Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an  . .   Expand    Wikipedia

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was the first black American to host a television variety show and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death; he is widely considered one of the most important musical personalities in United States history. He was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saint Patrick's Day in 1919 (some sources erroneously list his birth year as 1917), and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, while he was still a child. There his father became a Baptist minister. Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina, the church organist. His first performance, at age four, was of "Yes! We Have No Bananas". He began formal lessons at the age of 12, eventually learning not only jazz and gospel music but also European classical music, performing, as he said, "from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff".

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