The charmed life of ‘the dark man’

I was a latecomer to the Nat King Cole fold. I was torn between classical and rock music while growing up and would take on pop and the standards only occasionally. So although the songs Pretend, Smile and Too Young are among my earliest music memories because my mother often listened to them, it was only much, much later that I learned to really appreciate what a great song artist Nat King Cole was.

Nat Cole was the son of a preacher who as a teen-ager alternated between playing the organ in church and jazz piano around clubs in Chicago. Legend has it that one night, a drunken customer told piano player Cole to sing Sweet Lorraine. Cole refused but was prevailed upon by the owner to please the customer. And that was how his strong but sweet baritone was discovered. Although he did come to be considered a great jazz pianist, it is as a singer that Cole is best remembered.

During the peak of his success Cole was considered equal to only Frank Sinatra in the way they sold records and packed showplaces. But while everybody rushed to worship at Frankie’s feet to offer him the world and do his bidding, Cole, the first black-American star to have his own nationally syndicated show on television, had to cope with the limitations of his race in the largely bigoted post WWII U.S. of A.

No wonder then that when he decided to cancel the high-rating The Nat King Cole Show due to lack of sponsors, he was moved to remark that “The ad agencies are afraid of the dark.” The ad agencies were afraid of this “dark man” who had begun to change their perception of what televiewers should be watching. And it was not white.

This darkness in Cole’s otherwise charmed life is the theme of the documentary movie titled Nat King Cole: Afraid Of The Dark that was released only a month ago. Directed by Jon Brewer, it is a simply told but wonderfully-put together piece. It tells of Cole’s rise to stardom from teenaged pianist to big-selling crooner with emphasis on his experience with racial discrimination and the battle he lost to lung cancer.

Brewer tells the story through interviews with Cole’s family, mainly his widow Maria Cole and with friends and associates like Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Aaron Neville, Buddy Greco, George Benson and many others. These are interspersed with archival footage from concerts, movies and TV shows most particularly The Nat King Cole Show that ran for nearly two years.

Watching the picture must be a deeply affecting experience for all Nat Cole fans. A good many of the revelations proffered are from the singer’s personal records and home movies that were made available only after the death of Maria year ago. There is also no way Afraid Of The Dark can leave non-fans untouched. Tales of how cheers can turn to jeers after a show all because he was black are eye-openers in this Beyoncé and Jay-Z adulating world of ours.

Cole was not only adored as an entertainer. He was a well-loved man who was a great artist and somebody who could have gone on to bigger things. The film shows why so many still look up to Cole and regrets for the sudden end of his short but remarkable life are everywhere. He was only 45 years old when he died in 1965.

Aside from Afraid Of The Dark, the DVD also includes the classic clips from The Nat King Cole Show; a packed concert in Japan with Cole at his best and an in-depth interview with his famous daughter Natalie. And not to forget, a bonus track in the package is the video of their landmark duet of the truly unforgettable Unforgettable song. Thanks to modern technology, Natalie was able to sing with her father. Wow! I am sure is what everybody will say to this.

But since Afraid Of The Dark is a movie with only bits and pieces of songs, you will need something else to best check out Nat Cole’s unique singing. Then I say get a copy of the album Nat King Cole in the Gold Greatest Hits Collection series. For only P495, you get two discs containing 40 of the legendary singer’s most popular songs. Each one is a true classic with vocals and arrangements that have defied time and changing styles. These tracks are as new and as crisp as today’s recordings.

Among the cuts are Straighten Up And Fly Right, Route 66, You Call It Madness But I Call It Love, I Love You For Sentimental Reasons, Nature Boy, Mona Lisa, Too Young, Red Sails In The Sunset, Unforgettable, Walkin’ My Baby Back Home, Somewhere Along The Way, Pretend, Blue Gardenia, Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup, Answer Me My Love, Smile, My One Sin In Life, The Sand And The Sea, A Blossom Fell, Autumn Leaves, To The Ends Of The Earth, Stardust, When I Fall In Love, St. Louis Blues, The Very Thought Of You, Non Dimenticar, Ramblin’ Rose, L.O.V.E. and the iconic original recording of The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).