Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark

0:00:02 > 0:00:05# With your elbows on the sill

0:00:05 > 0:00:08# And your nose against the pane

0:00:08 > 0:00:12# You'll toss the pumpkin at Ichabod Crane

0:00:12 > 0:00:16# You're one guy Paul Bunyan couldn't lick

0:00:16 > 0:00:22# You're the god that whaled the daylights out of Moby-Dick

0:00:24 > 0:00:31# Grown-ups don't know where to find that magic window

0:00:31 > 0:00:36# But it's any window little boys look through

0:00:36 > 0:00:40# There's so much for you to see

0:00:40 > 0:00:43# So don't ever say to me

0:00:43 > 0:00:48# That you've got a lot of growing up to do

0:00:48 > 0:00:56# Cos I wish that I were growing down to you. #

0:01:19 > 0:01:24Those records today sound like they were recorded yesterday.

0:01:24 > 0:01:29He's always remembered and each year it gets bigger and bigger.

0:01:29 > 0:01:3635 years from now, they'll not only call what Nat Cole was doing jazz,

0:01:36 > 0:01:41they'll call it America's classical music.

0:01:41 > 0:01:44# Just you

0:01:44 > 0:01:46# Just me

0:01:46 > 0:01:51# Let's find a cosy spot to cuddle and woo

0:01:51 > 0:01:54# Just us

0:01:54 > 0:01:56# Just we

0:01:56 > 0:01:58# I've missed an awful lot

0:01:58 > 0:01:59# My trouble is you... #

0:01:59 > 0:02:03Not only was the world ready for his music,

0:02:03 > 0:02:07I think the world was ready for his colour.

0:02:07 > 0:02:12You say, "Finally, they get the right person on television!" HE LAUGHS

0:02:12 > 0:02:16He was the first black artist who had his own television show.

0:02:16 > 0:02:18And it was flawless.

0:02:18 > 0:02:22And every week it was a wonderful thing to watch.

0:02:31 > 0:02:36Incredible! It was a big thing, because it was highly unusual

0:02:36 > 0:02:39to see an African-American hosting a show, period.

0:02:39 > 0:02:43But if anybody deserved it, Nat Cole was the guy.

0:02:43 > 0:02:46So this event did more for me

0:02:46 > 0:02:49in looking at America changing,

0:02:49 > 0:02:52America beginning to awake...

0:02:52 > 0:02:56awaken itself to a greater truth, to a greater reality.

0:02:56 > 0:03:01The pride was in the fact that the country was beginning to change.

0:03:01 > 0:03:06You know, when people ask me about my background and Nat's,

0:03:06 > 0:03:09it's so interesting, we were exact opposites.

0:03:09 > 0:03:15My husband was from a very, very kind, gentle family,

0:03:15 > 0:03:19who were very poor, I understand quite poor.

0:03:19 > 0:03:21Nat was born in Alabama.

0:03:21 > 0:03:24You are pastor of the First Baptist Church in North Chicago,

0:03:24 > 0:03:26- aren't you, Reverend Coles?- Yes, I am.

0:03:26 > 0:03:31But Nat was born in Montgomery, Alabama.

0:03:31 > 0:03:36And we moved to Chicago when he was about the age of four.

0:03:36 > 0:03:40- Little Nat was an inquisitive boy, wasn't he, Reverend Coles?- Yes, he was.

0:03:40 > 0:03:42"Dad," you said, "God can do anything?"

0:03:42 > 0:03:44I said, "Yes, God can do anything, son."

0:03:44 > 0:03:47He said, "I bet he cannot get bare naked

0:03:47 > 0:03:51"and sit on this red-hot stove with no clothes on."

0:03:51 > 0:03:52LAUGHTER

0:03:52 > 0:03:56At the end of the Civil War a great force had been unleashed.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59For the first time, millions of black people

0:03:59 > 0:04:03had the right to move about the nation.

0:04:03 > 0:04:11And...the overwhelming common desire

0:04:11 > 0:04:14among the slave population

0:04:14 > 0:04:18was to get as far away from slavery as they could.

0:04:18 > 0:04:19And moving to the north

0:04:19 > 0:04:22meant that there was an opportunity for employment,

0:04:22 > 0:04:27because the northern part of America was the industrial base.

0:04:27 > 0:04:31Most Negroes at that time felt like they'd have better opportunities

0:04:31 > 0:04:36in Chicago, a little better, and New York and California.

0:04:36 > 0:04:39We wanted better. They wanted equal.

0:04:39 > 0:04:43And Nat King Cole also wanted the same thing everybody else wanted.

0:04:43 > 0:04:46We all wanted it and those who had talent

0:04:46 > 0:04:48began to move and go away.

0:04:48 > 0:04:52And those who had skills began to go north and get better jobs

0:04:52 > 0:04:56in the steel mills and the auto industry and things of that sort.

0:04:56 > 0:05:01And Nat, I guess, used that ability to sing and perform.

0:05:01 > 0:05:03I feel that the panorama of progress,

0:05:03 > 0:05:06telling the story of the Negroes' contributions

0:05:06 > 0:05:11to the progress of America is a noteworthy and patriotic service to all freedom-loving people

0:05:11 > 0:05:14whose hopes and aspirations find expression

0:05:14 > 0:05:17in our democratic way of life.

0:05:17 > 0:05:20From Crispus Attucks to Ralph Bunche the Negro people have played

0:05:20 > 0:05:24a significant part in the building of this great country of ours.

0:05:24 > 0:05:26America has meant much to the Negro

0:05:26 > 0:05:29and the Negro has contributed much to America.

0:05:29 > 0:05:33It is a glorious history, that of the Negro in America.

0:05:33 > 0:05:37So it is with humble respect for those who helped make that history

0:05:37 > 0:05:42but with great pride that I dedicate the recording of We Are Americans Too

0:05:42 > 0:05:47to the youth of America, who are the inheritors of a great tradition.

0:05:47 > 0:05:49PIANO MUSIC

0:05:56 > 0:06:01When Nat was a little boy, from what I understand, he showed his talent.

0:06:01 > 0:06:06But the story that I was told, and I heard this a lot when he was alive,

0:06:06 > 0:06:09so I'm sure it was true, he only had two lessons.

0:06:09 > 0:06:11And I think it was some friend of the family.

0:06:11 > 0:06:14He had two lessons but he picked everything up.

0:06:14 > 0:06:17It started with Yes, We Have No Bananas, I do remember that.

0:06:17 > 0:06:22And...it was like me just talking or something,

0:06:22 > 0:06:24he was an absolute genius.

0:06:24 > 0:06:27And when he started kindergarten, he's played for the children

0:06:27 > 0:06:32to march and at the age of 11 he played for the choir,

0:06:32 > 0:06:35he played the gospel numbers and I played the slower numbers.

0:06:35 > 0:06:37I had such great admiration for him

0:06:37 > 0:06:41as a singer and as a pianist and as a gentleman.

0:06:41 > 0:06:45He was a class-act man.

0:06:49 > 0:06:52# I like to riff

0:06:52 > 0:06:54# I like to riff... #

0:06:54 > 0:07:00So the music was jazz orientated, rhythm and blues or church.

0:07:00 > 0:07:03# I like to riff SCAT SINGING

0:07:03 > 0:07:06# I like to riff... # SCAT SINGING

0:07:08 > 0:07:12All my life I've spent telling people

0:07:12 > 0:07:16that they really missed the essence of this man,

0:07:16 > 0:07:23because they weren't aware, because of his very prolific singing,

0:07:23 > 0:07:26that he was also one of the greatest jazz musicians,

0:07:26 > 0:07:28pianists in the world.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31Nat as a pianist was a giant.

0:07:31 > 0:07:36Unfortunately, he was such a big star as a singer, being a singer,

0:07:36 > 0:07:40it overshadowed his piano playing.

0:07:40 > 0:07:42Sometimes, I get a real kick out of playing the piano.

0:07:42 > 0:07:45Of course, I don't do it too much publicly

0:07:45 > 0:07:50because, like I said, most of the people come to see Nat King Cole,

0:07:50 > 0:07:53they want to hear him sing.

0:07:53 > 0:07:55I imagine maybe that's because

0:07:55 > 0:07:58they only know of Nat King Cole as a singer.

0:07:58 > 0:08:04Of course, some of the older fans have heard of me as a jazz pianist.

0:08:04 > 0:08:09I still have that constant fight of them saying,

0:08:09 > 0:08:10"How much piano are you going to play

0:08:10 > 0:08:13"and how much singing are you going to play?"

0:08:13 > 0:08:17And...I don't know, but I like it.

0:08:17 > 0:08:23Such a fantastic piano player and a wonderful jazz piano player.

0:08:23 > 0:08:26There's a lot of people still don't know in this country

0:08:26 > 0:08:28what a great piano player Nat King Cole was.

0:08:28 > 0:08:32The level of excellence he had could not be denied

0:08:32 > 0:08:35and it eventually made its way through the challenges

0:08:35 > 0:08:39to the forefront of American music history and royalty.

0:08:39 > 0:08:42He was certainly listening to all the great piano players,

0:08:42 > 0:08:46because he had touches of genius even at the very early age.

0:08:46 > 0:08:48I think he was only 19 or 20 years old

0:08:48 > 0:08:50when people started hearing him play,

0:08:50 > 0:08:52in an era where it was dominated

0:08:52 > 0:08:54by some of the greatest pianists in history.

0:08:54 > 0:08:59The pace was set. And Art Tatum, that was it,

0:08:59 > 0:09:05and Fats Waller and Earl "Fatha" Hines.

0:09:05 > 0:09:09So he had his work cut out but he had a lot to listen to.

0:09:09 > 0:09:11I know that Nat was great,

0:09:11 > 0:09:15because I heard it from people who were great, like Art Tatum.

0:09:15 > 0:09:18And Oscar Peterson, of course, was a giant in the industry

0:09:18 > 0:09:23any he recognised Nat's virtuosity very early on.

0:09:23 > 0:09:27Nat had great roots in the jazz world

0:09:27 > 0:09:30and was very sympathetic to a lot of very modern things,

0:09:30 > 0:09:33even the bebop things that were coming in

0:09:33 > 0:09:35during the reign of his popular trio.

0:09:35 > 0:09:37When I say popular, meaning the trio

0:09:37 > 0:09:40that was garnering all of the hits on the hit parade at the time.

0:09:40 > 0:09:43Nat was still at times reverting back to his jazz background

0:09:43 > 0:09:47whenever he had a chance, because of his artistic curiosity.

0:09:47 > 0:09:49I think Nat would be the type of person that would grow

0:09:49 > 0:09:52and progress as a player anyway.

0:09:52 > 0:09:55There's music from your past, Nat. Let's go back in time

0:09:55 > 0:09:57and meet these gentlemen who were all members

0:09:57 > 0:10:00of Nat Cole and his Royal Dukes,

0:10:00 > 0:10:04a band that you formed when you were only 16 years old.

0:10:04 > 0:10:06- How about that? Yeah! - LAUGHTER

0:10:06 > 0:10:08Ladies and gentlemen!

0:10:08 > 0:10:10Here's some guys that I grew up with.

0:10:10 > 0:10:14- They all came.- His father used to be the president

0:10:14 > 0:10:17- of the musicians' union in Chicago. - He still is.

0:10:17 > 0:10:20And here's your brother Eddie Coles over here.

0:10:22 > 0:10:25# I'm lost

0:10:25 > 0:10:29# I'm like a king without a throne

0:10:29 > 0:10:31# I'm lost... #

0:10:31 > 0:10:35Nat married when he was 19 years old to...

0:10:35 > 0:10:37His wife was much older than he was

0:10:37 > 0:10:42and, evidently, Eddie very strongly objected. I don't...

0:10:42 > 0:10:45I wasn't there. I mean, I don't know exactly what happened,

0:10:45 > 0:10:48- but I know Nat said they had a fight... - SHE LAUGHS

0:10:48 > 0:10:53..because he was getting ready to go to California.

0:10:53 > 0:10:57# If you ever plan to motor west

0:10:59 > 0:11:04# Travel my way, take the highway that's the best

0:11:06 > 0:11:11# Get your kicks on Route 66. #

0:11:11 > 0:11:14I heard the story about him being a pianist

0:11:14 > 0:11:16working this place wherever he was working

0:11:16 > 0:11:17and the singer didn't show up.

0:11:17 > 0:11:19And a guy told him, "Well, you got to sing."

0:11:19 > 0:11:21He said, "No, I'm a piano player."

0:11:21 > 0:11:24"You going to sing or you going to lose your gig, one of the two."

0:11:24 > 0:11:28He said, "OK." And Nat King Cole was born.

0:11:28 > 0:11:30Come on, what the matter with ya?

0:11:30 > 0:11:32I said play!

0:11:32 > 0:11:35HE SINGS DRUNKENLY

0:11:35 > 0:11:36You sing it.

0:11:36 > 0:11:41- Do you know the words, Cole?- Yes, but...- Do like the man says.

0:11:41 > 0:11:44This guy spends as much as four bucks in here some nights.

0:11:44 > 0:11:48- But, you see, I just can't sing. - Well, you better learn how fast.

0:11:49 > 0:11:53- Come on, boy, you can sing it. Come on.- Sing.

0:12:00 > 0:12:03- # I've just found joy - That a boy!

0:12:03 > 0:12:07# I'm as happy as a baby boy... #

0:12:08 > 0:12:11Amazing to find that even in that situation,

0:12:11 > 0:12:15he attracted the right team of individuals around him

0:12:15 > 0:12:18from the ranks of the white world, if you will,

0:12:18 > 0:12:21who really believed in him.

0:12:21 > 0:12:24I first really got to know Nat Cole when I was working at a place called Ciro's,

0:12:24 > 0:12:27which was a very famous nightclub on Sunset Strip.

0:12:27 > 0:12:30And one of the acts that we booked there was Nat Cole.

0:12:30 > 0:12:33He'd been working downtown at a place called the Tiffany Rooms,

0:12:33 > 0:12:37but I was convinced that Nat Cole had great youth appeal.

0:12:37 > 0:12:41So we brought him up for graduations in January and in the spring.

0:12:41 > 0:12:43And he packed the place.

0:12:43 > 0:12:46And he sat down and just sang

0:12:46 > 0:12:49and it was like the sound of the gods, you know.

0:12:49 > 0:12:54And Nat didn't play jazz on stage because he said people would talk.

0:12:54 > 0:12:57So two o'clock in the morning,

0:12:57 > 0:13:01I had enough on the head bartender to send him to jail and on the chef to have him go with him,

0:13:01 > 0:13:04so we would save a couple of bottles of champagne

0:13:04 > 0:13:06and some hot and cold hors d'oeuvres

0:13:06 > 0:13:09and we would invite ladies to come in and listen to Nat.

0:13:09 > 0:13:13Just a work light and Nat at the piano playing jazz.

0:13:13 > 0:13:18And it was the most sought-after invitation in all of Los Angeles.

0:13:31 > 0:13:35And he showed us that he could hang in there with the best of the best.

0:13:35 > 0:13:38Sinatra was the phenomenon of his time,

0:13:38 > 0:13:40but when they mention Sinatra,

0:13:40 > 0:13:44they also mention this African-American man, Nat Cole.

0:13:44 > 0:13:47They were the two best stylists around

0:13:47 > 0:13:50in that period of time.

0:13:50 > 0:13:56And...I think they had a lot of respect for one another.

0:13:56 > 0:14:01And they had a lot of the same great qualities,

0:14:01 > 0:14:03they were both family men.

0:14:04 > 0:14:10They used to smoke a lot and they drank moderately.

0:14:10 > 0:14:14And that was the...kinship between the two of them.

0:14:14 > 0:14:16It's like they were a god.

0:14:16 > 0:14:20You're talking about two of the greatest talents in the world,

0:14:20 > 0:14:22which will never happen again.

0:14:22 > 0:14:25While you're making a change, I'll drop a tune in here somewhere.

0:14:25 > 0:14:27All right.

0:14:27 > 0:14:30Oh, boy! Ring-a-ding-ding-ding!

0:14:30 > 0:14:32- Ring-a-ding-ding! - LAUGHTER

0:14:34 > 0:14:37APPLAUSE

0:14:42 > 0:14:47# She gets too hungry for dinner at eight

0:14:49 > 0:14:55# She loves the theatre and she doesn't come late

0:14:57 > 0:15:02# She'd never bother with people she hates... #

0:15:02 > 0:15:05He actually built Capitol Records,

0:15:05 > 0:15:11because every record he made went to number one on the Billboard charts.

0:15:11 > 0:15:14Nat had a lot to do with building that tower.

0:15:14 > 0:15:17He was a legend before we really have words for it.

0:15:17 > 0:15:19Nat was part of our lives.

0:15:19 > 0:15:22He wasn't just a singer, wasn't just a performer,

0:15:22 > 0:15:25he was part of the culture.

0:15:25 > 0:15:27Capitol was THE singers' label.

0:15:27 > 0:15:32And they really... I think Capitol had a great reputation.

0:15:32 > 0:15:34I was very secure at Capitol,

0:15:34 > 0:15:38I was at Capitol for 40 albums in 20-some years.

0:15:38 > 0:15:41Capitol was THE record company to be with at that time.

0:15:41 > 0:15:45# Unforgettable

0:15:46 > 0:15:50# In every way

0:15:53 > 0:15:58# And for ever more

0:15:58 > 0:16:01# That's how you'll stay. #

0:16:03 > 0:16:07Nat was managed by a big man, his name was Carlos Gastel.

0:16:07 > 0:16:11Carlos Gastel was from Honduras and he was huge

0:16:11 > 0:16:14and he did occasionally like a beverage, you know.

0:16:14 > 0:16:16And I would call Carlos and say,

0:16:16 > 0:16:20"Pal of my cradle days, why have you forgotten?"

0:16:20 > 0:16:23I said, "Carlos, why don't you come by for a taste?"

0:16:23 > 0:16:27So Carlos would come by for a taste about five or six o'clock at night.

0:16:27 > 0:16:30I put his bottle of gin on the bar and a bottle of vodka on the bar

0:16:30 > 0:16:32and we would have a taste.

0:16:32 > 0:16:35And by two o'clock in the morning, I had a contract with Nat Cole.

0:16:35 > 0:16:39And the next morning Carlos would call and say, "Pal of my cradle days,

0:16:39 > 0:16:44"last night while we were having fellowship, did we negotiate any kind of...?"

0:16:44 > 0:16:47"Oh, yeah," I said, "you convinced me to bring Nat back."

0:16:47 > 0:16:53"I convinced you?" "You insisted and so we signed a contract."

0:16:53 > 0:16:57"Signed another contract?! On what money?" I said, "Same money."

0:16:57 > 0:16:59I didn't want him to take a cut

0:16:59 > 0:17:02because of these multiple appearances.

0:17:02 > 0:17:06Carlos says, "You got me!" "I didn't get you, you demanded it, Carlos.

0:17:06 > 0:17:08"You're a big guy, I couldn't argue with you."

0:17:08 > 0:17:12So anyhow, Nat would say to me, "Did he do that again? What do you do to him?"

0:17:12 > 0:17:15I said, "Nat, we have a beverage once in a while."

0:17:15 > 0:17:19When I first started with Nat, when our association began, I told him

0:17:19 > 0:17:21that I didn't think I should get any money

0:17:21 > 0:17:23until the trio made 800 a week.

0:17:23 > 0:17:25And Nat didn't think this was fair

0:17:25 > 0:17:28because he thought I may have to wait a long time, you know.

0:17:28 > 0:17:31But a couple of weeks later, we got lucky and Cheryl Corwyn

0:17:31 > 0:17:33at the Orpheum here in Los Angeles

0:17:33 > 0:17:36gave us a job at the theatre for 1,000 a week.

0:17:36 > 0:17:39I might add that that was a lucky week for Cheryl Corwyn too,

0:17:39 > 0:17:43- because the first week the King Cole Trio played the theatre grossed 30,000.- Boy!

0:17:43 > 0:17:47- Nat, it's been a lot of fun all these years.- Thank you. - Thank you, Carlos Gastel.

0:17:48 > 0:17:50SCAT SINGING

0:18:03 > 0:18:06I first met him in Las Vegas

0:18:06 > 0:18:10when he was working at the Sands, in the big room of course,

0:18:10 > 0:18:13and I was a little piano player in the lounge.

0:18:13 > 0:18:19And...he would often times after he got through his show,

0:18:19 > 0:18:24he would come into the lounge to see the show or hear me play.

0:18:24 > 0:18:29And once he knew that I was a piano player and singer, we became instant friends.

0:18:29 > 0:18:31Even though I was working the lounge,

0:18:31 > 0:18:37Nat could not go in the main room, he had to go through the kitchen.

0:18:37 > 0:18:42These great, great stars were not allowed to walk through the casino

0:18:42 > 0:18:45and they were not allowed to live in the hotel.

0:18:45 > 0:18:51I was staying in first-class hotels and Nat is staying

0:18:51 > 0:18:56in either a private room or in black hotels which were awful.

0:18:56 > 0:19:01And...we were playing to segregated audiences.

0:19:01 > 0:19:04It got so bad, I was really embarrassed.

0:19:04 > 0:19:07And finally I started staying at the black hotels.

0:19:07 > 0:19:10And I had a ball.

0:19:10 > 0:19:14They're making millions of dollars for the owners of the hotels

0:19:14 > 0:19:18but yet they had to live in the black section of Las Vegas,

0:19:18 > 0:19:22in really low-down little motel rooms

0:19:22 > 0:19:25that were very seedy and terrible.

0:19:25 > 0:19:29All of us... Lena Horne, they emptied the swimming pool.

0:19:29 > 0:19:35For the length of her stay at that hotel the pool was out of order,

0:19:35 > 0:19:37because she dared to go in one day.

0:19:37 > 0:19:40It was a strong, strong colour barrier,

0:19:40 > 0:19:44which fortunately...has been removed.

0:19:44 > 0:19:47The mentality in the music world

0:19:47 > 0:19:51was different than the world as a whole.

0:19:51 > 0:19:54So they had humility and they could put up with that

0:19:54 > 0:19:56without going to the death.

0:19:56 > 0:20:00Two hotel incidences. Rock Island, Illinois was one.

0:20:00 > 0:20:05And all I remember is I had to appear in court for my husband.

0:20:05 > 0:20:09The lawyers always said, "Let Maria do it."

0:20:09 > 0:20:13Why did I sue them? Because they refused us.

0:20:13 > 0:20:17Absolutely. We... I wouldn't listen,

0:20:17 > 0:20:21I would have gone to court any time they wanted me to.

0:20:21 > 0:20:27I wasn't intimidated at all and I think our attorney saw that.

0:20:27 > 0:20:33Nat had a lot to do with...removing that and so did Frank.

0:20:33 > 0:20:36When Frank went out, he would go into a hotel

0:20:36 > 0:20:40and if the hotel would not accept Frank's black musicians,

0:20:40 > 0:20:42Frank didn't stay there either.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45So Frank had a big effect on the colour barrier.

0:20:45 > 0:20:49Of all the performers I've worked with, I think the two of them

0:20:49 > 0:20:55had more to do with removing the colour barrier than anybody.

0:20:55 > 0:20:59Because of his stature and his carriage and the way he was,

0:20:59 > 0:21:04he would never put himself in a situation where he was the...

0:21:04 > 0:21:06he was a negative person.

0:21:06 > 0:21:11Everywhere you went Nat Cole was not just accepted, Nat was loved.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15And, I think, as a result he probably had a more positive effect

0:21:15 > 0:21:19on racism than many of the militants,

0:21:19 > 0:21:21many of the people who were actively fighting racism.

0:21:21 > 0:21:25Nat just showed that it was acceptable

0:21:25 > 0:21:28that there were no colour barriers.

0:21:28 > 0:21:31# My kind of lips

0:21:31 > 0:21:33# Your kind of lips

0:21:33 > 0:21:37# When love comes stealing

0:21:37 > 0:21:40# Encourage that feeling

0:21:40 > 0:21:44# My kind of love... #

0:21:44 > 0:21:47He was loved by everybody.

0:21:47 > 0:21:50There was something...

0:21:50 > 0:21:55magical about him, not only musically but as a person.

0:21:55 > 0:21:57He was a true gentleman.

0:21:57 > 0:22:00He was the example of someone who...

0:22:00 > 0:22:04could break through those racial barriers

0:22:04 > 0:22:08and make what seemed impossible, you know, during the lynchings

0:22:08 > 0:22:13and the Ku Klux Klan and coloured bathrooms and white bathrooms,

0:22:13 > 0:22:15this was the breakthrough.

0:22:15 > 0:22:20This man who, again, spoke through his music.

0:22:20 > 0:22:25A man of few words, but who walked the talk.

0:22:25 > 0:22:29He had a charisma that was unbelievable,

0:22:29 > 0:22:31so everyone liked him.

0:22:31 > 0:22:37I'm sure there are people that were anti-black,

0:22:37 > 0:22:40they didn't even realise he was black.

0:22:40 > 0:22:44They just liked the man for what he was.

0:22:44 > 0:22:46He really loved what he was doing,

0:22:46 > 0:22:49he was really passionate about what he was doing.

0:22:49 > 0:22:54His message was, "This is me, this is my music. I want you to accept me for that."

0:22:54 > 0:22:59He was our beacon, he was the person who was out there

0:22:59 > 0:23:04exposing himself to all this, you know, negativity

0:23:04 > 0:23:07and shining through it.

0:23:07 > 0:23:09He was... He was untouchable.

0:23:09 > 0:23:12# Or is it a fact that I'm ugly? #

0:23:12 > 0:23:16What was so strategic about Nat

0:23:16 > 0:23:19was the fact that it was Nat,

0:23:19 > 0:23:23a man who had by all measure

0:23:23 > 0:23:28met what it was that white America said black people should be.

0:23:28 > 0:23:30He was extremely gifted,

0:23:30 > 0:23:36a man possessed of genius when it came to his music, when it came to his singing.

0:23:36 > 0:23:41By all measure everybody thought he was indeed the greatest singer in the world.

0:23:41 > 0:23:45And...when he went on the air, the things that he did,

0:23:45 > 0:23:47and the way in which he delighted us

0:23:47 > 0:23:54was everything he would've wanted somebody in that position of opportunity to display.

0:23:54 > 0:23:56But he did.

0:23:56 > 0:24:01Anybody with a brain accepted Nat for what he was, a superstar,

0:24:01 > 0:24:07a vision of hope, and a vision of intelligence and tolerance and love.

0:24:07 > 0:24:10I think that right now would be a good time for us to pause

0:24:10 > 0:24:13and sort of review some of the events that made all of this possible.

0:24:13 > 0:24:15- I'm with you.- OK?

0:24:15 > 0:24:18And with a little music and drama, perhaps we can recreate

0:24:18 > 0:24:21- the highlights of our careers up to date.- OK.

0:24:21 > 0:24:24- Won't you begin?- Age before beauty.

0:24:24 > 0:24:25LAUGHTER

0:24:25 > 0:24:27The time, the early '40s,

0:24:27 > 0:24:30I was playing piano in a little cafe in Omaha, Nebraska,

0:24:30 > 0:24:33when I wrote a song based on an old joke my father used to tell.

0:24:33 > 0:24:35The song?

0:24:35 > 0:24:37ORCHESTRA STRIKES UP

0:24:37 > 0:24:41# Straighten up and fly right

0:24:41 > 0:24:44APPLAUSE # Straighten up and fly right... #

0:24:44 > 0:24:50When I was going to Africa...during the war on a troopship,

0:24:50 > 0:24:53they were playing what they called V discs.

0:24:53 > 0:24:58All the record companies would make special records for the troops,

0:24:58 > 0:25:03where the troops would play it on the loudspeakers in mess halls etc.

0:25:03 > 0:25:07And I heard this wonderful jazz pianist...

0:25:07 > 0:25:12with an instrumentation of bass,

0:25:12 > 0:25:16piano and for the very first time I heard electric guitar.

0:25:16 > 0:25:20And I found out it was called the King Cole Trio.

0:25:20 > 0:25:22And I was completely mesmerised by that music.

0:25:22 > 0:25:27And the first song I heard him sing was Straighten Up And Fly Right.

0:25:34 > 0:25:38It crossed a bridge, it came from jazz to pop

0:25:38 > 0:25:43and it was very commercial and people liked it for what it was.

0:25:43 > 0:25:45They didn't say it was jazz,

0:25:45 > 0:25:49they didn't say it was pop, it was they liked what they heard.

0:25:49 > 0:25:51# Said now listen, Jack

0:25:51 > 0:25:53# Straighten up and fly right

0:25:53 > 0:25:57# Straighten up and fly right

0:25:57 > 0:26:00# Straighten up and fly right. #

0:26:00 > 0:26:03And it was all new, there was no-one else like it.

0:26:03 > 0:26:06# Ain't no use in diving

0:26:06 > 0:26:08# What's the use in jiving?

0:26:08 > 0:26:11# Straighten up and fly right

0:26:11 > 0:26:14# Cool down, Poppa, don't you blow your top

0:26:14 > 0:26:17# The buzzard told the monkey, "You are choking me

0:26:17 > 0:26:20# "Release your hold and I will set you free"

0:26:20 > 0:26:23# The monkey looks the buzzard right dead in the eye

0:26:23 > 0:26:26# And said, "Your story's so touching but it sounds just like a lie." #

0:26:26 > 0:26:32My job was to go out and get a new song...recorded,

0:26:32 > 0:26:39or get it performed by artists on radio,

0:26:39 > 0:26:42television was not even around,

0:26:42 > 0:26:44and to promote the song.

0:26:44 > 0:26:51So I went to see different people to see if they would perform the song.

0:26:51 > 0:26:53One being Duke Ellington.

0:26:53 > 0:26:56We will now give you our conception of the most popular

0:26:56 > 0:27:00composition in recent years, that haunting melody Stormy Weather.

0:27:06 > 0:27:11And he had two girl singers with him, one was called Joyous Cheryl

0:27:11 > 0:27:15and the other was called Maria Ellington.

0:27:15 > 0:27:18So I said, "Which one you want me to show it to?"

0:27:18 > 0:27:20And he says, "Show it to Maria Ellington."

0:27:20 > 0:27:22I said, "Is that your daughter?"

0:27:22 > 0:27:26"No, that is not my daughter. That was her marriage name."

0:27:26 > 0:27:33Ivo was as usual plugging a song and he brought this song down to me.

0:27:33 > 0:27:37So finally he said, "Would you come to the office and I'll play it."

0:27:37 > 0:27:42I went up there, I was bored to death. I said, "It's awful."

0:27:42 > 0:27:45She said, "That's the worst song. I wouldn't sing that."

0:27:45 > 0:27:50"OK, enough of that." But she was so pretty and I'd just got out of the Army

0:27:50 > 0:27:57and I made an advance at her...towards her.

0:27:57 > 0:28:00And she read me a riot act.

0:28:00 > 0:28:02"Who do you think you are?" and this and that.

0:28:02 > 0:28:05Of course, he tells the story that he tried to hit on me,

0:28:05 > 0:28:07I don't remember that.

0:28:07 > 0:28:09I remember him in a brotherly-like fashion

0:28:09 > 0:28:11and we're still very good friends.

0:28:11 > 0:28:19Months later, Nat is working the Copa and he says, "I got a night off,

0:28:19 > 0:28:25"I want to go to Zanzibar and see the show. Why don't you come with me?"

0:28:25 > 0:28:27I said, "OK, great."

0:28:27 > 0:28:32He said, "I met a girl the other day, she's very pretty.

0:28:32 > 0:28:34"She works... She's in the show."

0:28:34 > 0:28:36So I said, "Which one of the two?"

0:28:36 > 0:28:39And he points to Maria. I said, "Oh, I'm dead."

0:28:39 > 0:28:44I first met Nat in New York City in the club Zanzibar.

0:28:44 > 0:28:48The King Cole Trio came in to sub for the Mills Brothers,

0:28:48 > 0:28:53who were doubling between the Paramount Theater and the Zanzibar.

0:28:53 > 0:28:55That was in 1946.

0:28:55 > 0:28:59# I've just found joy

0:28:59 > 0:29:05# I'm as happy as a baby boy... #

0:29:06 > 0:29:11The best evening in our life together

0:29:11 > 0:29:14that I ever spent with my husband was...

0:29:16 > 0:29:23..one night when he took me home and he parked right in front.

0:29:23 > 0:29:27And we sat there. It wasn't night, it was about 4.30 in the morning.

0:29:27 > 0:29:35And we had the radio on and this great, great record came on

0:29:35 > 0:29:42narrated by Elliott Lewis, it was done by Gordon Jenkins about New York.

0:29:42 > 0:29:46It was one the greatest things I ever... We were listening to that.

0:29:46 > 0:29:48# Sits on a nice lake

0:29:48 > 0:29:52# But it hasn't got the hansoms in the park

0:29:52 > 0:29:55# It hasn't got the skylines after dark

0:29:55 > 0:29:58# That's why New York's my home

0:29:58 > 0:30:00# Let me never leave it

0:30:00 > 0:30:03# New York's my home sweet home. #

0:30:03 > 0:30:05I fell in love with him that night.

0:30:05 > 0:30:08The reason I'm hesitating with that story

0:30:08 > 0:30:10is it sounds very dramatic, but it was true.

0:30:10 > 0:30:16And he held my hand. It was really kind of schoolboy/schoolgirl-ish.

0:30:16 > 0:30:18And I'll never forget it.

0:30:18 > 0:30:21And he said to me, "I've never met a girl like you before."

0:30:21 > 0:30:26# I love you... #

0:30:26 > 0:30:31I absolutely did not fall in love with Nat Cole at first sight.

0:30:31 > 0:30:36He sent me some champagne by his valet and I sent it back.

0:30:36 > 0:30:38And I said, "I don't drink," which I didn't.

0:30:38 > 0:30:41I took advantage of the wonderful invitations.

0:30:41 > 0:30:46And then he was getting ready to go out of town about a week later.

0:30:46 > 0:30:51And just kind of funny he said, "I have to leave but I'll be back."

0:30:51 > 0:30:55And so he came up to me the day before he was leaving and he said,

0:30:55 > 0:30:58"You want to go?"

0:30:58 > 0:31:00And I remember nodding.

0:31:00 > 0:31:04So I went to the drugstore and bought a toothbrush and got on the train.

0:31:06 > 0:31:08We went to a Chinese restaurant

0:31:08 > 0:31:12and while we were eating, in the midst of the meal, he just looked at me

0:31:12 > 0:31:15and said, "If I can get my divorce, would you marry me?"

0:31:15 > 0:31:22# I think of you every morning

0:31:22 > 0:31:25# Dream of you every night... #

0:31:25 > 0:31:31I think my husband and I, basically, were just meant for each other.

0:31:31 > 0:31:33Everything that was wrong with him wasn't wrong with me

0:31:33 > 0:31:37and everything that was wrong with me wasn't wrong with him.

0:31:37 > 0:31:43He just... He was not a...a take-charge type in a home,

0:31:43 > 0:31:45not at all.

0:31:45 > 0:31:47They complemented each other.

0:31:47 > 0:31:53- And... But, yeah, I think she really truly adored him.- Uh-huh.

0:31:56 > 0:32:01# There was a boy

0:32:01 > 0:32:06# A very strange enchanted boy

0:32:06 > 0:32:10# They say he wandered very far

0:32:10 > 0:32:15# Very far over land and sea... #

0:32:18 > 0:32:24While we were on our honeymoon in Mexico, a very dear friend of ours sent us a telegram.

0:32:24 > 0:32:26I wish I remembered the exact words,

0:32:26 > 0:32:31but it was akin to "what a wedding gift!

0:32:31 > 0:32:35"Nature Boy complete smash all over the world."

0:32:35 > 0:32:40We were excited. I don't think we realised how big it was till we got home.

0:32:40 > 0:32:42I don't think we really did.

0:32:43 > 0:32:48# A magic day he passed my way

0:32:48 > 0:32:52# And while we spoke of many things

0:32:52 > 0:32:55# Fools and kings

0:32:55 > 0:33:00# This he said to me

0:33:02 > 0:33:10# "The greatest thing you'll ever learn

0:33:12 > 0:33:17# "Is just to love

0:33:17 > 0:33:25# "And be loved in return." #

0:33:52 > 0:33:54We bought the house immediately,

0:33:54 > 0:33:57at least six months after we were married.

0:33:57 > 0:34:00When he moved to Hancock Park and moved into that community,

0:34:00 > 0:34:03it was not an easy time for him or his family. Nobody wanted 'em.

0:34:03 > 0:34:06The restrictive covenants on real estate,

0:34:06 > 0:34:14although it wasn't a written law like in the South, it's written that blacks cannot own property.

0:34:14 > 0:34:19The neighbours didn't want black people in the neighbourhood.

0:34:19 > 0:34:21And they did everything to make him uncomfortable.

0:34:21 > 0:34:28# ..in return. #

0:34:33 > 0:34:37- When we were first married there was bedlam everywhere. - SHE LAUGHS

0:34:37 > 0:34:40It was just... They were just...

0:34:40 > 0:34:46When I think back about it, it's just... I have to say it's amusing,

0:34:46 > 0:34:51because we were, thank God, so young that I was just angry.

0:34:51 > 0:34:53I never felt any fear or anything like that,

0:34:53 > 0:34:57although there were people who were worried, concerned, you know, about that.

0:34:57 > 0:34:59And he was.

0:34:59 > 0:35:05We didn't act abnormal at all when this happened, it just happened.

0:35:05 > 0:35:08They had a meeting in the neighbourhood,

0:35:08 > 0:35:13the lawyers that lived there...

0:35:13 > 0:35:18and very affluent people.

0:35:18 > 0:35:20Something about it being their community

0:35:20 > 0:35:25and they really just didn't want any undesirable people in there.

0:35:25 > 0:35:27I don't know how they had the guts to say it,

0:35:27 > 0:35:29but I understand that my husband stood up

0:35:29 > 0:35:33and said he agreed with them and any time any undesirables came,

0:35:33 > 0:35:35he would be the first to speak up.

0:35:35 > 0:35:37I mean, he let them know.

0:35:37 > 0:35:42But, that goes back to the way my husband was, you pushed him,

0:35:42 > 0:35:44you're going to get it all.

0:35:47 > 0:35:52The saddest personal incident was the poisoning of our dog.

0:35:52 > 0:35:56Somebody threw a piece of meat, poisoned meat over the wall

0:35:56 > 0:35:58and poisoned him.

0:35:58 > 0:36:04It went on...I would say little things for maybe a year.

0:36:04 > 0:36:08My daughter remembers it more than I did that they wrote on the lawn.

0:36:08 > 0:36:11They burned in the word "nigger".

0:36:11 > 0:36:14In, you know, big letters.

0:36:14 > 0:36:18And again this is an isolated incident, but it was so powerful,

0:36:18 > 0:36:22you know, burned in the lawn.

0:36:22 > 0:36:24And the fact that they could even do this,

0:36:24 > 0:36:27there was supposedly very good security in Hancock Park.

0:36:29 > 0:36:31The shadow of that word was always there.

0:36:31 > 0:36:34It was just...there.

0:36:34 > 0:36:38All the people who were protesting that he moved to their neighbourhood

0:36:38 > 0:36:40maybe protested for another reason,

0:36:40 > 0:36:42they were afraid of their property values.

0:36:42 > 0:36:43HE LAUGHS

0:36:43 > 0:36:46And...they all had his records in their house,

0:36:46 > 0:36:49but they signed a petition to get him out.

0:36:49 > 0:36:53You either have to think of it as, "Oh, how stupid can people be?"

0:36:53 > 0:36:57Or it was a real tragedy, you know.

0:36:57 > 0:37:04But being as young as we were, we were, I think, able to handle it

0:37:04 > 0:37:08and I think we did concerning the times handle it very well.

0:37:08 > 0:37:11There's a woman that lived down the street from us,

0:37:11 > 0:37:14she asked my father to come and perform at her little luncheon.

0:37:14 > 0:37:18If he wouldn't mind playing a few songs.

0:37:18 > 0:37:20And he did.

0:37:20 > 0:37:22And he sent her a bill.

0:37:22 > 0:37:26- And she was, you know, mortified. - SHE LAUGHS

0:37:26 > 0:37:29But I thought that was such a great story, you know,

0:37:29 > 0:37:36because people were so insensitive and so, you know, taking advantage.

0:37:36 > 0:37:39Marie, would you introduce us to the children?

0:37:39 > 0:37:41Yes, this is Natalie Maria, better known as Sweetie.

0:37:41 > 0:37:46- Say hi, Sweetie. Say hi.- Sweetie? - Hi!

0:37:46 > 0:37:50- And this is Carole, better known as Cookie. Say hello, Cookie.- Hello.

0:37:50 > 0:37:56But he always wanted, evidently, he told me he had always wanted to have children.

0:37:56 > 0:37:59That was very important to him.

0:37:59 > 0:38:02We had adopted our first child, who was my sister's child.

0:38:02 > 0:38:05My sister died and we had adopted her.

0:38:05 > 0:38:09Then I became pregnant and Natalie was born.

0:38:09 > 0:38:13And that at that time was to him just... Oh!

0:38:13 > 0:38:17I know most men feel like this when the children are born,

0:38:17 > 0:38:21but it was very, very important to him to have a child.

0:38:21 > 0:38:24I do remember that Nat would come to rehearsal

0:38:24 > 0:38:26and bring this adorable little girl with him

0:38:26 > 0:38:29who would sit there and watch her daddy.

0:38:29 > 0:38:33And she listened and she learned and she grew up to be Natalie Cole.

0:38:33 > 0:38:39You know, every time I walk into the Capitol building I just get chills.

0:38:39 > 0:38:42Because I remember being there with my father, you know,

0:38:42 > 0:38:46and just trying to stay as out of the way as possible

0:38:46 > 0:38:50so he wouldn't tell me I couldn't come with him again.

0:38:50 > 0:38:58It's just such a wonderful memory because, you know, as a kid that's...

0:38:58 > 0:39:03Who knew that I was going to grow up to be in that environment as well?

0:39:03 > 0:39:05For me it was just fun, you know,

0:39:05 > 0:39:07and a chance to be with my father.

0:39:07 > 0:39:09BOTH: # What to do?

0:39:09 > 0:39:12# What to do? Has me guessing

0:39:12 > 0:39:15# It seems I can't learn my lesson

0:39:15 > 0:39:20# Every time I'm with you I'm confessing

0:39:20 > 0:39:23# I just don't know what to do. #

0:39:23 > 0:39:27I was about six, Cookie was about 11.

0:39:27 > 0:39:32And it's a hysterical little song, it's just the cutest.

0:39:32 > 0:39:35And they just let the tape roll and we were kind of clowning

0:39:35 > 0:39:39and acting up and giggling.

0:39:39 > 0:39:44It's a beautiful, sweet, sweet little record.

0:39:44 > 0:39:47But I did stay close to Natalie

0:39:47 > 0:39:51as she grew up into the lovely, talented, gifted,

0:39:51 > 0:39:53exciting woman she is.

0:39:53 > 0:39:58Then she did a big record with him. Was it Unforgettable? Yeah.

0:39:58 > 0:40:03# The song of love that clings to me

0:40:03 > 0:40:07# How the thought of you does things to me

0:40:07 > 0:40:12# Never before

0:40:12 > 0:40:17# Has someone been more

0:40:18 > 0:40:21# Unforgettable

0:40:21 > 0:40:26# In every way... #

0:40:27 > 0:40:30I was talking to my manager and I said, you know,

0:40:30 > 0:40:36"I've really started to think I want to do a record of my dad's music."

0:40:36 > 0:40:42And my manager, you know, he was pretty...flexible.

0:40:42 > 0:40:45And he was like, "Yeah, yeah, that's not a bad idea."

0:40:45 > 0:40:47We went to the record company and they said...

0:40:47 > 0:40:51Well, the last record I had done was so-so.

0:40:51 > 0:40:54I wasn't even that happy about it.

0:40:54 > 0:40:57It was called Good To Be Back.

0:40:57 > 0:41:03And...this was after I'd got out of rehab, got myself together, blah, blah, blah.

0:41:03 > 0:41:10And...the record company said, "Well, you really should be coming off of a hit record

0:41:10 > 0:41:14"before you do a record like what you're talking about, this tribute to your dad."

0:41:14 > 0:41:17And I said, "Well, what if I don't have another hit record?"

0:41:17 > 0:41:20Nobody could answer that. SHE LAUGHS

0:41:20 > 0:41:24Basically, I was able to leave, get out of my contract.

0:41:24 > 0:41:28You know, when you fast-forward to the Grammys that night

0:41:28 > 0:41:31when Unforgettable won everything.

0:41:31 > 0:41:37And one of my acceptance speeches was, "Thank you, Capitol, for letting me out of my contract."

0:41:37 > 0:41:41SHE LAUGHS A lot of people got fired

0:41:41 > 0:41:44because of that situation.

0:41:44 > 0:41:49Because they didn't have the vision to, you know, do a record like this.

0:41:49 > 0:41:52But we came up with the idea of doing it with Unforgettable.

0:41:52 > 0:41:56By then we had hired Andre Fischer, who I was then married to,

0:41:56 > 0:41:58and David Foster.

0:41:58 > 0:42:05David had to go to New Jersey to get the master of Unforgettable.

0:42:05 > 0:42:10It had been sitting in storage for who knows how long.

0:42:10 > 0:42:14And Al Smith, the engineer, was like, "What am I going to do with this?"

0:42:14 > 0:42:19Back in the day, tracks were done all at the same time,

0:42:19 > 0:42:24so it really was a technological coup, you know,

0:42:24 > 0:42:31that Al was able to lift Dad's voice off of the old Unforgettable track

0:42:31 > 0:42:34and put it on the new one that we recorded.

0:42:48 > 0:42:49I kind of did want a boy,

0:42:49 > 0:42:54because of Nat and his baseball and all of this, you know.

0:42:54 > 0:42:56He just loved sport.

0:42:56 > 0:43:02So we were talking about it and I said, "Well, it would be just my luck to have another girl."

0:43:02 > 0:43:04Just like that I said to him, "Let's adopt."

0:43:04 > 0:43:08And I said it just like that. And, of course, he said yes to everything.

0:43:08 > 0:43:12He said, "OK." And I don't remember how long afterwards,

0:43:12 > 0:43:15we were all having breakfast one morning and the phone rang.

0:43:15 > 0:43:17And I went to the phone and they said,

0:43:17 > 0:43:19"Mrs Cole, I think we might have your boy."

0:43:19 > 0:43:25Well, it was like a movie scene. We left, all of us, got in that car and left.

0:43:25 > 0:43:30The Children's Home Society was on Adams Boulevard, not really that far from our house.

0:43:30 > 0:43:32We got in the car, we flew.

0:43:32 > 0:43:36And we got over there, and this was Willie Smith's ex-wife,

0:43:36 > 0:43:41and she had brought this little boy in in a little jumper suit.

0:43:41 > 0:43:43He was five months old.

0:43:43 > 0:43:46She left the baby with us and about 15 minutes later

0:43:46 > 0:43:49she came back in and said, "You really don't have to make up your mind,

0:43:49 > 0:43:53"Mr and Mrs Cole, right now, because sometimes..."

0:43:53 > 0:43:56And Nate interrupted her, he said, "What are you talking about?"

0:43:56 > 0:44:01He said, "Get the paper, whatever I'm supposed to sign. We're leaving."

0:44:01 > 0:44:05And he said, "This is my boy." Then we left.

0:44:40 > 0:44:44President Kennedy came as a favour to my dad

0:44:44 > 0:44:51to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and showed up at her ball.

0:44:51 > 0:44:55And there's a picture of her dancing with him, you know,

0:44:55 > 0:45:00and I just could not believe that I could not be there. SHE LAUGHS

0:45:01 > 0:45:04And we hadn't been sitting there, I don't think, 15 minutes,

0:45:04 > 0:45:08before this gentleman walked up - I don't remember who now -

0:45:08 > 0:45:10and mentioned something in Nat's ear.

0:45:10 > 0:45:14And Nat was, I think, eating and he looked up like this...

0:45:14 > 0:45:17He had funny... He had funny expressions sometimes, anyway.

0:45:17 > 0:45:19He was...like that.

0:45:19 > 0:45:23And he said, "The President's coming," to me.

0:45:23 > 0:45:26I said, "What?" "He's coming over here."

0:45:26 > 0:45:29And then, of course, by that time,

0:45:29 > 0:45:33a few minutes later, here come all these secret servicemen,

0:45:33 > 0:45:36and here comes Jack Kennedy.

0:45:36 > 0:45:40Well, one of the few times, again, in my life,

0:45:40 > 0:45:42that I just couldn't believe it.

0:45:42 > 0:45:45And he just stood up there at the podium

0:45:45 > 0:45:47and he said, "Thank you very much.

0:45:47 > 0:45:50"I am so glad that I was able to come by."

0:45:50 > 0:45:52He said, "It's the least an itinerant president

0:45:52 > 0:45:55"can do for a man like Nat Cole."

0:46:04 > 0:46:05The United States...

0:46:05 > 0:46:09One of our great cultures that we've created, for a young country...

0:46:11 > 0:46:15..was elongated improvisation.

0:46:15 > 0:46:17Jazz.

0:46:17 > 0:46:20Jazz changed the history of music.

0:46:21 > 0:46:23And it's strictly American.

0:46:23 > 0:46:25Jazz is strictly American.

0:46:25 > 0:46:28And people love it, especially in Europe.

0:46:32 > 0:46:35I was doing Sunday Night at the Palladium at the time,

0:46:35 > 0:46:38and Glyn Jones, who worked for the Grade Organisation,

0:46:38 > 0:46:42Glyn phoned me, he said, "Bruce, I know you were thrilled

0:46:42 > 0:46:44"about Nat King Cole coming over."

0:46:44 > 0:46:47I said, "Well, he's my idol. I love this man."

0:46:47 > 0:46:50So, he said, "Well, he's here now."

0:46:50 > 0:46:53He said, "We've got two pianos backstage

0:46:53 > 0:46:56"and we were wondering - we've had a word with Nat -

0:46:56 > 0:47:00"and we were wondering whether you could do a number with him."

0:47:00 > 0:47:04'I said, "Do a number with Nat King Cole? That is fantastic!"'

0:47:04 > 0:47:07Ladies and gentlemen, last night on the Palladium show

0:47:07 > 0:47:09I had one of my biggest thrills -

0:47:09 > 0:47:10one of my biggest thrills all day -

0:47:10 > 0:47:12to meet the star of our show last night.

0:47:12 > 0:47:15He is now very, very thrilled to be here this evening.

0:47:15 > 0:47:19Ladies and gentlemen, the very, very wonderful Nat King Cole!

0:47:20 > 0:47:22'We put this number together.

0:47:22 > 0:47:24'He said, "What number can we do?"

0:47:24 > 0:47:29'I said, "Well, Paper Moon is up-tempo. Paper Moon would be good."'

0:47:29 > 0:47:32He said, "Yeah, now, what key do I do that in? What key...?"

0:47:32 > 0:47:34I said, "You do it in F.

0:47:34 > 0:47:37"Well, anyway, I know it in F, so we'll do it in F."

0:47:37 > 0:47:39He was, "Oh, great."

0:47:39 > 0:47:41So, we worked that out, ten minutes.

0:47:41 > 0:47:44A couple of choruses, he sang the first eight,

0:47:44 > 0:47:47I sang the second eight, and so on, and so on.

0:47:47 > 0:47:48Then he played a little piano solo,

0:47:48 > 0:47:50I played a piano solo,

0:47:50 > 0:47:51and then we finished together.

0:47:51 > 0:47:53That was all done in TEN minutes.

0:47:53 > 0:47:56- Very good luck to you...- Thank you, Bruce.- ..and what's it going to be?

0:47:56 > 0:47:59I'm going to sing, erm...

0:47:59 > 0:48:02Oh, no! That's my favourite!

0:48:02 > 0:48:04- It is?! - I love that!

0:48:04 > 0:48:07He sat at the piano

0:48:07 > 0:48:10and played me his latest LP, and sang...

0:48:10 > 0:48:14all the numbers from his latest LP.

0:48:14 > 0:48:17Now, can you really imagine that happened?

0:48:17 > 0:48:21I have to think quite a few times myself!

0:48:21 > 0:48:24But he did that for me, having not met me before.

0:48:24 > 0:48:28He was so...so wonderful.

0:48:28 > 0:48:31I was just overwhelmed - the fact that he did that

0:48:31 > 0:48:33just for me, personally.

0:48:33 > 0:48:36HOLDS FINAL NOTE

0:48:54 > 0:48:59He loved Japan because he got to meet the whole baseball team.

0:48:59 > 0:49:02I mean, they loved him and he loved...

0:49:02 > 0:49:04That night, I think Nat was in heaven.

0:49:10 > 0:49:12Australia...was, I think, the people,

0:49:12 > 0:49:15more than anything else, that amazed him.

0:49:15 > 0:49:18Thousands of people at the airport.

0:49:18 > 0:49:22Very nice meeting you, but now if you don't mind...

0:49:22 > 0:49:24You gotta sing another song, I bet, right now?

0:49:24 > 0:49:26I'd LIKE to sing another song.

0:49:26 > 0:49:29Oh, do us a favour for me, buddy. Sing 'er her favourite, will ya?

0:49:29 > 0:49:31What's that?

0:49:31 > 0:49:34# They tried to tell her she's too young...#

0:49:34 > 0:49:37And I tell you what, love, if she doesn't embark

0:49:37 > 0:49:40on the sea of matrimony soon, it'll be too late.

0:49:40 > 0:49:42- Well, it's been very nice... - Nice meeting you.

0:49:42 > 0:49:46- You're a real gent. Thanks very much.- Very...

0:49:46 > 0:49:47Oh, love, she's fainted!

0:49:49 > 0:49:53NEWS REPORT IN SPANISH

0:49:55 > 0:49:57They love him.

0:49:57 > 0:50:00We almost bought a house there. We were there twice.

0:50:00 > 0:50:02It was a lovely time for Nat.

0:50:02 > 0:50:05He loved it. He loved the musicians, he loved working with them.

0:50:05 > 0:50:08In fact, even after he died,

0:50:08 > 0:50:10I was invited back there.

0:50:10 > 0:50:12They have, I understand, a...

0:50:12 > 0:50:15a sculpture of him - I was told - over there.

0:50:15 > 0:50:18The second time we went back,

0:50:18 > 0:50:20we were in the car going to work,

0:50:20 > 0:50:22and they stopped our car,

0:50:22 > 0:50:24and they put the guns in the car,

0:50:24 > 0:50:28in the windows, and the guy said, "That's Nat King Cole."

0:50:28 > 0:50:29He said, "Oh."

0:50:29 > 0:50:31We went through like that.

0:50:35 > 0:50:36# Wa-oo, wa-oo, wa-oo

0:50:36 > 0:50:39# Wa-oo, wa-oo, wa-ay... #

0:50:41 > 0:50:44When it came down to the nitty-gritty,

0:50:44 > 0:50:45I had to take over.

0:50:45 > 0:50:50Not only was she keen on it, she was instrumental in helping it.

0:50:50 > 0:50:52# How she feels so sad... #

0:50:52 > 0:50:54They wanted to make a change.

0:50:54 > 0:50:59She wanted to get more into - then we would've said - today's music.

0:50:59 > 0:51:04So he decided he wanted to add a bongo player.

0:51:08 > 0:51:13Musically, we had Joe Comfort on bass and Irving Ashby on the guitar.

0:51:13 > 0:51:17I was on the conga drums more than the bongos,

0:51:17 > 0:51:19and Nat, of course, was the star.

0:51:19 > 0:51:22They were saying, "What are we going to call the group

0:51:22 > 0:51:26"now that we've added another musician?"

0:51:26 > 0:51:29So they said, "Well, call it the King Cole Quartet."

0:51:29 > 0:51:35So I said, everybody knows that Nat is the piano player,

0:51:35 > 0:51:38and Nat, now, is doing the singing

0:51:38 > 0:51:40so I said that he's the star.

0:51:40 > 0:51:44So I said call it Nat King Cole And His Trio.

0:51:44 > 0:51:48Well, they were very upset that I put my two cents into it.

0:51:48 > 0:51:49They read the riot act to me.

0:51:49 > 0:51:52But, that's what it became.

0:51:52 > 0:51:54It became Nat King Cole And His Trio.

0:51:54 > 0:51:58Here's a black trio that hires a white guy

0:51:58 > 0:52:00to join the trio

0:52:00 > 0:52:05and nobody knew that it had ever happened before.

0:52:06 > 0:52:09No matter how much the trio and I didn't like the fact

0:52:09 > 0:52:11that we were being made...

0:52:11 > 0:52:15I don't know how to say it - we weren't second-class citizens, but

0:52:15 > 0:52:17we were not as important in the trio

0:52:17 > 0:52:19as we had been from the beginning.

0:52:19 > 0:52:22You know, because he...

0:52:22 > 0:52:25He was starting to do things with big bands added,

0:52:25 > 0:52:29and we didn't get to play instrumentals any more.

0:52:29 > 0:52:33I'm talking now three years into when I was there.

0:52:33 > 0:52:35# I guess I always will

0:52:35 > 0:52:39# I hope we'll never depart

0:52:39 > 0:52:42# Dear, with your lips to mine

0:52:42 > 0:52:44# A rhapsody divine

0:52:44 > 0:52:47# Zing! Went the strings of my heart... #

0:52:47 > 0:52:52I was, thank God, smart enough to realise how talented he was.

0:52:52 > 0:52:55But I have always felt

0:52:55 > 0:52:58- and I really feel -

0:52:58 > 0:53:02that he had the talent and I gave him everything else.

0:53:04 > 0:53:05His wife was smart.

0:53:05 > 0:53:09She said, "Nat, you're one of the world's greatest singers."

0:53:10 > 0:53:14And she said, "I tell you what, don't play the piano.

0:53:14 > 0:53:16"Then you will stop the controversy.

0:53:16 > 0:53:18"You will be on one side,

0:53:18 > 0:53:20"you won't be straddling the fence."

0:53:20 > 0:53:24And a lot of musicians hated his wife for doing that.

0:53:24 > 0:53:27What I say, if I went to a Nat Cole concert, and he didn't sing,

0:53:27 > 0:53:30I would've felt I'd wasted my money.

0:53:30 > 0:53:34The thing that Nat had was that wonderful sound,

0:53:34 > 0:53:37that... # Mona Lisa... #

0:53:37 > 0:53:38It was just...

0:53:38 > 0:53:40It wasn't exaggerated,

0:53:40 > 0:53:44because that's the way he sang, that's the way he spoke.

0:53:44 > 0:53:46My husband never mispronounced a word.

0:53:46 > 0:53:48Never.

0:53:48 > 0:53:51I just know that came from our relationship.

0:53:51 > 0:53:53It couldn't have come from anywhere else.

0:53:53 > 0:53:56# Many dreams...

0:53:57 > 0:54:02# Have been brought to your doorstep... #

0:54:04 > 0:54:06Over the years, I never figured it out,

0:54:06 > 0:54:10and then one day it came to me, and I said - "He just waits!"

0:54:10 > 0:54:11And then he sings.

0:54:11 > 0:54:14And then he waits, and then he sings, and then he waits,

0:54:14 > 0:54:17and then he sings. And it's wonderful!

0:54:17 > 0:54:20Because if I didn't hear Nature Boy,

0:54:20 > 0:54:23and Mona Lisa, I mean,

0:54:23 > 0:54:25that would've been a tragedy for me.

0:54:25 > 0:54:28And I'm a musician a person who likes his piano playing.

0:54:28 > 0:54:31But his voice and his choice of material...

0:54:33 > 0:54:35He was the genius at selecting material.

0:54:35 > 0:54:36And his way of approaching them,

0:54:36 > 0:54:39he kept them from getting bogged down.

0:54:39 > 0:54:42He made everything acceptable, easy to accept.

0:54:43 > 0:54:47There was nothing about his performance that was not

0:54:47 > 0:54:50absolutely perfect. Flawless.

0:54:50 > 0:54:54# Mona Lisa

0:54:57 > 0:55:06# Mona Lisa. #

0:55:10 > 0:55:13And I dunno why, man, but it just resonated with me.

0:55:13 > 0:55:17He just had this mesmerising quality to his vocals.

0:55:17 > 0:55:20And I was sold. I was done.

0:55:20 > 0:55:21Just the way he played.

0:55:21 > 0:55:22Just the way he sang.

0:55:22 > 0:55:25There was something about him that, for me, was magic.

0:55:25 > 0:55:28It wasn't something that you could study and learn.

0:55:28 > 0:55:33Just to watch him play and sing was a joy.

0:55:33 > 0:55:36Today they record a lot of albums in pieces.

0:55:36 > 0:55:38When you go into the Capitol archives

0:55:38 > 0:55:40and look at Nat King Cole's work -

0:55:40 > 0:55:42or listen to Nat King Cole's work -

0:55:42 > 0:55:43you don't hear pick-ups.

0:55:43 > 0:55:45You don't hear any pick-up on Sinatra,

0:55:45 > 0:55:47and you don't hear any pick-ups on Nat.

0:55:47 > 0:55:49Nat started at the top and went to the bottom,

0:55:49 > 0:55:52and if a technician made a mistake -

0:55:52 > 0:55:55cos Nat didn't make mistakes, he had perfect pitch -

0:55:55 > 0:55:57they would take it from the top.

0:55:57 > 0:56:00BIG BAND INTRO

0:56:00 > 0:56:01# In the evenings

0:56:01 > 0:56:04# May I come and sing

0:56:04 > 0:56:06# To you

0:56:08 > 0:56:10# All the songs that I would like

0:56:10 > 0:56:13# To bring to you... #

0:56:15 > 0:56:17DRUM ROLL

0:56:17 > 0:56:19The Nat King Cole Show!

0:56:19 > 0:56:23Because of the political climate at the time,

0:56:23 > 0:56:26and the climate in general in the nation,

0:56:26 > 0:56:31when Nat Cole had a TV show, that was super special.

0:56:31 > 0:56:35And, although I only saw it maybe once or twice, in those days,

0:56:35 > 0:56:39I had to see it to believe that it was really true.

0:56:39 > 0:56:41Because, word-of-mouth did not convince me

0:56:41 > 0:56:44that a black man had a TV show. I had to see it for myself!

0:56:45 > 0:56:48Here's a tune that I hope will bring back

0:56:48 > 0:56:50a special memory to you.

0:56:51 > 0:56:54# There will

0:56:54 > 0:56:58# Be many other nights

0:56:58 > 0:57:00# Like this... #

0:57:01 > 0:57:05This wonderful 15-minute performance on television,

0:57:05 > 0:57:07which I loved.

0:57:09 > 0:57:12It's one of the classics of that era.

0:57:13 > 0:57:18And Sammy Davis and all the musicians he brought along with him.

0:57:18 > 0:57:22# There will be other songs to sing... #

0:57:22 > 0:57:27Maybe ten years earlier it could not have happened.

0:57:27 > 0:57:28But Nat made it happen,

0:57:28 > 0:57:31and the timing was just right.

0:57:35 > 0:57:38A man possessed of genius

0:57:38 > 0:57:40when it came to his music,

0:57:40 > 0:57:42when it came to his singing.

0:57:42 > 0:57:45By all measures everybody thought he was indeed

0:57:45 > 0:57:47the greatest singer in the world.

0:57:47 > 0:57:49When he went on the air, the things that he did,

0:57:49 > 0:57:51and the way in which he delighted us

0:57:51 > 0:57:54was everything that you would have wanted

0:57:54 > 0:57:58somebody in that position of opportunity to display.

0:58:12 > 0:58:14We knew that Nat was very exceptional,

0:58:14 > 0:58:17we didn't know whether it would ever pass on,

0:58:17 > 0:58:20but he did show that it could be done.

0:58:20 > 0:58:22That's what the big thing was.

0:58:22 > 0:58:26It was a victory for America that this place opened up,

0:58:26 > 0:58:30and Nat's greatness was part of what prevailed.

0:58:30 > 0:58:32So, from that degree, we had a pride in the moment.

0:58:32 > 0:58:35A pride in what was taking place.

0:58:35 > 0:58:38It was his way, by not making political statements

0:58:38 > 0:58:41or anything like that, but just being...

0:58:43 > 0:58:46..a very wholesome human being.

0:58:46 > 0:58:49Musically and intellectually, so far above

0:58:49 > 0:58:53what people were accustomed to hearing on television at the time.

0:58:53 > 0:58:56If he can do that, I can do that

0:58:56 > 0:58:58because that's how those things happen.

0:58:58 > 0:59:00It's a chain of events, you know.

0:59:00 > 0:59:02So it was very significant.

0:59:02 > 0:59:05Although he had a lot of trouble, it was still very significant.

0:59:05 > 0:59:07He didn't expect no free ride,

0:59:07 > 0:59:10and nobody expected he would have a free ride, but, erm...

0:59:11 > 0:59:14if anybody could pull it off, he could.

0:59:14 > 0:59:17Thank you. Now, if you would all just get a little closer

0:59:17 > 0:59:20to your television sets, we don't want you to miss a word.

0:59:20 > 0:59:23I had left Ciro's and the Frontier

0:59:23 > 0:59:26and all those nightclubs and gone to NBC,

0:59:26 > 0:59:30primarily to bring the guest stars who used to work the nightclubs.

0:59:30 > 0:59:34So, they were listening to me, at that point.

0:59:34 > 0:59:37And so, I said, "This man is magic."

0:59:37 > 0:59:41And I took Alan Livingston, and I took Hal Kemp...

0:59:41 > 0:59:43"Come out to Ciro's and sit there

0:59:43 > 0:59:45"and listen to this man, and see what happens."

0:59:45 > 0:59:47You couldn't get in,

0:59:47 > 0:59:48the audience was young,

0:59:48 > 0:59:50the audience was primarily white,

0:59:50 > 0:59:53because black people could not afford that cover charge,

0:59:53 > 0:59:56and you saw magic happening.

0:59:56 > 0:59:58If those people go home,

0:59:58 > 1:00:00turn on the television set,

1:00:00 > 1:00:02they would love to see Nat Cole.

1:00:02 > 1:00:05So that was the whole pitch that I made.

1:00:05 > 1:00:08And guest stars... Guest stars wanted to work with Nat Cole.

1:00:08 > 1:00:10And now, ladies and gentlemen,

1:00:10 > 1:00:14here is a young man who has had a meteoric rise in show business.

1:00:14 > 1:00:16A modest fellow,

1:00:16 > 1:00:20whose greatest pleasure it is to entertain everybody.

1:00:21 > 1:00:23Let's really say hello to...

1:00:23 > 1:00:26- Tony Bennett! Yeah! Yeah! - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1:00:29 > 1:00:33# In the middle of an island

1:00:33 > 1:00:36# Lived a king in all his glory... #

1:00:36 > 1:00:41Nat was the ultimate god of doing it the right way.

1:00:41 > 1:00:44I mean, he had a television show

1:00:44 > 1:00:46that was so flawless

1:00:46 > 1:00:48and perfect...

1:00:50 > 1:00:53I was fortunate enough to be on his show also,

1:00:53 > 1:00:58and he had the most wonderful guest artists on the show.

1:01:00 > 1:01:03And he had Nelson Riddle, who is the...

1:01:03 > 1:01:05He was the one that discovered Nelson Riddle.

1:01:07 > 1:01:11Sinatra adapted Nelson Riddle to his great charts,

1:01:11 > 1:01:15but really Nat was the one that found this great orchestrator

1:01:15 > 1:01:18in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,

1:01:18 > 1:01:20and said this is who I want to record with.

1:01:20 > 1:01:25He was absolutely obsessed with his music.

1:01:27 > 1:01:30That was more important to him than anything.

1:01:31 > 1:01:34And, my mother respected that,

1:01:34 > 1:01:38even though she took a back seat, if you will.

1:01:38 > 1:01:40Possibly too often.

1:01:40 > 1:01:43Nelson Riddle was probably one of the fathers of pop music.

1:01:43 > 1:01:47In many ways Nelson was a lot like Nat.

1:01:47 > 1:01:50He was a gentle man, he was enormously creative,

1:01:50 > 1:01:53very inventive, very supportive,

1:01:53 > 1:01:56and he did love Nat Cole.

1:01:56 > 1:02:02My impression was he respected and loved Nat

1:02:02 > 1:02:04and really loved working with him.

1:02:04 > 1:02:07I think that he felt...

1:02:10 > 1:02:15I think that he felt a great deal of sympathy for Nat

1:02:15 > 1:02:19given the difficulties that Nat ran into

1:02:19 > 1:02:22as a black man competing in a white world.

1:02:22 > 1:02:25You know, one of the most important factors in the success of a record

1:02:25 > 1:02:27is the musical arrangement,

1:02:27 > 1:02:30arrangements like Begin The Beguine and In The Mood, Marie,

1:02:30 > 1:02:34and one of today's leading arrangers is our own Nelson Riddle.

1:02:34 > 1:02:37BAND STRIKES UP

1:02:37 > 1:02:40The product of this man's imagination

1:02:40 > 1:02:44is familiar to everyone who enjoys popular music.

1:02:44 > 1:02:47When he finishes an arrangement,

1:02:47 > 1:02:49Nelson hands the score

1:02:49 > 1:02:53to his chief copyist, Vern Jocum.

1:02:53 > 1:02:54First of all, I met...

1:02:54 > 1:02:56Nelson and I met some years before that.

1:02:56 > 1:02:59Nelson did some arranging for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

1:02:59 > 1:03:02after I had left the orchestra,

1:03:02 > 1:03:05and we were friendly through the years until, obviously,

1:03:05 > 1:03:08up until the time we began to work.

1:03:08 > 1:03:11But, when I heard the things that he'd been doing with Nat

1:03:11 > 1:03:13I said I've got to work with this guy,

1:03:13 > 1:03:15because he's absolutely marvellous.

1:03:15 > 1:03:18And he really did some beautiful orchestrations.

1:03:18 > 1:03:21Wonderful orchestrations.

1:03:21 > 1:03:25He and Nat fitted so well, that I was trying to be

1:03:25 > 1:03:29as successful as a vocalist with Nelson, as Nat was,

1:03:29 > 1:03:32and I never did find out whether we made it or not.

1:04:05 > 1:04:07I think they empathised with one another,

1:04:07 > 1:04:10around the sentiments of the blues.

1:04:10 > 1:04:14Because they both suffered, erm...

1:04:14 > 1:04:17I won't call it depression,

1:04:17 > 1:04:20but they were melancholy fellows.

1:04:20 > 1:04:22Deep down inside.

1:04:22 > 1:04:26APPLAUSE

1:04:26 > 1:04:28Nelson, that was really wonderful.

1:04:28 > 1:04:29We'll be back in just one moment.

1:04:31 > 1:04:36I was doing a gospel album called

1:04:36 > 1:04:39Rhapsody in Sacred Music.

1:04:39 > 1:04:45And we were recording this album at Capitol Studio A -

1:04:45 > 1:04:47about 40 musicians -

1:04:47 > 1:04:52and a guy who was a hot mixer around town

1:04:52 > 1:04:56was our mixer that day - Val Valentin.

1:04:56 > 1:04:58And Val liked what he heard

1:04:58 > 1:05:02and, unbeknownst to me, he...

1:05:03 > 1:05:07..he made a copy of the tape

1:05:07 > 1:05:10and took it to a guy by the name of Lee Gillette,

1:05:10 > 1:05:13who was the head of A&R at Capitol Records,

1:05:13 > 1:05:18and was producing Nat Cole's albums.

1:05:18 > 1:05:22And, erm, the rest is history.

1:05:22 > 1:05:25It was only a short time that I got a call from Lee Gillette,

1:05:25 > 1:05:29and the call was

1:05:29 > 1:05:33would I be interested in doing a Christmas album with Nat,

1:05:33 > 1:05:37and what do you suppose the answer was?

1:05:37 > 1:05:42# Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

1:05:44 > 1:05:47# Jack Frost nipping at your nose

1:05:50 > 1:05:55# Yuletide carols being sung by a choir... #

1:05:57 > 1:06:01I knew Ralphie was another gentleman,

1:06:01 > 1:06:04he was very much into gospel music

1:06:04 > 1:06:06and he was a terrific arranger.

1:06:06 > 1:06:09# ..a turkey and some mistletoe

1:06:09 > 1:06:12# Help to make the season bright

1:06:15 > 1:06:21# Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow

1:06:21 > 1:06:26# Will find it hard to sleep tonight... #

1:06:26 > 1:06:30There was one incident where they did do his face strangely.

1:06:30 > 1:06:33I don't know who did it, who was responsible for it,

1:06:33 > 1:06:35but it was outrageous.

1:06:35 > 1:06:38It made it look like he had padding on his face

1:06:38 > 1:06:39and they painted the padding.

1:06:39 > 1:06:41It was terrible - ugly, ugly.

1:06:43 > 1:06:44They put make-up on him to make him

1:06:44 > 1:06:48appealing to the white audience in America.

1:06:48 > 1:06:51Because they said, "Well, amazing talent

1:06:51 > 1:06:55"but we can't present in a way that would be offensive."

1:06:55 > 1:06:59And, at that time, blackness was very, you know, was very offensive.

1:06:59 > 1:07:02This was the blackest man I'd ever seen in my whole life.

1:07:02 > 1:07:04I mean, it's obvious the man was black.

1:07:04 > 1:07:06In fact, he was dark black.

1:07:06 > 1:07:09His skin was dark.

1:07:09 > 1:07:11He was not beige,

1:07:11 > 1:07:13it was pure black.

1:07:13 > 1:07:16It's like going...going to a circus

1:07:16 > 1:07:17and seeing a man who's white

1:07:17 > 1:07:20and they put a lot of make-up on him,

1:07:20 > 1:07:22to make him look like a clown.

1:07:22 > 1:07:23To me it was ridiculous.

1:07:23 > 1:07:26He is what he is. Why change him?

1:07:26 > 1:07:29You're deceiving the public by

1:07:29 > 1:07:31taking a man who IS black and trying to make him white.

1:07:31 > 1:07:33# Friendly, freshening Rheingold

1:07:33 > 1:07:35# Always happily dry #

1:07:35 > 1:07:38We were able to get Rheingold to sponsor.

1:07:38 > 1:07:40That was the main sponsor.

1:07:40 > 1:07:42# Rheingold is my beer

1:07:42 > 1:07:45# It's extra dry

1:07:46 > 1:07:49# One reason why it is my beer... #

1:07:51 > 1:07:54My wife Jolene had been a Rheingold Girl

1:07:54 > 1:07:57so we were very close to the head of the Rheingold company,

1:07:57 > 1:08:00and we brought him in to hear Nat

1:08:00 > 1:08:02and he loved him.

1:08:02 > 1:08:04And when he was at Ciro's he saw the audience,

1:08:04 > 1:08:05he saw the place was packed,

1:08:05 > 1:08:08we couldn't get in, and they wouldn't let him off stage.

1:08:08 > 1:08:11Well, there's an audience of great acceptance.

1:08:11 > 1:08:14He said, "Wait, those are the people who drink Rheingold beer."

1:08:14 > 1:08:16So it wasn't easy to sell the show,

1:08:16 > 1:08:20but when the South came out against it, and started cancelling stations,

1:08:20 > 1:08:22Rheingold could not stay with the show.

1:08:22 > 1:08:26His ratings were not good in a lot of the South.

1:08:26 > 1:08:30They did not broadcast his programmes.

1:08:30 > 1:08:31They were anti-black.

1:08:31 > 1:08:33I didn't think he had a chance.

1:08:33 > 1:08:37There were too many people against the fact that there was

1:08:37 > 1:08:40a black man on national television,

1:08:40 > 1:08:43and it just wouldn't go.

1:08:43 > 1:08:47There was resistance to anything intelligent in the South,

1:08:47 > 1:08:49at that time.

1:08:49 > 1:08:52They were still living as cave dwellers.

1:08:52 > 1:08:54That's their loss.

1:08:56 > 1:08:57You know?

1:08:57 > 1:08:58That's stupidity.

1:08:58 > 1:09:03At the time, there were far more who liked it than didn't.

1:09:03 > 1:09:06- Nat, can I give you just a little suggestion?- What's that?

1:09:06 > 1:09:08Nat, you're doing wonderful now,

1:09:08 > 1:09:10but you need a style when you sing.

1:09:10 > 1:09:12AUDIENCE LAUGHS

1:09:12 > 1:09:13Style? You want to show me?

1:09:13 > 1:09:15Well, there was a guy, I remember...

1:09:15 > 1:09:16I saw a guy many years ago,

1:09:16 > 1:09:18used to work with a trio, erm...

1:09:18 > 1:09:21He played the piano - wonderful. King something, his name was.

1:09:21 > 1:09:24It went like... Start like this...

1:09:24 > 1:09:28- MIMICS NAT: - # I used to walk with you

1:09:28 > 1:09:30# Along the Avenue

1:09:33 > 1:09:35# Our hearts were carefree

1:09:35 > 1:09:39# ..and gay... #

1:09:39 > 1:09:45It's so ignorant, because we're all here on this planet and, regretfully,

1:09:45 > 1:09:50what I really disliked about it, is the show was flawless.

1:09:50 > 1:09:53They could play it right now on television

1:09:53 > 1:09:56and it would be a smash.

1:09:56 > 1:10:00The show was, first of all, number one in its time slot.

1:10:00 > 1:10:04Had the largest viewing audience of any show in that time slot,

1:10:04 > 1:10:06in that space,

1:10:06 > 1:10:10and despite this display of audience numbers,

1:10:10 > 1:10:14of the willingness to support the show and whatnot,

1:10:14 > 1:10:17they decided to pull it from the air.

1:10:17 > 1:10:19If he wasn't embarrassed, he was hurt

1:10:19 > 1:10:22that he couldn't get sponsorship.

1:10:22 > 1:10:24He was a tremendously big star.

1:10:24 > 1:10:27Nat just finally made up his own mind.

1:10:27 > 1:10:30That was the only thing I kept trying to make clear, you know,

1:10:30 > 1:10:33they'd say in the paper he lost his show - he didn't lose the show.

1:10:33 > 1:10:35He could've gone on if he'd wanted.

1:10:35 > 1:10:38Everyone, almost, on it did it for nothing, you know. Everyone.

1:10:38 > 1:10:40I mean, all those stars gave...

1:10:40 > 1:10:41They were just...

1:10:41 > 1:10:44just...so anxious for him to get this going.

1:10:44 > 1:10:47But, Nat, himself, finally said,

1:10:47 > 1:10:50"I don't want to do it like this any more.

1:10:50 > 1:10:52"It's killing us trying to get sponsors..."

1:10:52 > 1:10:54He said, as I've told you before,

1:10:54 > 1:10:56"Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark."

1:10:56 > 1:10:58To me he belongs somewhere

1:10:58 > 1:11:00with that line written...

1:11:00 > 1:11:04his name with that written beneath it about his show,

1:11:04 > 1:11:07because after he said that he did this...

1:11:07 > 1:11:10For the nation to have done what they did to him,

1:11:10 > 1:11:13in relationship to the show,

1:11:13 > 1:11:16was an unforgivable act of cruelty.

1:11:16 > 1:11:21And he never quite recovered from that.

1:11:21 > 1:11:23Every so often a performer wants to thank

1:11:23 > 1:11:26everyone at the end of a motion picture,

1:11:26 > 1:11:27a theatrical production

1:11:27 > 1:11:30or, in our case, a television show.

1:11:30 > 1:11:33And on this show, what has meant the most to me

1:11:33 > 1:11:35has been the wonderful spirit of our feeling

1:11:35 > 1:11:37that has existed at all times.

1:11:37 > 1:11:41This quality is the most difficult to find, and we had it.

1:11:41 > 1:11:44Judging by your mail, you must have felt it at home

1:11:44 > 1:11:47and that counts the most with us, too.

1:11:47 > 1:11:51Naturally, there just isn't enough time to express my gratitude

1:11:51 > 1:11:55to every individual here in the studio, or you at home,

1:11:55 > 1:11:58so may I simply say to all of you for now, thanks,

1:11:58 > 1:12:01a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

1:12:03 > 1:12:06..as Goldie the fighting legionnaire!

1:12:10 > 1:12:11I always wanted a kid, Brock.

1:12:12 > 1:12:17My wife was told we couldn't have one, we put in papers to adopt one.

1:12:17 > 1:12:20I don't think Nat King Cole

1:12:20 > 1:12:24was ever as uncomfortable anywhere in the world

1:12:24 > 1:12:27as he was in front of a camera

1:12:27 > 1:12:29being required to act.

1:12:29 > 1:12:32He was always brought on because of his personality

1:12:32 > 1:12:34and because he was a great singer,

1:12:34 > 1:12:37and that his name on the box office never hurt

1:12:37 > 1:12:39audiences coming.

1:12:39 > 1:12:43But he was never, ever comfortable as an actor.

1:12:43 > 1:12:46I remember once he did a Western,

1:12:46 > 1:12:49and the picture just come out and whatnot,

1:12:49 > 1:12:53and I told him I was going to go see it and he said,

1:12:53 > 1:12:55he said he was not only not going to see it,

1:12:55 > 1:12:59but if I should see it, he never wanted to know about it.

1:12:59 > 1:13:01And the reason he was saying that was because

1:13:01 > 1:13:05he just wasn't comfortable at what he did, and how he came off.

1:13:05 > 1:13:07But he kept at it.

1:13:07 > 1:13:09He kept at it because it was the right career move to make.

1:13:11 > 1:13:13We were sort of just fooling around,

1:13:13 > 1:13:15waiting for him to go to appear.

1:13:15 > 1:13:18And he acted kind of funny.

1:13:18 > 1:13:20He just didn't act...

1:13:20 > 1:13:22I don't remember anything hurting him,

1:13:22 > 1:13:24he just didn't feel well.

1:13:24 > 1:13:26I showed up at the hotel,

1:13:26 > 1:13:28Maria was there, Nat.

1:13:28 > 1:13:30He answered the door,

1:13:30 > 1:13:33and I couldn't believe it. He was...

1:13:33 > 1:13:35..like he looked the night before -

1:13:35 > 1:13:37pale, absolutely pale.

1:13:37 > 1:13:40I said, "Man, you look the worst!" He said, "I feel the worst."

1:13:40 > 1:13:43He passed out. I wasn't there.

1:13:43 > 1:13:45And Ivan was with him.

1:13:45 > 1:13:48- I said, "What's the matter?" - He described what was happening.

1:13:48 > 1:13:50I said, "You got to do something about this.

1:13:50 > 1:13:54"Let me call my buddy, my doctor."

1:13:54 > 1:13:57He said, "All right, go ahead, call him."

1:13:57 > 1:13:59Just a little indigestion, Huh, doc?

1:13:59 > 1:14:02You know it's quite a bit more than indigestion.

1:14:02 > 1:14:05I've warned you before about those ulcers of yours.

1:14:05 > 1:14:08But I've got to go out there to do a concert.

1:14:08 > 1:14:10I'm late now.

1:14:10 > 1:14:13Sorry, Mr Cole. The only place you're going is the hospital.

1:14:13 > 1:14:14Hospital?

1:14:14 > 1:14:18He came out in the audience and made an apology to the audience,

1:14:18 > 1:14:19and he wound up in the hospital.

1:14:19 > 1:14:21And he was...

1:14:21 > 1:14:23deathly ill.

1:14:23 > 1:14:25But it was strange, what the doctor said.

1:14:25 > 1:14:28Nat was supposed to go on a tour after that, in the South,

1:14:28 > 1:14:33and he said, "I don't want you taking the chance in going down there,

1:14:33 > 1:14:37"and they won't admit you in a hospital."

1:14:38 > 1:14:42But it was true. If he had gone down there and become ill...

1:14:44 > 1:14:48Bleeding ulcers need an immediate operation.

1:14:48 > 1:14:50He could have died.

1:14:59 > 1:15:02I think the one that was talked about the most

1:15:02 > 1:15:05and was very public was the attack in Alabama.

1:15:05 > 1:15:08Nat signs up to do a tour down south.

1:15:08 > 1:15:12It was financially very good, but...

1:15:13 > 1:15:16..emotionally it was terrible.

1:15:16 > 1:15:18After I got to about the third song, the next thing I knew...

1:15:18 > 1:15:20the spotlight had me blinded.

1:15:20 > 1:15:22Off the stage, the auditorium is completely dark,

1:15:22 > 1:15:24as you know, when you're working.

1:15:24 > 1:15:27Next thing I know I was hit around the ankles,

1:15:27 > 1:15:31I was sort of tripped, and I was sort of reaching over the footlight.

1:15:31 > 1:15:34For the people who saw that happen,

1:15:34 > 1:15:38it heightened a sensibility and a sensitivity

1:15:38 > 1:15:42to what the rest of us experienced, but didn't have Nat's platform.

1:15:42 > 1:15:44There was a lot of criticism,

1:15:44 > 1:15:46by some of his own people,

1:15:46 > 1:15:48because I don't know what they expected him to do -

1:15:48 > 1:15:50I've said this before,

1:15:50 > 1:15:54but I think they felt that he rationalised too much about it.

1:15:54 > 1:15:56Do you expect any more trouble?

1:15:56 > 1:15:58Oh, no, I don't think so.

1:15:58 > 1:15:59I think this is one out of a million.

1:15:59 > 1:16:03I don't think it'll turn out to be a continuous thing.

1:16:03 > 1:16:07The only thing, we couldn't take a chance on continuing there last night,

1:16:07 > 1:16:10because, you never can tell, innocent people might've got hurt from this thing.

1:16:10 > 1:16:13- Will you request police protection? - No, no, not exactly.

1:16:13 > 1:16:17I don't think it was a personal affront to me, personally.

1:16:17 > 1:16:20It was shocking to think that anybody as sweet and nice as Nat

1:16:20 > 1:16:23could have this happen to him.

1:16:23 > 1:16:26I didn't know what I could do about it.

1:16:26 > 1:16:28And when I tried to do things about it...

1:16:28 > 1:16:30Like when we played one place,

1:16:30 > 1:16:33I went up into the balconies in the break,

1:16:33 > 1:16:36and sat up there and talked to the blacks up there.

1:16:36 > 1:16:40And a policeman came and told me, he says, "You can't be up here.

1:16:40 > 1:16:41"We don't do that down here."

1:16:41 > 1:16:43And then, Nat took me aside and says,

1:16:43 > 1:16:47"Look, you can't carry our cross, Jack, OK?"

1:16:47 > 1:16:49He says, "Don't do that any more."

1:16:49 > 1:16:52- Dad quietly made his mark. He was not...- He did.

1:16:52 > 1:16:54And often criticised for that.

1:16:54 > 1:16:59- Right. - For not being the political...

1:16:59 > 1:17:02..bigmouth activist that a lot of his counterparts were,

1:17:02 > 1:17:05who were going through the same thing.

1:17:05 > 1:17:08Erm... It was not his style.

1:17:08 > 1:17:10It was not who he was.

1:17:16 > 1:17:19He showed up at the recordings,

1:17:19 > 1:17:23not in his usual casual manner.

1:17:24 > 1:17:28He dressed in a suit...

1:17:29 > 1:17:32..and we commented about that.

1:17:32 > 1:17:37Why would he dress up to come to a recording?

1:17:37 > 1:17:41He must have been valuing every day.

1:17:41 > 1:17:44Maybe he knew his time was short.

1:17:44 > 1:17:47I never saw Nat without a cigarette. Never.

1:17:47 > 1:17:49And when he had that holder,

1:17:49 > 1:17:51everybody went out and bought holders

1:17:51 > 1:17:52because Nat King Cole did it.

1:17:52 > 1:17:55I used to argue with him a lot about one main thing -

1:17:55 > 1:17:57his smoking.

1:17:58 > 1:18:01A lot of us pleaded with him to stop smoking so much,

1:18:01 > 1:18:04not because we understood

1:18:04 > 1:18:06that cancer was inevitable,

1:18:06 > 1:18:09we knew that illness was inevitable,

1:18:09 > 1:18:11but we didn't know that death was inevitable.

1:18:11 > 1:18:15# Couldn't possibly heal

1:18:15 > 1:18:17# All this pain

1:18:17 > 1:18:20# Here in my soul

1:18:21 > 1:18:24# Won't you tell me what love is?

1:18:24 > 1:18:26# But a prelude

1:18:26 > 1:18:29# A prelude to sorrow

1:18:29 > 1:18:32I think I'd been married for about seven years.

1:18:32 > 1:18:35And there were things that were just getting to me.

1:18:35 > 1:18:38And I just decided I'd go back to work.

1:18:38 > 1:18:41And I worked for - not very long -

1:18:41 > 1:18:43then I decided I didn't like it,

1:18:43 > 1:18:46I didn't want to work that hard, and I quit.

1:18:46 > 1:18:48And things were fine.

1:18:48 > 1:18:51And then, just about, oh...

1:18:51 > 1:18:53a couple of years before he died,

1:18:53 > 1:18:55he did have a major...

1:18:55 > 1:18:57That's the only time, really,

1:18:57 > 1:18:58I can say he had an affair.

1:18:58 > 1:19:01But you'll only hear about so much of it from me.

1:19:01 > 1:19:03# Goodbye. #

1:19:03 > 1:19:06I went to Europe to get away, that's all.

1:19:06 > 1:19:07That's what the trip to Europe was.

1:19:07 > 1:19:10When I came back I came back into New York to our apartment

1:19:10 > 1:19:12and I called his doctor.

1:19:16 > 1:19:20We had recorded L.O.V.E as a single

1:19:20 > 1:19:23down here at Capitol

1:19:23 > 1:19:25and it became a hit.

1:19:25 > 1:19:26So we took the band

1:19:26 > 1:19:29and Nat was playing at a club

1:19:29 > 1:19:33that he used to play up in the Bay area.

1:19:33 > 1:19:37During one of those performances

1:19:37 > 1:19:41he fell gravely ill

1:19:41 > 1:19:44and they brought him back immediately

1:19:44 > 1:19:48to the hospital in southern California.

1:19:48 > 1:19:50I called the doctor.

1:19:50 > 1:19:51I spoke to him,

1:19:51 > 1:19:55and I said to him, "What, he's not well?"

1:19:55 > 1:19:58And he said... I said, "Well, maybe, do you think I should come on home?"

1:19:58 > 1:20:00And he said, "I think you should."

1:20:00 > 1:20:02That's all he said to me.

1:20:02 > 1:20:05But I'm not a fool. I knew then it was something serious.

1:20:05 > 1:20:07That's all the doctor said to me.

1:20:07 > 1:20:08And I came home.

1:20:08 > 1:20:11He was already in the hospital.

1:20:12 > 1:20:16I remember when Nat went into St John's in Santa Monica...

1:20:22 > 1:20:25My sister came one day... They were very close.

1:20:25 > 1:20:29..and he had a room, a beautiful room looking over the mountains.

1:20:29 > 1:20:30Right at the end of the hallway.

1:20:30 > 1:20:33And she wheeled him out to the windows,

1:20:33 > 1:20:35and he was sitting there -

1:20:35 > 1:20:38and it was the only intimation that we ever had -

1:20:38 > 1:20:41he said, "Turn me away."

1:20:43 > 1:20:48# And now the purple dusk of twilight time... #

1:20:48 > 1:20:51The nurse who I loved - the last one we had -

1:20:51 > 1:20:54we took him down and took him out for a ride,

1:20:54 > 1:20:58and they put him in a wheelchair.

1:20:58 > 1:21:02"Honey, I want you to see the beach house that I was looking at."

1:21:02 > 1:21:04And, oh, he loved that.

1:21:04 > 1:21:06So it made him think he was going to...

1:21:06 > 1:21:08I guess, I don't know... I did want to see it.

1:21:08 > 1:21:11So we took him on this ride to Santa Monica,

1:21:11 > 1:21:14and we took him to this house.

1:21:14 > 1:21:15It was huge.

1:21:15 > 1:21:19And we rolled him into the living room.

1:21:19 > 1:21:23It was situated so you could see the ocean.

1:21:23 > 1:21:26And he looked out the window, and he said to me,

1:21:26 > 1:21:30"Go ahead and buy it, Skeez."

1:21:32 > 1:21:41# The music of the years gone by

1:21:42 > 1:21:48# Sometimes I wonder

1:21:48 > 1:21:51# Why I spend...

1:21:51 > 1:21:54# ..the lonely night

1:21:56 > 1:21:58# Dreaming of a song

1:21:59 > 1:22:02# For melody

1:22:02 > 1:22:04# Haunts my reverie

1:22:06 > 1:22:08# And I am once again with you... #

1:22:10 > 1:22:13We were coming out of the treatment place

1:22:13 > 1:22:16at the Santa Monica hospital,

1:22:16 > 1:22:18and the press was out there.

1:22:20 > 1:22:24There's a picture of me with him. It was in the paper,

1:22:24 > 1:22:26him holding on to me.

1:22:26 > 1:22:28And I looked at them and I saw...

1:22:28 > 1:22:33And he said, "No, Skeez, let them take the pictures."

1:22:33 > 1:22:36And I did. And they cried.

1:22:43 > 1:22:47# A paradise where roses grew

1:22:47 > 1:22:50# Though I dream in vain

1:22:54 > 1:23:00# In my heart, it will remain

1:23:00 > 1:23:04# My stardust melody

1:23:04 > 1:23:09# The memory

1:23:09 > 1:23:14# Of love's refrain. #

1:23:16 > 1:23:18I remember always saying to myself -

1:23:18 > 1:23:21I know if my husband gets well,

1:23:21 > 1:23:24I am not too sure I'm going to stay here.

1:23:24 > 1:23:26But if my husband doesn't get well,

1:23:26 > 1:23:28I'm never going to leave him.

1:23:29 > 1:23:32Never mentioned the word cancer the whole time.

1:23:32 > 1:23:33He was there two months.

1:23:33 > 1:23:36He went in on December 6, he died February 15.

1:23:38 > 1:23:41It was a tragedy, and I think we all felt that.

1:23:41 > 1:23:43A huge loss.

1:23:43 > 1:23:45He had a ton of people came through

1:23:45 > 1:23:47to see him, to pay their respects.

1:23:47 > 1:23:52And, yeah, I think the world was very sad when Nat passed away.

1:23:52 > 1:23:55We're talkin' 46 years ago, and I still feel it.

1:23:57 > 1:23:59We, of course, had a sealed casket.

1:23:59 > 1:24:01Kelly was right there with me.

1:24:01 > 1:24:03When we got ready to leave he said,

1:24:03 > 1:24:05"Let me just t...

1:24:05 > 1:24:08"Let me just touch the casket."

1:24:12 > 1:24:14INDISTINCT

1:24:14 > 1:24:19# I love you

1:24:20 > 1:24:26# For sentimental reasons... #

1:24:27 > 1:24:30You know, when you're at the funeral of a parent

1:24:30 > 1:24:31I don't think you remember too much.

1:24:31 > 1:24:33You know.

1:24:33 > 1:24:35I just kept looking at my mom.

1:24:35 > 1:24:37I mean, she was just...

1:24:39 > 1:24:40..broken.

1:24:42 > 1:24:45He said he's been carrying us all of our lives,

1:24:45 > 1:24:47now it's our turn to carry him.

1:24:47 > 1:24:50I thought that was SO profound.

1:24:50 > 1:24:51I cried like a baby.

1:24:51 > 1:24:54It was a very, very tough time,

1:24:54 > 1:24:57and everybody, it seemed, was there,

1:24:57 > 1:25:00everyone that ever knew my dad,

1:25:00 > 1:25:02everyone that ever loved him,

1:25:02 > 1:25:05including quite a lot of celebrities.

1:25:05 > 1:25:06Yeah, it was pretty massive.

1:25:06 > 1:25:08Lots and lots of people.

1:25:08 > 1:25:14# I think of you every morning

1:25:16 > 1:25:22# Dream of you every night

1:25:24 > 1:25:28# Darling, I'm never lonely... #

1:25:29 > 1:25:33It was a universal reaction - everyone was sad.

1:25:33 > 1:25:36And, although Nat was in the hospital,

1:25:36 > 1:25:38and had lost a lot of weight,

1:25:38 > 1:25:43er, they weren't really publicising the fact that he was that sick

1:25:43 > 1:25:45so it was kind of a surprise to a lot of people.

1:25:45 > 1:25:48To me, it was one of the worst days,

1:25:48 > 1:25:52because we truly lost a great human being,

1:25:52 > 1:25:55as well as a great performer.

1:25:55 > 1:25:58He had prayers from the Frank Sinatras

1:25:58 > 1:26:00and the Tony Bennetts and...

1:26:00 > 1:26:02everybody, you know,

1:26:02 > 1:26:04because they could feel his soul,

1:26:04 > 1:26:07they could feel his...truism.

1:26:07 > 1:26:11The thing I learned about Nat,

1:26:11 > 1:26:14and it's strange to say that about

1:26:14 > 1:26:20such a big masculine figure like Nat King Cole is,

1:26:20 > 1:26:23I learned gentleness.

1:26:23 > 1:26:27Quality artists that produce 'em live in our memories.

1:26:27 > 1:26:29A LONG time.

1:26:29 > 1:26:32His music will live for ever.

1:26:32 > 1:26:35It will never sound dated.

1:26:35 > 1:26:37It will never become old-fashioned.

1:26:37 > 1:26:39I listen to him and...

1:26:41 > 1:26:44..I just can't get the sense that he's gone.

1:26:44 > 1:26:47No matter how many years we all live,

1:26:47 > 1:26:50there's only one Nat King Cole.

1:26:50 > 1:26:54The blazing of the trail, the making things happen, was Nat Cole.

1:26:54 > 1:26:57He was the first to do many wonderful things.

1:26:58 > 1:27:02It's about love. And he sang that song, L.O.V.E.

1:27:02 > 1:27:07So, that is to me what he represented.

1:27:07 > 1:27:11I happen to know that he was...

1:27:13 > 1:27:17..especially toward the end, he was a...

1:27:17 > 1:27:19a great believer.

1:27:19 > 1:27:21Thank you, Nat.

1:27:21 > 1:27:26# Grown-ups don't know where to find that magic window

1:27:26 > 1:27:32# But it's any window little boys look through

1:27:32 > 1:27:35# There's so much for you to see

1:27:35 > 1:27:39# So don't ever say to me

1:27:39 > 1:27:43# That you've got a lot of growing up to do

1:27:45 > 1:27:50# Cos I wish that I were growing down to you. #