A Bite of Nat King Cole 🍪
"The best friend a song ever had" makes the ordinary feel extraordinary
Monday Bites are bite-sized musician spotlights & playlists by Grace Lilly.
Enjoying the series? Support here to keep the good stuff coming 😊
• 3 min read •
Core memory making
Like many kids of the 90s, my first exposure to Nat King Cole was hearing “L-O-V-E” in the opening scenes of The Parent Trap (1998). My six year old self didn’t know what or who I was hearing, but I knew it made me feel good.
As the child of a single mom widow, the idea of this magical parent reunion was the ultimate fantasy for my life. I dreamed I’d have this reunited family, even though I knew it wasn’t possible.
I’m sure that watching these scenes just three years after my dad passed made quite an impression on my tiny brain. I watched and rewatched that movie, hearing that song dozens of times, each time associating it with this hope for the future. These opening scenes set to Nat’s soothing voice created a fuzzy, warm core childhood memory that still makes me smile.
By the time I was in college, Nat re-entered my life during the height of the vinyl hipster craze. As any self-respecting music-lover of the time did, I proudly & unironically brought a small selection of my growing vinyl collection to my dorm room. One my most listened to records was a Nat King Cole album. I’d light some candles, put it on, and… do homework. Not very romantic or spicy, but it was strangely great. His voice made everyday moments like that feel like movie moments. Sparkly and big.
Nat King Cole
The basics
🤝 American singer, jazz pianist, and actor
🤝 b. 1919 (Montgomery, AL) - 1965 (Santa Monica, CA)
🤝 Known for his warm tone and flawless phrasing, has maintained worldwide popularity since his death in 1965; known as "The best friend a song ever had"
Why you should know him: A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, he is regarded as one of the top vocalists of his time and hailed as one of the best & most influential pianists of the swing era
If you like
✨ Frank Sinatra
✨ Lana Del Rey
✨ Billie Holiday
✨ Adele
✨ Ella Fitzgerald
Known for
🏆 His soft, deep baritone voice; warm ballads sung in an intimate style
🏆 His appeal crossed racial lines at a time when much of America was still segregated
🏆 Hosted the King Cole Trio Time in 1946, the first radio program to be hosted by a black musician
🏆 The first black performer to host a variety TV series in 1956, The Nat King Cole Show
🏆 The Capitol Records Building is known as “The House That Nat Built" thanks to his success there, which has yet to be matched by any Capitol artist
🏆 His recording of "The Christmas Song" still receives airplay every holiday season, even hitting the Billboard Top 40 in December 2017
Bite-sized facts
🍪 Learned to play piano from his mother, a church choir director, when he was 4; studied classical music & jazz, taking formal piano lessons by age 12
🍪 As a teen, he’d sneak out to visit clubs, sitting outside to hear musicians like Louis Armstrong (who he eventually got to work with)
🍪 When he was 15, dropped out of high school to pursue music; formed his first jazz group at 17; started playing in jazz clubs in LA and formed the King Cole Trio at 18
🍪 Was close personal friends with Frank Sinatra & performed in many short films, sitcoms, and television shows
🍪 The commercial success of his 1951 single “Too Young” led to a boom of music that caters to the young; the song was an early attempt by music labels to appeal to younger demographics & its success showed record execs that young people have serious buying power
🍪 Recorded an album sung entirely in Spanish, Cole Español, that was so popular that he recorded two more Spanish-language albums
🍪 After being told he had only months to live from lung cancer & against his doctors’ wishes, he continued working and made his final recordings in December of 1964; the music was released on the album L-O-V-E shortly before his death; his daughter noted later that he did this to assure the welfare of his family
Songs & dates
♫ 1940 He gets his first hit, "Sweet Lorraine"
♫ 1950 "Mona Lisa" spends five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart
♫ 1951 Releases "Too Young" and it becomes the best-selling song of the year
♫ 1957 His album Love Is the Thing goes No. 1
♫ 1959 Receives the Grammy Award for Best Performance By a Top 40 Artist for his song "Midnight Flyer"
♫ 1992 His hit “Mona Lisa” is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
He said
⭐ “I'm not playing for other musicians. We're trying to reach the guy who works all day and wants to spend a buck at night. We'll keep him happy.”
⭐ “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.”
⭐ “I'm an interpreter of stories. When I perform it's like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.”
⭐ “I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.”
⭐ “Critics don't buy records. They get 'em free.”
My Nat Playlist
I gathered my fav Nat songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week 💗
Recommended listening: light a candle, trust me 🕯️ Nat’s voice sets a vibe, a very good one.
Where to start
A history-making song
Performing “Too Young” in 1961, the song that led to a boom of music that caters to the young
〰️
With Lady Ella
Ella Fitzgerald joins Nat singing "You’re The Top"
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
The Nat King Cole Show on Youtube
A full 23 minute episode of his show, featuring special guest Eartha Kitt (1957). Watch here.
Like this?
If you enjoyed this post, leave a comment! It makes me very happy ✨
Latest diary entry 🤫
I got my first records
But I didn’t have a record player. All I could do was stare at them. I’d examine each one and admire the details of the album art, inspecting each vinyl sleeve. Front and back, inside and out. I loved the feeling of the paper inside protecting the record. The whole thing felt delicate, precious.
They were beautiful. I wondered if they sounded as good as they looked. It would be months before I…
Music lover? Subscribe!
Real people, real stories
Join our community of music lovers (for free) and brighten up your week.
“I love getting those emails! My inbox is so bleak it brings so much joy!” - Olivia
“We need more things like this in the world!” - Paul
“Such a great idea, and so much better than just a song rec.” - Madeline
In an increasingly lonely world, This Song Changed My Life exists as an antidote to the sterility of the algorithm. Here you’ll find ultra-personal stories from real people all over the globe, gathered intentionally to make you feel more connected to others through music ❤️
If you like this
Please consider upgrading your free subscription to paid to support my work and get exclusive content 😊
“This post was worth a paid sub alone.”
Paid subscribers get a secret post every month. I open up, get personal, and share extra special music — and you help keep TSCML going.
What people are saying
〰️ “This is my favorite post yet.”
〰️ “I so love when you introduce new things to me.”
〰️ “Great great playlist. Honestly you have the best taste.”
Learn more about me and my other projects: check out my personal newsletter, Weirdly Good <3
Explore
JJ Tauil on family, gratitude, and keeping a clear head while living within a culture of rampant consumerism — No. 028 - Kendrick Lamar's "Institutionalized" changed my life
I grew up with Nat King Cole's Christmas album playing every year. And "Unforgettable" was in perfume commercials and was just omnipresent when I was a kid. It wasn't until later that I found out what an incredible and far-reaching artist he was.
Thank you . He was special. I painted a portrait of Nat.
I did a painting of Nature Boy floating over Hollywood. At my mothers memorial a singer musician, her boyfriend sang Terrellita to the tune of Nats Mona Lisa. She was 95 and a swinging senior.