Throwback Thursday - Nat King Cole #BlackHistoryMonth
When most people think of Nat "King" Cole they think of "The Christmas Song" which is exactly what I thought of while researching him. But he was more than just a Christmas song performer. He was an influential pianist, and vocalist specializing in ballads, but he was also the First African American to host a network variety program.
Cole's father was a pastor in Chicago and by age 12 he started singing and playing the organ for the congregation there, the beginning of his musical talents. Six years later he formed the King Cole Trio which specialized in swing music and recorded hits, "Sweet Lorraine" and "Route 66". In 1946, age 27, he recorded the infamous "The Christmas Song" with the King Cole Trio and a full orchestra, to date that is his biggest selling recording yet. Later followed up with "Mona Lisa" and "Unforgettable".
In 1956 The Nat King Cole Show aired on NBC, making him the first black person to host a variety show. It originally aired with no sponsors, but NBC agreed to pay the bill hoping that once sponsors saw the show that they would buy in. Unfortunately due to the prejudice of the times no national sponsors were willing to be associated with a black entertainer as the lead. NBC said that they would continue to pay for the show but Cole decided to cancel the show saying, "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."
After the show he continued his music career and performed in films such as "Instanbul" and "Night of the Quarter Moon". He married singer Marie Hawkins Ellington and they had five children.
Cole's daughter Natalie Cole was also successful in the music industry, creating an electronically duet with her father of the hit "Unforgettable". Nat "King" Cole was truly an innovator of his time and his contributions to the entertainment industry and his music still lives on decades after his death in 1965.