 |
 |
| Chapter 3: THE REIGN OF KING COLE....AND HIS QUEEN Straighten Up and Fly Right" was the smash that began the dominance of the King Cole Trio on the national charts. The popularity of the song, as well as other tunes that the group did, shows just how perfect these three guys were together. They had an amazing rapport. As their popularity grew, they were booked into both the best venues the country, and played the "chitlin' circuit". (The "chitlin' circuit" meant playing halls, clubs and theatres nationwide that catered to Negroes.) Capitol Records released some of the material recorded from that very first session as well as other songs that would go on to become hits: "It's Only A Paper Moon", "What Is This Thing Called Love?", "But She's My Buddy's Chick", "I'm An Errand Boy For Rhythm", "Embraceable You", "I'm A Shy Guy", "I'm Through With Love", "Easy Listening Blues" (a song Nat wrote but had it credited to Nadine), "Come To Baby, Do" and the somewhat bawdy and suggestive novelty tune, "The Frim Fram Sauce", a Top Ten hit in 1945. That song was banned from CBS for a while because of its supposed sexual double entendres, but no one could really prove exactly if the lyrics were referring to food or sex. That didn't stop people from going out to buy it, nor did it stop the Trio from performing it live on Frank Sinatra's radio show that year. Besides, Sinatra himself had requested that they sing it ~ were they going to tell him no? As Oscar and Johnny played, Nathaniel stroked the piano keys, purred his way through the lyrics and gave sly looks in the direction of the radio audience. At the end of the song, where Nat speaks the last verse ("If you don't have it, just bring me a check for the water"), the audience squealed with delight and applauded. The Trio also made several movie appearances, but since they weren't an integral part of the storyline, it was easy for them to be edited out of the films when theaters played them in the South. Remember, things were still very racist in American society and the practice of Jim Crow was alive and well. Just because Nat Cole and his sidemen were the hottest thing on the hit parade didn't mean that they were exempt from discrimination. Films that presented blacks in roles other than buffoons, maids, butlers, slaves down on the plantation or "yassa Boss" types were subject to this practice all the time. The one exception may have been the casting of Dooley Wilson as Sam the piano player in "Casablanca" (1942). In 1946, the Trio continued to be popular, especially with a huge hit they were riding called "Route 66" (#3, R&B, #11 Pop). Later in the year, Newsweek would feature Nat in a full page spread. His smooth baritone was present on the majority of songs they recorded. Obviously he felt more at ease with his singing, so he did more and more of it. The emphasis was no longer on instrumental jazz, and Oscar Moore was wondering just where this new musical direction was going to take him and Johnny...or rather, leave him and Johnny. It was nothing personal against Nat, but since he did all of the singing, the majority of attention was upon him. Jealousy wasn't an issue to the guys, but it seemed as if their presence was secondary to Nat's, whereas before they were pretty much on the same level. But as a group, they couldn't progress just being background musicians for Nat Cole's voice. All of this singing pop ballads and aiming for commercial acceptance was stifling their rich jazz background, and apparently they weren't the only ones who felt this way. About this time, there were those in the jazz world who felt that the Trio were on their way to selling out. Jazz critics were constantly asking Nathaniel why he was abandoning his roots for pop music. Questions like these would make Nat angry, because he truly was a jazz musician first and foremost, but people were beginning to wonder if he had indeed sold his soul for the pop life. In an interview, he mentioned that when the group was just performing straight jazz, nothing was really happening for them. No one was making any money. They were only attracting other musicians and other 'hip' people. But they were scraping just to get by: "When we (the Trio) did click, it wasn't on the strength of good jazz. We clicked with pop songs, pretty ballads and novelty stuff. Wouldn't we have been crazy if we'd turned right around after getting a break and started playing pure jazz again? We would have lost the crowd right away." Nat made sense, but to many jazz purists, this was proof of what they suspected. From this time on, these constant accusations would continue to hound Nat until the day he died. Even though Nat promised to include more jazz in the Trio's repetoire, spoke about launching a jazz tour, and cut more music featuring only jazz, not many people cared. They wanted more of songs like "Route 66" and the love ballads like "You Call It Madness" and "It Only Happens Once" ~ the material that was making the King Cole Trio money. Nat felt he had to do what was best for him and his sidemen, who were also his friends, from a monetary point of view, anyway. But careerwise, Nat had his eyes on something even bigger than the success he was having with his Trio, and by the end of the 1940s, everyone would know about it. Nat wasn't about to risk the careers of he and his partners on a jazz dream. About this time, they were hired as summer replacements for Bing Crosby on the Kraft Music Hall radio show, which eventually lead to them getting their own national radio show on NBC, King Cole Trio Time, sponsored by Wildroot Cream Oil. The time slot was pretty good ~ 5:45 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays ~ and it did gain in popularity. It remained on the air for about 68 weeks. This was historic, because up until then, no blacks ever had their own show on radio. Nat, Oscar and Johnny had made history. They had to at least feel good about that, representing their people in a positive manner. That was one of the perks. In the summer of 1946 the Trio recorded one of their most popular and enduring tunes ever: "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)", written by Nat's close friend, Mel Torme. Oscar wasn't crazy about recording yet another commercial song, but he made the best of it. He added his own touches to the tune, which helped make it memorable: the "Jingle Bells" guitar ending on the song was his idea, and Nat loved it so, that in subsequent recordings of "The Christmas Song" he would insist that Oscar's "Jingle Bells" coda be included. Nat had insisted upon having strings on the song; he knew it was something very special and he wouldn't relent. At first, Capitol rejected that request. They had heard the talk in the jazz community about Nat fluffing off that genre lately, and wanted to avoid a possible backlash against the Trio if they did allow strings on the song. But finally they gave in to what Nat wanted, and it would be the first time Nat would sing with a string accompaniment in the background. Of course it wasn't released until later in the year, so it became a smash hit around the holidays. But it only rose to #3 on the charts because the #1 spot was taken by another King Cole Trio tune ~ their very first single to hit the top of the pop charts ~ the beautifully mellow "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons". It stayed there for an amazing six weeks. Perhaps listeners could sense the love and sincerity of Nathaniel's smooth vocals in the song because he was singing to the woman he truly loved...and it wasn't Nadine. By 1946 Nat and Nadine had drifted apart, but were still trying to make a go of saving their troubled relationship. But it was difficult because Nat was always away. Nadine still loved Nat and wanted very much to stick things out. But Nathaniel had other plans by the spring of that year. He had met and fallen in love with another woman. He wasn't a saint during his marriage to Nadine; he had little flings while he was on the road. But sex was one thing ~ love was another. This was true love, and he was overwhelmed at his feelings. He was in trouble. He must've known how serious it had become, because he confided in his older sister Evelyn, whom he nicknamed Bay, telling her that he wanted a divorce from Nadine to be with this other woman, and begged her not to mention it to anyone in the family. He knew that they would be crushed because they all loved Nadine and they would disapprove. That put Evelyn in an awkward position, but she did keep her brother's secret. The other woman's name was Marie Hawkins Ellington. Nat would soon start to call her Maria. She was from Boston, Massachusetts, born August 1, 1922, and she was from a solidly middle class family. After her mother died when she was a child, she and her sisters, Charlotte and Carol, were raised by her aunt, Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, who was herself an important figure in black history. A noted author, educator and lecturer, she had obtained honorary degrees from Wellesley College and Brown University, and founded the first black prep school in Sedalia, North Carolina in 1902. Clearly a part of the elite black bourgeois, Marie and her sisters lived a pampered and privileged life, were college educated, schooled in etiquette...quite different from most African-Americans at the time and they reveled in that distinction. But like other blacks, they weren't exempt from racism, either. Dr. Brown didn't raise her nieces to be nurturing, emotional women; what was important was the "proper behavior" and such. Marie was considered to be very beautiful; she resembled Lena Horne, with long dark hair and a fair complexion. She dreamed of being rich, famous and having a show business career. Her aunt tried to discourage her from that; after all, cultured young women didn't go into show business. But Marie was determined. Years later, she moved to New York and got a job singing in Duke Ellington's band. The way she ended up with the last name Ellington was, she was briefly married to a black fighter pilot named Spurgeon Ellington, but he was killed in a plane crash in 1945. Less than a year later, she was appearing as a solo act at the same club in New York City as the King Cole Trio when Nat, wearing his trendy horn-rimmed glasses and porkpie hat, was watching her perform from offstage and wondered who she was. He reportedly said, "If she looks that good from the back ..." and shook his head in admiration. The lovely Marie Ellington was someone he really wanted to get to know better. So Eddie Anderson, who would later be best known as "Rochester" on The Jack Benny Show, introduced her to Nat, Oscar and Johnny. Marie was unimpressed. She wasn't a fan of the King Cole Trio, in fact, she didn't even know who they were until her sister Charlotte had told her. Charlotte, on the other hand, liked the Trio, and had quite a few of their records. She even had a little crush on Nat. Marie failed to see what all the fuss over their lead singer was about. He wasn't even good-looking. Nat was always polite to her, and would always nod his head or say hello to her when she was around, but she mostly ignored him. Once he sent her a bottle of champagne, but she sent it right back to him. " I don't drink," she scoffed. The young widow continued to rebuff Nat's advances, because she just had no interest whatsoever in this man. But Nat was persistent, and finally she consented to go out with him. He saw something special in Marie...she was not only gorgeous, but after talking with her, he found her to be intelligent, sophisticated and elegant. He had never met a black woman who spoke as well as she did, or carried herself with such dignity, he had mentioned to a friend of his. She always dressed with impeccable style and taste. She was like a precious jewel to him, and soon he discovered that he was falling in love. He first felt guilty, because he was still married to Nadine, but now he knew that he no longer loved his wife. Things had been going downhill for them anyway. Marie was the one he wanted to be with. He loved everything about her and had no doubts about wanting to marry her. The songs he would sing, such as "When I Take My Sugar To Tea" and "Makin' Whoopee" clearly reflected the love he felt for Marie, as most of his later material would. On the other hand, a song like "Meet Me At No Special Place" could be very easily be directed towards Nadine. (The song was about a man fed up with the stormy relationship with his woman and he seems very happy to break it off.) But what was he going to do about his wife? He didn't want to hurt her.feelings, but there was no getting.around it. Marie found Nat to be gracious, sweet, witty and generous. Soon she realized that she was smitten with the Cole charm, too, just as many other women were. She didn't plan on falling in love with a man like him, and she was very surprized that she had. He had come from a world that was so very different from her own, not one that her family would approve of. After they had gone on a few dates, he told her he was already married. Marie said she knew that already, because some friends of hers had mentioned it. She felt a little uncomfortable about that, being "the other woman", but it was too late by then. She was already in love with Nat King Cole. And Nathaniel had made up his mind. If he could get a divorce from Nadine, would Marie marry him? This is just what he asked her. And without hesitation, she said yes. As fate would have it, shortly after this, Nadine Robinson Coles came to visit her young husband in New York City, where Nat, Oscar and Johnny were basically living then, by taking the Pullman in from Los Angeles, with the hope that they could work things out. She might have heard rumors about this other woman, but wanted to find out for herself just what was going on. She may have been just about the only one in their inner circle who didn't know about her husband's relationship with Marie Ellington. But she was about to find out. Nat knew she was coming to New York, and had to figure out just how he was going to tell her it was over between them. He didn't like confrontations, but this was something that had to be done. It would be useless for him to pretend that nothing had changed, because now, everything had changed. And when Nadine saw him, she knew it. She wasn't prepared for what Nat told her, however, when they finally were alone. "I don't love you anymore," he said, as if it were a carefully rehearsed speech, "I want a divorce." Nadine was crushed. She had gone through the hard times with him, gave up her career for him and now he was dumping her for another woman. She sadly told a friend of hers, "Nat doesn't want me anymore." She went back to Los Angeles and filed for divorce in January, 1947, but it didn't go through for a year. |
| Even though the breakup was supposedly an amiable one, Nadine's grounds for divorce were "extreme cruelty" on Nat's part. Some of the Coles' friends whispered among themselves that Nat wanted a wife to present to the world that he could be proud of, one that could give him children...and that he was somewhat color-struck, believing that lighter was better. (Nadine had a darker complexion than Marie did.) During this time, the Coles were legally separated. Nat Cole could have what he wanted, Nadine thought...but he would certainly have to pay for his freedom. |
 |
| The KIng Cole Trio, about 1945. From l to r. : Oscar Moore, Johnny Miller and Nat "King" Cole |
 |