Research Catalog

Title

Nat King Cole papers, 1910-1996.

Author

Cole, Nat King, 1919-1965.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.

Description

41.5 lin. feet (134 boxes)

Summary

• The collection consists of six series. Personal Papers includes biographical profiles, vital records, invitations, ephemera, and deeds and other correspondence for the purchase of a house in the then all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The correspondence is sparse and consists mainly of letters which appear to have been originally included in scrapbooks. There are two thank you letters from Senator John F. Kennedy during the campaigns of 1958 and 1960, and cards and letters from well-wishers during his final illness (1964-1965). Awards and Tributes include honorary degrees, certificates of appreciation, and programs for posthumous tributes. There is also material related to Cole's adopted son Nat Kelly Cole in the series.
• Professional Papers consist of thank-you letters for performances, congratulatory telegrams, and performance materials, such as programs, itineraries, menus, advertisements, and ephemera. Printed Materials consist largely of newspaper clippings and magazine articles documenting Cole's career and family life. The Scrapbooks series includes numerous albums documenting significant events in Cole's life and career from 1943 to 1965, his wedding to singer Maria Ellington in 1948, celebrations and testimonials, his travels throughout the world, and final illness and death. Scores is the largest series comprising arrangements of songs that Cole recorded and performed throughout his career; bound songbooks and published sheet music; and material from the musical revue "I'm With You," which he attempted to bring to Broadway in 1960 but which closed on the road following negative reviews. The Maria Cole series contains correspondence, biographical material, scrapbooks, scripts, and drafts for her 1971 book "Nat King Cole: An Intimate Biography," as well as scores. The series documents her first marriage to Tuskegee Airman Spurgeon N. Ellington, her 1948 wedding to Nat King Cole, her return to performing in 1955 and in 1965 following Cole's death, her philanthropic endeavors, and efforts to preserve Cole's legacy.

Subjects

• Women jazz musicians
• African American singers
• Cole, Nat Kelly, 1959-1995
• Ellington, Spurgeon N., 1919-1945
• Cole, Nat King, 1919-1965
• Black author
• Jazz musicians > United States
• King Cole Trio
• African American women singers
• African American entertainers
• African American women jazz singers
• African American jazz musicians
• Women singers > United States
• Jazz singers > United States
• Popular music > United States > 1971-1980
• Cole, Maria, 1922-2012
• Musical scores
• African American women entertainers
• Sheet Music
• Cole, Natalie, 1950-2015
• African American musicians

Genre/Form

• Musical scores.
• Sheet Music.

Note

• Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
• Artifacts transferred to Art and Artifact Division.
• Audiotapes, videotapes and films transferred to Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.

Source (note)

• Maria Cole

Biography (note)

• Nat King Cole was a popular singer and jazz musician whose 30-year career included recordings, concerts throughout the world, club appearances, television, and film. He was born in 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama and moved with his family to Chicago in 1923 so his father could pursue a career as a Baptist minister. He played the organ in his father's church and, in high school, became fascinated with jazz music. He made his first recording in 1936 as a pianist with his brother Eddie's sextet. After touring with a revival of "Shuffle Along," he settled in Los Angeles and formed the King Cole Trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince. Following his first hit, "Straighten Up and Fly Right" in 1943, King gradually reduced his piano playing to concentrate on singing. His 1946 recording of "The Christmas Song" began a string of hits which included "Nature Boy," "Mona Lisa," "Too Young," and "Unforgettable." At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, he continued recording popular songs, toured throughout the United States and in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, had his own television series in 1956, and appeared in films such as "China Gate," "St. Louis Blues," and "Cat Ballou." Nat King Cole died of cancer in 1965 at age 45.

Call Number

Sc MG 695

OCLC

• 881527030
• 881527030

Author

Cole, Nat King, 1919-1965.

Title

Nat King Cole papers, 1910-1996.

Biography

Nat King Cole was a popular singer and jazz musician whose 30-year career included recordings, concerts throughout the world, club appearances, television, and film. He was born in 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama and moved with his family to Chicago in 1923 so his father could pursue a career as a Baptist minister. He played the organ in his father's church and, in high school, became fascinated with jazz music. He made his first recording in 1936 as a pianist with his brother Eddie's sextet. After touring with a revival of "Shuffle Along," he settled in Los Angeles and formed the King Cole Trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince. Following his first hit, "Straighten Up and Fly Right" in 1943, King gradually reduced his piano playing to concentrate on singing. His 1946 recording of "The Christmas Song" began a string of hits which included "Nature Boy," "Mona Lisa," "Too Young," and "Unforgettable." At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, he continued recording popular songs, toured throughout the United States and in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, had his own television series in 1956, and appeared in films such as "China Gate," "St. Louis Blues," and "Cat Ballou." Nat King Cole died of cancer in 1965 at age 45.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Local Subject

Black author.

Added Author

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 695