Studio Album · No. 3
Love Is the Thing Songwriting Credits by Nat King Cole
Produced by Lee Gillette
Holds writing credit on 0 of 12 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 0 / 12 documented
Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Nat King Cole carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Love Is the Thing is a pure interpreter's album: Nat King Cole sings, but he wrote none of it. The songs are the work of established composers and lyricists of the American songbook, with Cole's voice and Gordon Jenkins' string arrangements the only through-line. The signature track 'When I Fall in Love' was composed by Victor Young with lyrics by Edward Heyman, and 'Stardust' was written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. The composer column therefore lists the actual songwriters in their legal names where those differ from the names they published under, never Cole himself. Only Gordon Jenkins appears as both an on-record contributor and a credited writer, on his own composition 'I Thought About Marie.'
Love Is the Thing is a studio album by Nat King Cole, released by Capitol Records in April 1957 and recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in December 1956. It was the first of four collaborations between Cole and arranger-conductor Gordon Jenkins, whose lush, unhurried string charts frame Cole's restrained baritone across a program of romantic ballads and standards. The album became Cole's first number-one record, topping the Billboard pop albums chart and reaching the top of the UK Albums Chart. It carries some of his most enduring interpretations, including 'When I Fall in Love' and 'Stardust,' and established him firmly as a superb ballad vocalist rather than the jazz pianist of his early career. Cole is the interpreter here, not the writer: every song was composed by other hands, from Victor Young and Hoagy Carmichael to Irving Berlin. It was certified gold in 1960, Cole's first, and later reached platinum in 1992.
Track Listing & Credits 12 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
When I Fall in Love
#2
|
Edward Heyman | Victor Young | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 2 |
Stardust
#79
|
Mitchell Parish | Hoagland Howard Carmichael | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 3 |
Stay as Sweet as You Are
|
Mack Gordon | Harry Revel | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 4 |
Where Can I Go Without You?
|
Peggy Lee | Victor Young | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 5 |
Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much
|
Irving Berlin | Israel Isidore Baline | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 6 |
Love Letters
|
Edward Heyman | Victor Young | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 7 |
Ain't Misbehavin'
|
Andy Razaf | Thomas Wright WallerHarry Brooks | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 8 |
I Thought About Marie
|
Gordon Jenkins | Gordon Jenkins | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 9 |
At Last
|
Mack Gordon | Salvatore Antonio Guaragna | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 10 |
It's All in the Game
|
Carl Sigman | Charles Gates Dawes | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 11 |
When Sunny Gets Blue
|
Jack Segal | Marvin Fisher | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |
| 12 |
Love Is the Thing
|
Ned Washington | Victor Young | Lee Gillette | Nat King Cole (Vocals)Gordon Jenkins (Arranger, Conductor) |