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Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919 and
christened Nat “King” Cole by a Los Angeles clubowner in 1937. As
both a jazz pianist and pop singer, he made his mark on the middle
decades of the 20th century. Cole’s transformation from jumpin’ jive
to pop balladry came in 1946, when “(I Love You) For Sentimental
Reasons” became a million seller for the King Cole Trio. When his
first orchestrated number, the definitive version of Mel Torme’s
classic “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You),” became a
seasonal hit that same year, there was virtually no turning back. The
Fifties and Sixties found Cole recording with various orchestras,
including Nelson Riddle’s and Billy May’s. While his work from this
period shared little with the rock and roll revolution that was under
way, Cole’s broader influence on the idiom as a musical pioneer and as
a popular star is undeniable.
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