Chapter 11: Pop Music in the 1940s and 1950s
Nat King Cole was one of the most influential and versatile performers of the 20th century. As a commercially successful Black artist in mainstream popular music, Cole helped reshape the American pop landscape and paved the way for future generations of singers and performers.
Born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919, he moved with his family to Chicago at a young age. Raised in a religious household where his father served as a Baptist minister, Cole showed early musical promise. He trained as a jazz pianist and, by his teens, was already performing in clubs and recording as a sideman.
In the 1930s, he formed the King Cole Trio, a groundbreaking jazz ensemble consisting of piano (played by Cole), guitar, and bass. The group was unique for omitting drums, creating an intimate sound that laid the foundation for small combo jazz. They gained popularity on West Coast radio in the early 1940s, with songs like “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (1943), a swing-infused number based on a Black folktale Cole had learned from his father. The song became a major hit and helped establish the trio as one of the decade’s most popular acts.
Although Cole was already well respected as a jazz pianist, his smooth, expressive vocal style began drawing wider attention. By the late 1940s, he was increasingly marketed as a pop vocalist, marking a pivotal shift in both his career and the trajectory of American popular music. Cole became one of the first African American artists to achieve consistent mainstream crossover success.
His string of hits in the 1950s included:
“Nature Boy” (1948)
“Mona Lisa” (1950), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
“Too Young” (1951)
“Unforgettable” (1951), later reintroduced to new audiences through a posthumously released duet with his daughter, Natalie Cole in 1991.
These songs showcased Cole’s ability to deliver emotionally rich performances with perfect diction, gentle vibrato, and a tone that was both refined and deeply expressive. His vocal style appealed to a broad and integrated audience, and his recordings consistently sold well across racial lines—an uncommon achievement in the segregated music industry of the mid-20th century.
Cole also broke new ground in television history. In 1956, he became the first African American artist to host a national network television program, The Nat King Cole Show, which aired on NBC. The show featured musical performances and guest appearances and was praised for its sophistication and musical excellence. However, national sponsors refused to support the program due to the racial climate of the time. Despite its critical success, the show was canceled after just over a year. Reflecting on the industry’s reluctance, Cole famously remarked, “Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.”
Despite these obstacles, Cole remained a cherished and influential figure in American entertainment. He performed in major nightclubs, appeared in films and television specials, and continued to release charting records throughout the early 1960s. While his recordings became increasingly associated with pop, his music always retained the phrasing of his jazz background, helping elevate the standards of popular vocal performance.
Nat King Cole died in 1965 at the age of 45 from lung cancer. Though his life ended prematurely, his impact was far-reaching. He was a trailblazer in American music and media, a master interpreter of the American songbook, and a cultural bridge between jazz and pop and between Black and white audiences reinforcing his place in the pantheon of American popular music.