My apologies to America's renowned preacher, Reverend Martin Luther King, Elvis, and the basketball superstar, because I'm not talking about King James. He was the first African-American golden voice and jazz piano player to host a nationally televised TV program. He was recruited by David Sarnoff, a Russian immigrant, and pioneer of American broadcasting, who turned him into the Jackie Robinson of TV hosts.
He died of lung cancer on February 15, 1965, in Santa Monica, California. Today would have been Nat King Cole's 100th birthday https://www.natkingcole.com/
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born Born on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama. He received music lessons from his mother. His family moved to Chicago when he was only five, where his father Edward James Coles was a minister at the True Light Baptist Church and later Pastor of the First Baptist Church.
Cole began performing as a jazz pianist until he realized he had a voice, and what a set of pipes they were. Years later, I sang in public for my school assembly and chose this tune https://youtu.be/hwacxSnc4tI
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" is a classic Christmas song written by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells in 1944 and was first recorded by The King Cole Trio in 1946. The song was recorded again in a stereophonic version with a full orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael using the same arrangement for Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song album in 1961.
Nat King Cole’s Daughters Celebrate the Music Legend's 100th Birthday: 'He Touched the Soul' https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/nat-king-cole-daughters-celebrate-1…
Remembering Nat King Cole on his 100th birthday http://s.al.com/CDFNWNm
Nat King Cole Still Remains 'One Of The Great Gifts Of Nature' 100 Years Later https://n.pr/2T9uPSz
