Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres, becoming a major force in popular music for three decades. Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a national television variety show, The Nat King Cole Show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJazz Singer
Date of Birth17 March 1919
CityMontgomery, AL
CountryUnited States of America
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.
The sheriff is at the cash register, and if I don't get a hit soon, I don't know what I'll do.
For years the Trio did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people. We practically starved to death.
Music is emotional, and you may catch a musician in a very unemotional mood or you may not be in the same frame of mind as the musician. So a critic will often say a musician is slipping.
I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the South.
I am famous because I am an African American jazz artist.
I can't bear to see myself even in movies. The feeling is complex. I can't stand the sight of myself.
I make no claim to being a business genius. You can make so much money in this business that it loses its value.
You've got to change with the public's taste.
I'm a businessman. I work for business people. The kind of thing they say is: Now we've sold a lot of records, let's sell some more.
If I could read it, I could play it.
If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks, on Route Sixty-six.
Primarily I'm a meat man, although once in a while I toy with a few vegetables.
The only prejudice I've found anywhere in TV is in some advertising agencies, and there isn't so much prejudice as just fear.