Most frequent collaboratorLee Gillette · 133 tracks
GenresVocal JazzTraditional PopJazz
Singer / Performer
1%
Authorship
Holds writing credit on 2 of 141 tracks
Did Nat King Cole write his own songs?
Mostly no. He was chiefly an interpreter who recorded songs written by other composers and lyricists. He did co-write a few of his own, most notably 'Straighten Up and Fly Right' in 1943 with Irving Mills, but his catalog of hits was largely built on outside material.
By the Numbers
12
Studio Albums
141
Tracks Credited
1%
Self-Written
50 million
Records Sold
28
Years Active
217
Collaborators
Authorship Breakdown 2 / 141 self-written
Who wrote the songs?
Across all 141 tracks: how many Nat King Cole wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Nat King Cole has a writing credit1%
1%
99%
Sole author2tracks1%
Co-written0tracks0%
Outside writers139tracks99%
Role Fingerprint how they contribute
Nat King Cole's roles across the catalogue
Share of all 141 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Lyricist (words)0%
Composer (music)1%
Producer0%
Performer100%
Authorship Over Time writing credit per album
Nat King Cole's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
avg 1%
25%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1950Nat King Cole at the Piano
1954Unforgettable
1957Love Is the Thing
1957After Midnight
1957Just One of Those Things
1958Cole Español
1958St. Louis Blues
1958The Very Thought of You
1960The Magic of Christmas
1962Ramblin' Rose
1964Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady
1965L-O-V-E
Early · 5% written
Mid · 0% written
Late · 0% written
Authorship by Decade track-weighted
2%
1950s
Nat King Cole at the Piano, Unforgettable +6 more
0%
1960s
The Magic of Christmas, Ramblin' Rose +2 more
Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author
Where Nat King Cole sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Nat King Cole
Other artists on the site
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
Written by Mitchell Parish, Hoagland Howard Carmichael
Outside writers
The Christmas Song
The Magic of Christmas
Written by Robert Wells, Melvin Howard Tormé
Outside writers
Ramblin' Rose
Ramblin' Rose
Written by Noel Sherman, Joe Sherman
Outside writers
L-O-V-E
L-O-V-E
Written by Milt Gabler, Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert
Outside writers
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
Discography 12 albums
Covers a core selection of twelve Nat King Cole studio albums, from Nat King Cole at the Piano (1950) through his final album L-O-V-E (1965), spanning his jazz-trio, orchestral-ballad, Latin, country-pop, Christmas, and Broadway-songbook records. Cole recorded roughly forty studio albums for Capitol; the remaining titles are tracked in TODO.md under Incomplete Catalog.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. Showing the 150 most frequent of 216. LG Lee Gillette · RC Ralph Carmichael · GJ Gordon Jenkins · JC John Collins · CH Charlie Harris · LY Lee Young
The Authorship Story
Data Insight
Nat King Cole is one of the clearest interpreter cases in the American songbook: across these twelve albums, the writing credits belong almost entirely to other people. He sings Irving Gordon on 'Unforgettable,' Jay Livingston and Ray Evans on 'Mona Lisa,' Mel Tormé and Robert Wells on 'The Christmas Song,' Cole Porter and Duke Ellington on the swing sets, an entire W.C. Handy songbook on St. Louis Blues, and Lerner and Loewe on the My Fair Lady album. The only place his own pen shows up is the 1950 piano record, where the instrumentals 'Cole Capers' and 'Blues in My Shower' carry his legal name Nathaniel Adams Coles. Everything else is a vocalist-plus-orchestra collaboration, most often with producer Lee Gillette and arrangers Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, Billy May, or Ralph Carmichael. The authorship map barely moves toward Cole from album to album, which is the point: his artistry is phrasing and tone, not composition.
Quick Facts
First Black TV hostThe Nat 'King' Cole Show (1956-1957, NBC) was the first nationally broadcast US television variety show hosted by a Black American.
Started as a jazz pianistHe built his early career at the keyboard, forming the King Cole Trio in the late 1930s before he became known mainly as a singer.
Top act on CapitolThe King Cole Trio was the top-selling group and the only Black act on Capitol Records in the 1940s.
Prolific chart presenceHe recorded more than 150 singles that reached the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts, with over 100 pop hits.
Posthumous duet with his daughterNatalie Cole's 1991 'Unforgettable' recording, mixed with her father's vocal, won seven Grammy Awards in 1992.
Grammy Lifetime AchievementThe Recording Academy honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, 25 years after his death.
Creative Fingerprint
An interpreter and jazz pianist who sang standards written by others such as Irving Gordon, Mel Tormé, and Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, co-writing only a handful of his own songs like 'Straighten Up and Fly Right.'
The Story
Nat King Cole was an American singer and jazz pianist, born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama in 1919 and raised in Chicago. He first made his name as a pianist leading the King Cole Trio in the late 1930s and 1940s, then became one of the most popular vocalists of the century with a run of Capitol hits including 'Mona Lisa,' 'Unforgettable,' 'The Christmas Song,' and 'L-O-V-E.' Cole was chiefly an interpreter: he sang standards written by others, from Irving Gordon and Mel Tormé to Cole Porter and W.C. Handy, and wrote only a handful of his own songs such as 'Straighten Up and Fly Right.' In 1956 he hosted The Nat 'King' Cole Show, the first nationally broadcast US television variety show fronted by a Black American. He died of lung cancer in February 1965 at the age of 45, shortly after recording his final studio album, and his records have sold roughly 50 million copies.
Awards & Recognition
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1990)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Early Influence (2000)
DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame (1997)
National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2020)
Hollywood Walk of Fame star (1960)
Grammy Hall of Fame inductions
Frequently Asked Questions Nat King Cole
Did Nat King Cole write his own songs?
Mostly no. He was chiefly an interpreter who recorded songs written by other composers and lyricists. He did co-write a few of his own, most notably 'Straighten Up and Fly Right' in 1943 with Irving Mills, but his catalog of hits was largely built on outside material.
Who wrote 'Unforgettable'?
Irving Gordon wrote 'Unforgettable', which was published in 1951. Nat King Cole recorded the best-known version that year. He did not write it himself.
Who wrote 'The Christmas Song'?
Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (often credited as Bob Wells) wrote 'The Christmas Song' in 1945. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded it in 1946, and Cole's version became the definitive one, but the song was not his composition.
Who wrote 'Mona Lisa'?
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote 'Mona Lisa' for the 1949 Paramount film Captain Carey, U.S.A. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1950. Nat King Cole's recording spent five weeks at number one that year, but he was the performer, not a writer.
What is Nat King Cole's real name?
His birth name was Nathaniel Adams Coles. He was born on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, and later dropped the 's' to perform as Nat King Cole.
Did Nat King Cole play piano?
Yes. He began his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s and led the King Cole Trio, one of the most influential small groups in jazz. His piano work is a major part of his legacy, even though he became more widely known for his singing.
What songs did Nat King Cole actually write?
His best-known original is 'Straighten Up and Fly Right', which he co-wrote with Irving Mills in 1943 based on a folk tale his father had used in a sermon. He sold his publishing share of the song for $50 before it was recorded and later sued unsuccessfully to recover the rights. Most of his other hits came from outside writers.
How many records did Nat King Cole sell?
His records sold about 50 million copies during his career, making him one of the best-selling artists of his era. He also charted more than 150 singles across the Billboard Pop, R&B, and Country charts.
Is the 'Unforgettable' duet with Natalie Cole authentic?
It is a posthumous studio creation. In 1991 Natalie Cole recorded a new vocal that was mixed with her father's earlier recording of 'Unforgettable', which he had originally sung in 1951. The resulting duet won seven Grammy Awards in 1992.
Why is Nat King Cole significant beyond his music?
He hosted The Nat 'King' Cole Show from 1956 to 1957, the first nationally broadcast US television variety show hosted by a Black American. He was also the top-selling act and only Black artist on Capitol Records in the 1940s.
Nat King Cole