The Untold Truth Of Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole was, without a doubt, a pioneer in the music industry. However, his road to success as a chart-topping singer and star of his very own TV show, came with its fair share of struggle. Here's the untold truth of Nat King Cole.

Born in Alabama on March 17th, 1919, Nathaniel Adams Coles, he would later drop the "s," always had a musical streak. As told by Marianne Ruuth in her book Nat King Cole, he grew up in Chicago deeply entrenched in religious music, with a gospel choir leader for a mother and a reverend for a father.

His mom, an amateur piano player herself, gave him piano lessons when he was as young as four years old, with "Yes, We Have No Bananas" being the first song he ever learned to play. Cole also had perfect pitch, making him able to pick out and identify a note on the piano in an instant. As a kid, Cole played the organ and sang at church with his family. At the same time, though, he was highly influenced by his brother Eddie, who was six years older and a big fan of the popular jazz music that their father criticized.

A multi-talented musician who played piano, bass, and tuba, Eddie would sneak out in the night to perform at various gigs around town, and it wasn't too long before young Nat started following him around, too. Eddie strongly encouraged Nat to learn how to read music and become proficient in the technical side of piano playing. Nat took the advice seriously and, around the age of 12, started to dive into the classics, playing everything from Bach to Rachmaninoff.

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Classical piano prodigy | 0:16
Dropped out of school | 1:40
Singing wasn't his original plan | 2:52
The Coles received racist threats | 4:07
Attacked by the KKK | 5:39
Role in Civil Rights Movement | 7:03
A television pioneer | 8:38
Cancellation of TV show | 10:02
Cole was a chain-smoker | 11:23

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