Nat King Cole was a famous American citizen, singer, and jazz pianist, whose incredible piano playing inspired many to take up music as a profession.
Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Cole in 1919 in America. After dropping out of school at 15, he started pursuing music, and at the time of his death in 1965, he had already established himself as one of his generation's greatest singers and pianists.
The greatest thing about Nat King Cole was his incandescent voice. His ability to weave fairy stories with his music was the reason for his groundbreaking success.
His ability to play the guitar, bass, and piano with equal finesse added to his legend. Although he never considered himself a true musician but counted himself as one of America's business people, his song list suggests otherwise.
More than 100 songs composed by Nat King Cole have topped every world chart and won the hearts of music lovers and critics.
Cole's song 'Stardust' is considered one of the best romantic songs of all time. 'Let's Face The Music And Dance', which Cole composed for the film 'Follow The Fleet' became one of the most covered jazz songs, with legends like Frank Sinatra and Robbie Williams releasing their versions.
Nat King Cole's most popular song is undoubtedly 'Unforgettable'. The song was released in 1952 and reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Best-Selling Pop Singles chart and received the Song Of The Year award at the 34th Grammy Awards.
Nat King Cole acted in many films and was also the host of an American television show. His quotes and songs have left behind a legacy like few others, and you can find all his famous sayings in this article. Scroll down to read more.
Famous Nat King Cole Quotes
The most famous Nat King Cole quotes have been compiled in the list below. These will help you know Nat King Cole better.
“The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
"I am famous because I am an African-American jazz artist."
“I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.”
"Fine calypso woman/ She cook me shrimp and rice/ These Yankee hot dogs/ Don't treat me stomach very nice."
- 'Calypso Blues'.
"The people who know nothing about music are the ones always talking about it."
"I am an American citizen and feel I am entitled to the same rights as any other citizen."
"I can't bear to see myself even in movies. The feeling is complex. I can't stand the sight of myself."
"I'm a businessman. I work for business people. The kind of thing they say is: Now we've sold a lot of records, let's sell some more."
"I know I've never lived before / And my heart is very sure/ No one else could love you more."
- 'More'.
"Unforgettable in every way, and forever more, that's how you'll stay."
"With a portrait of Jennie/ I never will part/ for there isn't any portrait of Jennie/ except in my heart"
- 'A Portrait Of Jennie'.
"The whites come to applaud a Negro performer just like the colored do. When you've got the respect of white and colored, you can ease a lot of things."
"Brush those tears from your eyes/And try to realize/That the ache in my heart is for you"
- 'Brush Those Tears From Your Eyes'.
"The only sport I'm not interested in is horse racing. That's because I don't know the horses personally."
“When I first organized the King Cole Trio back in 1937, we were strictly what you would call an instrumental group."
“I … started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime, I started singing, and I sang the way I felt and that’s just the way it came out.”
“If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on Route Sixty-six.”
“Primarily, I’m a meat man, although once in a while, I toy with a few vegetables.”
“I make no claim to being a business genius. You can make so much money in this business that it loses its value.”
"I'm in the music business for one purpose- to make money."
"Like a song of love that clings to me/ How the thought of you does things to me."
- 'Unforgettable'.
"Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep/ They just lie there, and they die there."
- 'Mona Lisa'.
"The gypsies say, and I know why/A falling blossom only touches lips that lie."
- 'A Blossom Fell'.
"You're my magnificent obsession/ The greatest wonder on this Earth. /The Taj Mahal and other splendors/ To me really have no worth."
- 'Magnificent Obsession'.
Inspirational Nat King Cole Quotes
(Nat King Cole propagated harmony among people with his songs.)
The greatest thing Nat King Cole did was to inspire generations of singers to follow their passion for music. Read the most inspirational Nat King Cole quotes here.
"Is it only 'cause you're lonely they have blamed you?/ For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?"
- 'Mona Lisa'.
“Oh, my darling, it’s incredible that someone so unforgettable should think I am unforgettable, too.”
“Smile, and maybe tomorrow you’ll see that life is still worthwhile if you just smile”
“People don’t slip. Time catches up with them.”
“It’s not the people in the South who create racial problems – it’s the people who are governing.”
"Life would be a symphony/ Waiting all for you."
- 'All For You'.
"Get me well so I can get on television and tell people to stop smoking."
"Then you grow up/ Unafraid of the dark."
- 'Let True Love Begin'.
"I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the South."
"I'm a musician at heart; I know I'm not really a singer. I couldn't compete with real singers. But I sing because the public buys it."
"This is your moment, girl/ Although he's not out there applauding as you steal the show."
- 'Ballerina'.
"I got the message. All of us get the message sooner or later. If you get it before it's too late or before you're too old, you'll pull through all right."
"Just what sin have I been guilty of / Tell me how I came to lose your love."
- 'Answer Me'.
"Music is emotional, and you may catch a musician in a very unemotional mood, or you may not be in the same frame of mind as the musician. So a critic will often say a musician is slipping."
"You're the song I sing, and the book I read / You're a way beyond belief and just to make it brief/ You're my winter, summer, spring, my everything."
- 'You're My Everything'.
"Don't let a soul/ Rearrange you."
- 'Stay As Sweet As You Are'.
Best Nat King Cole Quotes
Nat King Cole was one of the best real singers of America in terms of singing and piano playing. These best Nat King Cole quotes will surely make your day better.
"There was a boy/ A very strange enchanted boy/ They say he wandered very far, very far/ Over land and sea/ A little shy/ And sad of eye/ But very wise/ Was he"
- 'My Dream Sonata'.
"I'm an interpreter of stories. When I perform it's like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories."
"There's just one thing I can't figure out. My income tax!"
"Critics don't buy records. They get 'em free."
"You've got to change with the public's taste."
"You're the dreams I dream, the song I sing/ You're the stars and moon and nearly everything."
- 'All For You'.
"I felt something impossible for me to explain in words. Then when they took her away, it hit me. I got scared all over again and began to feel giddy. Then it came to me I was a father."
"Non dimenticar, my love is like a star, my darling /Shining bright and clear/ Just because you're here."
- 'Night Lights'.
“I’m proud of our court. It knocks back a lot of the propaganda the Communists put out about the way America treats her Negroes.”
"The only prejudice I've found anywhere in television is in some advertising agencies, and there isn't so much prejudice as just fear."
"I sang things I had known over the years. I wasn’t trying to give it any special treatment, just singing. I noticed thereafter people started requesting more singing, and it was just one of those things.”
“I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well-known help out at all in breaking down barriers.”
"For years, the Trio did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people. We practically starved to death."
"Never before has someone been more/ Unforgettable in every way/ And forever more, that's how you'll stay/ That's why darling, it's incredible."
- 'Unforgettable'.
"That was the end of a beautiful friendship/And just the beginning of love."
- 'A Beautiful Friendship'.
"Smile though your heart is aching; smile even though it's breaking."
Short Nat King Cole Quotes
Short quotes are often the most impactful. These Nat King Cole quotes and song lyrics are best for captions and taglines.
“If you smile through your fear and sorrow, Smile, and maybe tomorrow you’ll see the sun come shining through for you.”
"Only time, education, and plenty of good schooling will make anti-segregation work."
"You're my everything underneath the sun/ You're my everything rolled up into one."
- 'You're My Everything'.
"But calypso girl is good a lot/ Is what you see, is what she got."
- 'Calypso Blues'.
"I'm not playing for other musicians. We're trying to reach the guy who works all day and wants to spend a buck at night. We'll keep him happy."
"Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark. Comment on why his hit NBC television show couldn't get a national sponsor."
"If I could read it, I could play it."
"The Supreme Court is having a hard time integrating schools. What chance do I have to integrate audiences?"
"The sheriff is at the cash register, and if I don't get a hit soon, I don't know what I'll do."
"Your story's touching, but it sounds like a lie."
"Straighten up and fly right/ Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top."
- 'Straighten Up And Fly Right'.
"and love is all that I can give to you/ love is more than just a game for two."
- 'Love-The Parent Trap'.
"I'm living in a kind of daydream."
"Was it dreams ago my heart felt this glow?/ Or only just tonight, dear?"
"Although it's been said many times, many ways...Merry Christmas to you!"
"Stay as grand as you are/And as you are/Tell me that you're mine, dear."
- 'Stay As Sweet As You Are'.
"All the stars come out and paint a world of blue."