Nathaniel Adams Coles
Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965) He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres and which he used to become a major force in popular music for three decades, producing many hit songs. In 1956, Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a national television variety show, The Nat King Cole Show, which created controversy at the time. Despite the efforts of NBC, as well as many of Cole's industry colleagues—many of whom, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine, Mel TormĆ©, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, and backing vocal group the Cheerleaders, worked for industry scale (or even for no pay) in order to help the show save money—The Nat King Cole Show was ultimately doomed by lack of a national sponsorship. Throughout the 1950s, Cole continued to rack up successive hits, selling in millions throughout the world, including "Smile", "P...