As a teen he would sneak out to the jazz music club and listen outside because he wasn’t old enough to be allowed to enter. Eventually, he started his own jazz band, The Nat King Cole trio called that because Nat was forced by the jazz club owner to wear a crown on his head. The name King stuck. His other band member was none other than the “Duke”, Edward Kennedy Ellington. In the 1950s he transitioned from jazz music to pop music. His first hit song was Straighten Up and Fly Right. He became the star in the TV show The Nat King Cole Show where he collaborated with other famous guest stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra on his show. People were racist and didn’t want to advertise during his show so he cancelled after 64 episodes. He later started showing up in different movies like, Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda, singing the title song “The Ballad of Cat Ballou.” He also appeared in The Nat King Cole Story and produced a musical play in the 1960s called I’m With
As a teen he would sneak out to the jazz music club and listen outside because he wasn’t old enough to be allowed to enter. Eventually, he started his own jazz band, The Nat King Cole trio called that because Nat was forced by the jazz club owner to wear a crown on his head. The name King stuck. His other band member was none other than the “Duke”, Edward Kennedy Ellington. In the 1950s he transitioned from jazz music to pop music. His first hit song was Straighten Up and Fly Right. He became the star in the TV show The Nat King Cole Show where he collaborated with other famous guest stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra on his show. People were racist and didn’t want to advertise during his show so he cancelled after 64 episodes. He later started showing up in different movies like, Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda, singing the title song “The Ballad of Cat Ballou.” He also appeared in The Nat King Cole Story and produced a musical play in the 1960s called I’m With