Jazz musician to pop star, Nat King Cole was a controversial figure in his day. Born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1919, Cole was originally introduced to piano by his mother who was, incidentally, the only music teacher that he ever had. His family moved to Chicago when he was four years old, and he spent the rest of his growing up years there. At 15 he dropped out of high school to devote himself to music full-time.Nat King Cole was one of the pioneering black entertainers who paved the way for the famous men and women of our day, such as Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby. He was a forward-thinking man who would not allow racism or prejudice to stand where he could fight it. Though he was often criticized by both sides of the line, he stayed true to his music and to himself, creating a sound that was first of all excellent, second of all popular and thirdly was wonderfully dignified. His excellence as a performer is unsurpassed and remains one of the great musicians of his generation alongside Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.While Cole could have been one of the greatest jazz pianists ever if he had not started singing, it was his singing that really helped to change the social face of America. His singing won the heart of America and spread much farther abroad. One can only wonder what America would look like today without his public profile as a mild-mannered man with an uncompromising stance in regards to his own rights as a human being. His determination and dignity paid off and by the 1950s he was the first black man to achieve a majority acceptance as a popular singer. Since his death from lung cancer in 1964, at the age of 45, he has continued to be the subject of growing recognition and fame.
