The Unforgettable - Nat 'King' Cole
Mastering a single discipline is difficult enough, mastering multiple ones is almost as rare as seeing a unicorn or hearing thoughtful political discourse during an election cycle. Nat Cole was the exception that proved the rule. He first achieved success as a jazz pianist and later, as one of the most popular and beloved singers in the world. He sold millions of records and became one of the first African Americans to have his own television variety show, all before the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
Nat Cole was to music what Jackie Robinson was to baseball. He wasn't the first black artist to crossover to a white audience, but, his appeal was such that the normal racial barriers that inhibited black advancement were pushed aside by his enormous popularity. As an artist he influenced performers as diverse as the legendary Sam Cook and jazz piano titan Oscar Peterson.
Like Louis Armstrong, he became a world-wide phenomenon and an unofficial goodwill ambassador for American culture and music. He was a natural musician with a relaxed, swinging approach and an abundant technique that allowed him to cover just about every kind of popular song.
He influenced generations of jazz pianists, from swing to be-bop, playing with an infectious syncopation and harmonic sophistication that bridged the gap between Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell. And he sang with a subtle emotional coercion in a voice that shimmered with satin and smoke, exuding a romantic sensuality that defined love and romance at it's most appealing.
In spite of Nat's global popularity his television show was short lived due to a lack of willing sponsors. It was a time when the major networks believed that nobody wanted a black man selling their product for fear of limiting its appeal.
Nat Cole was to music what Jackie Robinson was to baseball. He wasn't the first black artist to crossover to a white audience, but, his appeal was such that the normal racial barriers that inhibited black advancement were pushed aside by his enormous popularity. As an artist he influenced performers as diverse as the legendary Sam Cook and jazz piano titan Oscar Peterson.
Like Louis Armstrong, he became a world-wide phenomenon and an unofficial goodwill ambassador for American culture and music. He was a natural musician with a relaxed, swinging approach and an abundant technique that allowed him to cover just about every kind of popular song.
He influenced generations of jazz pianists, from swing to be-bop, playing with an infectious syncopation and harmonic sophistication that bridged the gap between Teddy Wilson and Bud Powell. And he sang with a subtle emotional coercion in a voice that shimmered with satin and smoke, exuding a romantic sensuality that defined love and romance at it's most appealing.
In spite of Nat's global popularity his television show was short lived due to a lack of willing sponsors. It was a time when the major networks believed that nobody wanted a black man selling their product for fear of limiting its appeal.
Twenty-five years later, Michael Jackson ran into the same problem with MTV, they weren't motivated by racism, mind you, their version of segregation was simply seen as good business. They believed, as the previous generation had, that, if their prime demographic of young, white-males didn't see a face that looked like the one in the mirror, they wouldn't buy the product. The result being they shut Jackson out of the new medium of music video. The fact that he'd already sold tens of millions of records and had been doing so for the better part of two decades was beside the point. Eventually, Jackson's popularity and record sales grew to obscene proportions, meaning that he could no longer be ignored. The doors that had been shut were, now, eagerly thrust open by MTV's execs, who beckoned with open arms. Proving once again, that ideology fails in the face of cold hard cash. In the end democracy always wins, the people speak by voting with their dollars and things change. It may not happen the way we believe it should or as quickly as we would like, but, it happens nonetheless.
It should be remembered that it wasn't the public that was really the issue, they eagerly consumed the music and tended to be indifferent to the carefully constructed color coding that was the industry norm. It was the enlightened media moguls who determine public taste, often without ever actually consulting the public, that were the real problem.
In many ways, Nat Cole paved the roads and built the bridges for the coming civil rights movement. He wasn't an apocalyptic preacher in the mold of Malcolm X or given to soaring oratory like Martin Luther King, but, he probably did more for race relations with a few choruses of "Sweet Lorraine" than all of the fire breathing rhetoric of the 1960's combined. Like Louis Armstrong, the great musical innovator and racial provocateur, he was more than just a piano player and singer.
For Nat, however, without sponsors, it was only a matter of time until his television show disappeared. This had the unintended consequence of freeing him from the previous creative constraints imposed as a result of his sponsor's demands. Nat responded by offering his audience a sampling of their own rich musical heritage for the remainder of his show's run, which included some of the most under-appreciated and greatest jazz artists of the 20th Century. If you’re going down in flames, you might as well go out in style.
You can still hear his music everywhere. In pop singers and jazz musicians, on the radio and the internet, Nat has not gone away, but remains, possibly bigger than ever. Nearly a half century after his death, his music has become an inescapable part of the cultural landscape, and, like Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and very few others, a part of the language of the world.
Mark Magula
It should be remembered that it wasn't the public that was really the issue, they eagerly consumed the music and tended to be indifferent to the carefully constructed color coding that was the industry norm. It was the enlightened media moguls who determine public taste, often without ever actually consulting the public, that were the real problem.
In many ways, Nat Cole paved the roads and built the bridges for the coming civil rights movement. He wasn't an apocalyptic preacher in the mold of Malcolm X or given to soaring oratory like Martin Luther King, but, he probably did more for race relations with a few choruses of "Sweet Lorraine" than all of the fire breathing rhetoric of the 1960's combined. Like Louis Armstrong, the great musical innovator and racial provocateur, he was more than just a piano player and singer.
For Nat, however, without sponsors, it was only a matter of time until his television show disappeared. This had the unintended consequence of freeing him from the previous creative constraints imposed as a result of his sponsor's demands. Nat responded by offering his audience a sampling of their own rich musical heritage for the remainder of his show's run, which included some of the most under-appreciated and greatest jazz artists of the 20th Century. If you’re going down in flames, you might as well go out in style.
You can still hear his music everywhere. In pop singers and jazz musicians, on the radio and the internet, Nat has not gone away, but remains, possibly bigger than ever. Nearly a half century after his death, his music has become an inescapable part of the cultural landscape, and, like Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and very few others, a part of the language of the world.
Mark Magula
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