Nat King Cole.
During a performance in the deep American South he was beaten up on stage by five white red-necks. When he, as a succesful black person, bought a house in a high class neighbourhood in Los Angeles, his neighbours would place signs in his front yard with texts on them which read ”Get out of here!” and ”Here’s negro heaven”.
At the same time, his success with the white crowd would be met with heavy critique from the black community, claiming he was acting like an Uncle Tom.
He started as a pianist in a high profile modern jazz trio. During this time, Nat King Cole would fall in love with singing ballads, all the while being successful with light-hearted hit parade songs.
Yet he did not move effortlessly with the changing musical styles that took place during his career, as seen in the song ‘Mr. Cole won’t rock and roll’, in which he made fun of the musical style of Elvis Presley and associates.
This time, in this Palace of Nostalgia, we have an overview of the career of this pleasant singer, pianist, composer and entertainer, whose smoky voice almost always contained a smile.
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