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Famous Because… Hello, my name is Nathaniel Adams Cole (Nat King Cole). I was born on Saint Patrick’s Day. I would like to tell you a little bit about how I became famous. I actually started by writing some music and singing what I wrote in Chicago clubs. I loved playing the piano and organ, and I was fortunate enough that it came to me naturally. I played in jazz clubs with two other people. We were called the King Cole Trio. Eventually we made a record and it was very difficult. I was the lead singer. I then was offered a gig in Hollywood at a little club where a bunch of drunks requested that I sing, and even though I hadn’t intended to, I did. Synopsis of life During my singing career I had two overlapping careers. I was one of the truly great swing pianists. I was inspired by Earl Hines having a big influence on Oscar Peterson. And I was a superb pop ballad singer. When I was 12, I played the organ and sang in church. After making my recording debut with “Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers” in 1936, I left Chicago for the revival of the revue to lead the band in “Shuffle Along”, and settled in Los Angeles when the show ended. I struggled a bit, put together a trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, and eventually moved to for a long residency in Hollywood. By the time the trio had its first opportunity to record for Decca in December 1940, I had gained more confidence in my own singing. "Sweet Lorraine" resulted from that recording session and the trio soon became quite popular. I recorded a great deal of exciting jazz during the 1940s, including dates featuring Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet, the first Jazz at the Philharmonic: first concert (1944), and a countless number of selections for Capitol Records with my trio; all of the latter are included on a gigantic Mosaic limited-edition box set. Although my singing began to become quite popular by the mid-'40s (and particularly after "The Christmas Song" and "Nature Boy"), I mostly performed with my trio, but there were some changes: Johnny Miller took over on bass and, in 1947, Irving Ashby became the guitarist. I was open to the influence of bop, and in 1949 I started utilizing Jack Costanzo on bongo and conga for some songs.
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