Nathaniel Adams Coles known as Nat King Cole belongs to legendary American singers and jazz pianists. As a child
he learned classical piano, which helped him as a founda-tion for his later career. At the age of 15, Cole dropped out of high school to pursue a ca-reer in music. It became a world career that
would last his entire life. He was the first Afri-can American to have his own radio show in the United States. Cole recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Many of them are
still evergreens and unfor-gotten to this day. One of his signature songs Unforgettable became a world hit again in 1991 through his daughter Nathalie Cole. The song and Natalie Cole's tribute
album won seven Grammys for Best Album and Best Song in 1992. Nat King Cole's trio was the model for subsequent small jazz ensembles. He also appeared in films, performed on Broadway and on
television. Cole was among the chosen artists Frank Sinatra called to-gether for the 1961 Kennedy Inaugural Gala. He was a Mason and avid baseball fan. On February 15, 1965, Nat King Cole died of
lung cancer and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.