Nat "King" Cole, pianist, songwriter, vocalist, and actor was one of the most influential African American performers from the early 1940s until his untimely death in 1965. Cole's warm, open, liquid, smooth voice was blessed with perfect intonation and diction, and appealed to a crossover audience, garnering not only acceptance in America but also worldwide. As a personality, Cole epitomized the suave sophistication that urban blacks were beginning to aspire to in the 1940s.

Cole's date of birth is in question. For his two marriages in 1937 and in 1948, Cole gave birthdates of 1915 and 1919, respectively. For the selective service he gave the year 1916. James Haskins and Leslie Gourse, two Cole biographers, accepted 1916 since it was his draft registration. Born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, Cole was exposed to many types of black music. At the age of...