Nat King Cole, born March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama as Nathaniel Adams Coles, had one of the most recognizable and velvety voices ever. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music. As a member of the King Cole Trio, he recorded Sweet Lorraine in 1940 which became his first hit.
November 5, 1956, the Nat King Cole show debuted on NBC, which was the first variety program to be hosted by an African-American. It failed due to the lack of a national sponsor, despite the efforts of friends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt to keep it on air. A year later, the last show aired December 17, but it was Cole, not NBC who ended the program.
He recorded Unforgettable in 1951, which was edited and remixed in 1991 to create a duet with his daughter Natalie. Her version reached won three Grammys in 1992, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
Nat King Cole's original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.
His last album L-O-V-E was recorded in December 1964 before he entered the hospital for cancer treatment and released just before he died February 1965.
He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
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