Nat King Cole

Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres, becoming a major force in popular music for three decades. Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a national television variety show, The Nat King Cole Show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death from lung cancer in February 1965.

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919. Cole had three brothers Eddie , Ike , and Freddy , and a halfsister, Joyce Coles. Each of Coles brothers would later pursue careers in music as well. When Cole was four years old, he and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his father, Edward Coles, became a Baptist minister. Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina Coles, the church organist. His first performance was of Yes! We Have No Bananas at four. He began formal lessons atand eventually learned not only jazz and gospel music but also Western classical music he performed from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Source: Wikipedia