glenn Miller
* Tito Puente
* Simon & Garfunkel
* 2004
* Van Cliburn
* The Funk Brothers
* Ella Jenkins
* Sonny Rollins
* Artie Shaw
* Doc Watson
* 2005
* Eddy Arnold
* Art Blakey
* The Carter Family
* Morton Gould
* Janis Joplin
* Led Zeppelin
* Jerry Lee Lewis
* Jelly Roll Morton
* Pinetop Perkins
* The Staple Singers
* 2006
* David Bowie
* Cream
* Merle Haggard
* Robert Johnson
* Jessye Norman
* Richard Pryor
* The Weavers
* 2007
* Joan Baez
* Booker T. & the M.G.'s
* Maria Callas
* Ornette Coleman
* The Doors
* The Grateful Dead
* Bob Wills
* 2008
* Burt Bacharach
* The Band
* Cab Calloway
* Doris Day
* Itzhak Perlman
* Max Roach
* Earl Scruggs
* 2009
* Gene Autry
* The Blind Boys of Alabama
* The Four Tops
* Hank Jones
* Brenda Lee
* Dean Martin
* Tom Paxton
* 2010
* Leonard Cohen
* Bobby Darin
* David "Honeyboy" Edwards
* Michael Jackson
* Loretta Lynn
* André Previn
* Clark Terry

2011–2020|

* 2011
* Julie Andrews
* Roy Haynes
* Juilliard String Quartet
* The Kingston Trio
* Dolly Parton
* Ramones
* George Beverly Shea
* 2012
* The Allman Brothers Band
* Glen Campbell
* Antônio Carlos Jobim
* George Jones
* The Memphis Horns
* Diana Ross
* Gil Scott-Heron
* 2013
* Glenn Gould
* Charlie Haden
* Lightnin' Hopkins
* Carole King
* Patti Page
* Ravi Shankar
* The Temptations
* 2014
* The Beatles
* Clifton Chenier
* The Isley Brothers
* Kraftwerk
* Kris Kristofferson
* Armando Manzanero
* Maud Powell
* 2015
* Bee Gees
* Pierre Boulez
* Buddy Guy
* George Harrison
* Flaco Jiménez
* The Louvin Brothers
* Wayne Shorter
* 2016
* Ruth Brown
* Celia Cruz
* Earth, Wind & Fire
* Herbie Hancock
* Jefferson Airplane
* Linda Ronstadt
* Run-DMC
* 2017
* Shirley Caesar
* Ahmad Jamal
* Charley Pride
* Jimmie Rodgers
* Nina Simone
* Sly Stone
* The Velvet Underground
* 2018
* Hal Blaine
* Neil Diamond
* Emmylou Harris
* Louis Jordan
* The Meters
* Queen
* Tina Turner
* 2019
* Black Sabbath
* George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic
* Billy Eckstine
* Donny Hathaway
* Julio Iglesias
* Sam & Dave
* Dionne Warwick
* 2020
* Chicago
* Roberta Flack
* Isaac Hayes
* Iggy Pop
* John Prine
* Public Enemy
* Sister Rosetta Tharpe

2021–present|

* 2021
* Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
* Lionel Hampton
* Marilyn Horne
* Salt-N-Pepa
* Selena
* Talking Heads
* 2022
* Bonnie Raitt
* 2023
* Bobby McFerrin
* Nirvana
* Ma Rainey
* Slick Rick
* Nile Rodgers
* The Supremes
* Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson
* 2024
* Laurie Anderson
* The Clark Sisters
* Gladys Knight
* N.W.A
* Donna Summer
* Tammy Wynette

* v
* t
* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2000

Performers|

* Eric Clapton
* Earth, Wind & Fire
* Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Fred White, Maurice White, Verdine White, Andrew Woolfolk
* The Lovin' Spoonful
* Steve Boone, Joe Butler, John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky
* The Moonglows
* Prentiss Barnes, Harvey Fuqua, Peter Graves, Billy Johnson, Bobby Lester
* Bonnie Raitt
* James Taylor

Early influences|

* Nat King Cole
* Billie Holiday

Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)|

* Clive Davis

Sidemen|

* Hal Blaine
* King Curtis
* James Jamerson
* Scotty Moore
* Earl Palmer

* v
* t
* e

Billboard Year-End number one singles (1946–1959)

* 1946: "Prisoner of Love" – Perry Como
* 1947: "Near You" – Francis Craig
* 1948: "Twelfth Street Rag" – Pee Wee Hunt
* 1949: "Riders in the Sky" – Vaughn Monroe Orchestra
* 1950: "Goodnight, Irene" – Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers
* 1951: "Too Young" – Nat King Cole
* 1952: "Blue Tango" – Leroy Anderson
* 1953: "The Song from Moulin Rouge" – Percy Faith
* 1954: "Little Things Mean a Lot" – Kitty Kallen
* 1955: "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" – Pérez Prado
* 1956: "Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
* 1957: "All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley
* 1958: "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno
* 1959: "The Battle of New Orleans" – Johnny Horton

* Complete list
* (1946–1959)
* (1960–1979)
* (1980–1999)
* (2000–2019)
* (2020–present)

* v
* t
* e

Natalie Cole

* Discography

Studio albums|

* Inseparable (1975)
* Natalie (1976)
* Unpredictable (1977)
* Thankful (1977)
* I Love You So (1979)
* We're the Best of Friends (1979)
* Don't Look Back (1980)
* Happy Love (1981)
* I'm Ready (1983)
* Dangerous (1985)
* Everlasting (1987)
* Good to Be Back (1989)
* Unforgettable... with Love (1991)
* Take a Look (1993)
* Holly & Ivy (1994)
* Stardust (1996)
* Snowfall on the Sahara (1999)
* The Magic of Christmas (1999)
* Ask a Woman Who Knows (2002)
* Leavin' (2006)
* Still Unforgettable (2008)
* Caroling, Caroling: Christmas with Natalie Cole (2008)
* Natalie Cole en Español (2013)

Compilation albums|

* The Natalie Cole Collection (1987)

Live albums|

* Natalie Live! (1978)
* Unforgettable – A Musical Tribute to Nat King Cole (1983)

Singles|

* "This Will Be"
* "Inseparable"
* "Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)"
* "I've Got Love on My Mind"
* "Our Love"
* "Someone That I Used to Love"
* "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
* "What You Won't Do for Love" (with Peabo Bryson)
* "I Live for Your Love"
* "Pink Cadillac"
* "When I Fall in Love"
* "Miss You Like Crazy"
* "Starting Over Again"
* "Wild Women Do"
* "Unforgettable" (with Nat King Cole)
* "A Smile Like Yours"
* "Day Dreaming"

Tours|

* Soul Divas Tour

Family|

* Marvin Yancy (ex-husband)
* Nat King Cole (father)
* Maria Cole (mother)
* Carole Cole (sister)
* Eddie Cole (uncle)
* Ike Cole (uncle)
* Freddy Cole (uncle)
* Lionel Cole (cousin)
* Charlotte Hawkins Brown (great-aunt)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Norway
* Chile
* Spain
* France
* 2
* BnF data
* 2
* Germany
* Italy
* Israel
* Finland
* Belgium
* United States
* Latvia
* Czech Republic
* Australia
* Korea
* Croatia
* Netherlands
* Poland

Artists|

* Grammy Awards
* MusicBrainz
* Te Papa (New Zealand)

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* Trove

Other|

* NARA
* RISM
* SNAC
* IdRef

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
*[c.]: circa
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