Nat King Cole - It's Only a Paper Moon

Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919-1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death. His variety television show ran for about a year, and he himself pulled the plug. Many of the acts associated with the show worked for free to keep costs down.
In 1948, Cole purchased a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, still active in Los Angeles well into the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving in. Cole retorted, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."
Cole was a heavy smoker of Kool menthol cigarettes, believing that smoking up to three packs a day gave his voice the rich sound it had (Cole would smoke several cigarettes in rapid succession before a recording for this very purpose). The many years of smoking caught up with him, resulting in his death from lung cancer on February 15, 1965, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, CA. Cole was 45. This is him performing "It's Only a Paper Moon". The song was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and Billy Rose. It was initially written for an unsuccessful Broadway play called The Great Magoo.

www.nat-king-cole.org

Smelly Dog