The legacy of Nat King Cole celebrates its centennial: NPR

Born 100 years ago, Nat King Cole was one of the most popular and influential artists of the twentieth century. A ballad singer and African-American jazz musician, he has dominated the charts year after year, sold more than 50 million records, pushed jazz piano in a new direction and paved the way for future generations.

"The voice of Nat King Cole is really one of the most beautiful gifts of nature," Daniel Mark Epstein, author of the 1999 biography Nat King Cole, said. "Do not forget that he's never been trained as a singer, and his voice is so absolutely pure.This is a baritone with absolutely perfect tone." He interprets the notes as being true and strikes them in the center. "

Born March 17, 1919 to Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, the child prodigy was raised in Chicago. Cole's mother taught him to play the piano at the age of four and at age 15 he left high school to run his own bands. His early recordings show the influence of his idol, Earl Hines.

At the age of 18, Cole was married, living in Los Angeles and leading an evening in a nightclub with a name inspired by a rhyme – the King Cole Trio – featuring guitar, bass and piano, but few voices.

The King Cole Trio had considerable influence, inspiring other jazz musicians like Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal to form similar trios. Epstein says that if Cole had never sung a note, he would still be an important figure in jazz.

"He's really, I would say, one of our top five most influential jazz pianists," said Epstein.

Johnny Mathis, the 83-year-old ballader who grew up listening to Cole as his father's favorite singer in the 1940s, met him and became friends after moving to Beverly Hills in 1958.

"Nat King Cole was the god of popular music in our house," says Mathis laughing. "That's how I fell in love with his music, it was through his piano playing, and of course, I sometimes listened to it singing – it was not so bad either."

The Nat King Cole Trio has had a success after the other and his leader has become very popular. In 1946, the King Cole Trio launched a national radio program – the first of its kind to be hosted by an African-American musician. Soon, Cole started playing less jazz and singing more ballads.

In the 1950s, Cole's repertoire consisted mainly of love songs accompanied by strings. He told a Swiss TV journalist that he was only giving his fans what they wanted.

"You see, this is not a case of my personal likes," Cole said in the interview. "I try to please as many people as possible and if I find that people like certain things, I try to give them what they want. And it's a good deal also, you see. "

According to Epstein, Cole considered himself an artist, not an activist. But his April 10, 1956 performance in Alabama was a crucial moment in interracial relations.

"He went to the South to play with an interracial band, which was quite audacious and offensive to many whites," says Eptein. "But he then agreed to play for a segregated audience, which offended his black audience."

Cole agreed to play at 10 pm show at the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium for a black audience and a first show for a white audience, which drew a group of local white supremacists.

"The White Citizens Council of Alabama had this plot to take Cole out of the theater," says Eptein. The plot failed, but the thugs stormed the scene, breaking the performance. They knocked Nat Cole off the piano bench and injured their backs. "

A doctor treated Cole in his locker room and the singer returned to the stage for the late show. The incident made national news and, seven months later, Cole became the first major African-American musician to host a national television variety show.

The show of Nat King Cole had a large audience, but no national sponsor would support a show with a black host, for fear of alienating viewers from the South. NBC was losing money and Cole canceled the weekly program after a little over a year. However, Epstein says Cole has continued to reach a wide audience with records at the top of the charts. "It was the great gift of his charisma," says Epstein. "That there was so much passion in his voice and so much intelligence, he was able to transcend the color barrier."

Cole did not live long enough to see his career overshadowed by rock and roll. A large smoker, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1964 and entered the studio for the last time in June of the same year. Cole died on February 15, 1965, at the age of 45.

"He was the kindest man you wanted to meet in your life," recalls Mathis of his friend. "Just a very down-to-earth person who has turned out to be one of the greatest musicians of all time.And he has become, of course, a role model for many people, especially someone who has a great deal to play. Like one. "