Nat King Cole was a jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter whose remarkable talent and popular appeal became important during the civil rights movement in America.

Born Nathaniel Adams Coles on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, Nat King Cole was the son of a butcher who served as a deacon in the Baptist church. He had three brothers, Edward, Isaac, and Lionel (known as Freddie); and two sisters, Eddie Mae and Evelyn. His mother was a church organist and taught him to play when he was very young; his childhood repertoire included children's songs, jazz and blues, and classical music.

During his childhood the family moved to Chicago, where his father became a minister. There, the young Cole would sneak out of the house at night to stand by the back doors of jazz clubs and listen to artists like Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Noone.

As his own musical skill developed, he joined the Walter Dyett music program at DuSable High School, continually expanding his range and abilities. Besides playing keyboard instruments he worked on developing the singing skills he had learned in the church choir. He also excelled in athletics, particularly baseball.

In the mid-1930s Cole began to work as a professional musician, forming groups called The Rogues of Rhythm, the Royal Dukes, and the Solid Swingers and playing in any club which would accept them.

He later joined Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along revue, along with his older brother Edward, who was a bassist. There he met dancer Nadine Robinson, whom he married. They made their money playing out of tune instruments in crumbling venues, but nonetheless Cole's extraordinary talent stood out, winning him a loyal following.

In 1938 he moved to Los Angeles after being asked to form a group to play at the Sewanee Inn club there. Working with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, he formed the King Cole trio and took the name Nat King Cole. The band were well received, finding work in good venues right across the city. Despite the loss of Prince (who was replaced by Johnny Miller after signing up to serve in World War II), they won a record contract with Capitol Records and began a recording career that led to the production of no less than forty-eight albums.

During his remarkable career, Cole won numerous accolades and was credited as a critical creative influence in the development of rock n' roll (though he was never considered a rock musician himself) due to his use of folk motifs in his compositions. He was the first black artist to have his own network television show and he also enjoyed a career in the movies, appearing in films such as Pistol Packin' Mama, with Ruth Terry and Robert Livingston; Istanbul, with Errol Flynn and Cornell Borchers; St Louis Blues, with Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, and Ella Fitzgerald; and even Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane.

Cole's influence was also felt in politics. He was frequently consulted by President John F Kennedy and President Linden B Johnson on civil rights issues, though he attracted criticism from some quarters for his non-confrontational approach; his belief was that civil behavior and the display of talent such as his own would prove a more effective way of winning the argument against segregation.

Cole divorced Robinson in 1948, having fallen in love with the singer Maria Hawkins Ellington, whom he went on to marry. The couple had three daughters, Natalie Cole, who would go on to sing with her father and become a successful artist in her own right; Casey; and Timolin. They adopted Ellington's niece, by her sister, Carol and also a son, Nat Kelly.

Throughout their marriage Cole was involved with other women, including the actress Gunilla Hutton, but he and Ellington remained close friends and she nursed him during his final years after he contracted lung cancer.

He died on February 15, 1965, and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

YUDDY