Nat King Cole discography

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Nat King Cole discography
Nat King Cole 1959.JPG
Cole in 1958
Studio albums28 (12")
Live albums1

American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole released 28 studio albums and 1 live album. His career spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed the King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole.

Contents

Some of Cole's most notable singles include "Unforgettable", "Smile", "L-O-V-E", "Nature Boy", "When I Fall in Love", "Let There Be Love", "Mona Lisa", "Autumn Leaves", "Stardust", "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "The Very Thought of You", "For Sentimental Reasons", "Embraceable You" and "Almost Like Being in Love". His 1960 Christmas album The Magic of Christmas (also known as The Christmas Song), is the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s; and was ranked as one of the 40 essential Christmas albums (2019) by Rolling Stone . [1] In 2022, Cole's recording of "The Christmas Song", broke the record for the longest journey to the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, when it peaked at number nine, 62 years after it debuted on the chart; and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry. [2] [3]

Capitol 78-rpm albums

Volumes 1–4 released as separate booklets in 10" format. Booklet Volumes 1 and 2 contain 4 shellac records. Booklet Volumes 3 and 4 contain 3 shellac records. Volume 4 is also issued in a box set of three 45-rpm records.

Capitol 10" albums

Capitol 12" albums

Original compilation albums

Other compilation albums

Chart singles

YearSingleChart positionsCertifications
US Pop [8] [9] US
R&B [10] 		UK [11]
1942"That Ain't Right"—1—
1943"All for You"181—
1944"Straighten Up and Fly Right" /
"I Can't See for Lookin'"		9
28		1
2		—
"Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" /
"I Realize Now"		15
—		1
9		—
"I'm Lost"—4—
"It's Only a Paper Moon"—5—
1945"If You Can't Smile and Say Yes"—3—
"I'm a Shy Guy"—2—
1946"Come to Baby, Do!" /
"The Frim Fram Sauce"		—
19		3
—		—
"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66"113—
"You Call It Madness (But I Call it Love)"10——
"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" /
"The Best Man"		1
14		3
—		—
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"33—
1947"You Don't Learn That in School" /
"Meet Me at No Special Place (and I'll Be There at No Particular Time)"		22
—		—
3		—
"Save the Bones for Henry Jones" /
"Harmony"		12
12		—
—		—
"Those Things Money Can't Buy"229—
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)23——
1948"What'll I Do"228—
"Nature Boy" /
"Lost April"		1
20		2
—		—
"A Boy from Texas"24——
"Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon (and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea)"30——
"Don't Blame Me"21——
"Little Girl"25——
"Lillette"—12—
1949"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)24——
"Kee-Mo Ky-Mo (The Magic Song)"—10—
"Flo and Joe"—7—
"My Mother Told Me" /
"Exactly Like You"		—
—		6
9		—
1950"For You My Love" (with Nellie Lutcher)—8—
"I Almost Lost My Mind"267—
"Mona Lisa"11—
"Home"22——
"Orange Colored Sky"5——
1951"Frosty the Snowman"9——
"Jet"208—
"Always You"28——
"Too Young"13—
"Red Sails in the Sunset"24——
"Because of Rain"17——
"Unforgettable"12——
  • BPI: Silver [5]
1952"Walkin'"—5—
"Somewhere Along the Way"8—3
"Walkin' My Baby Back Home" /
"Funny (Not Much)"		8
26		—
—		—
—
"Because You're Mine" /
"I'm Never Satisfied""		16
22		—
—		6
—
"The Ruby and the Pearl" /
"Faith Can Move Mountains"		23
24		—
—		—
10
1953"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)30——
"Strange"20——
"Pretend" /
"Don't Let Your Eyes Go Shopping (For Your Heart)"		2
23		10
—		2
—
"Can't I?"1676
"Mother Nature and Father Time"——7
"I Am in Love"19——
"Return to Paradise"15——
"A Fool Was I" /
"If Love Is Good to Me"		17
28		—
—		—
—
"Lover, Come Back to Me!"16——
1954"Answer Me, My Love" /
"Why"		6
27		—
—		—
—
"Tenderly"——10
"It Happens to Be Me" /
"Alone Too Long"		16
25		—
—		—
—
"Make Her Mine"19—11
"Smile"10—2
"Unbelievable" /
"Hajji Baba (Persian Lament)"		26
14		—
—		—
—
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (new version)29——
1955"Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" (Moods in Song, EP) /
"The Sand and the Sea" (Moods in Song, EP)		7
23		—
—		—
—
"A Blossom Fell" (Moods in Song, EP) /
"If I May" (Moods in Song, EP)		2
8		—
—		3
—
"My One Sin"24—17
"Someone You Love" /
"Forgive My Heart"		13
13		—
—		—
—
1956"Take Me Back to Toyland" /
"I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life"		47
57		—
—		—
—
"Dreams Can Tell a Lie"——10
"Ask Me" /
"Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You"		18
72		—
—		—
—
"Too Young to Go Steady" /
"Never Let Me Go"		21
79		—
—		8
—
"That's All There Is to That" /
"My Dream Sonata"		16
59		15
—		—
—
"Love Me as If There Were No Tomorrow"——11
"Night Lights" /
"To the Ends of the Earth"		11
25		—
—		—
—
1957"Ballerina" /
"You Are My First Love"		18
65		—
—		—
—
"When I Fall in Love"——2
"When Rock and Roll Come to Trinidad"48—28
"Stardust"79—24
"Send for Me" /
"My Personal Possession"		6
21		1
flip		—
21
"With You on My Mind"30——
1958"Angel Smile"33——
"Looking Back" /
"Do I Like It"		5
67		2
—		—
—
"Come Closer to Me (Acercate Mas)" /
"Nothing in the World"		38
99		—
—		—
—
"Non Dimenticar (Don't Forget)"45——
1959"Give Me Your Love" /
"Madrid"		82
85		——
"You Made Me Love You" /
"I Must Be Dreaming"		45
69		—
—		22
—
"Midnight Flyer" /
"Sweet Bird of Youth"		51
96		12
—		23
—
1960"Time and the River" /
"Whatcha' Gonna Do"		30
92		27
15		23
—
"My Love"4712—
"That's You"101—10
"Just as Much as Ever"——18
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (reissue of 1954 version)80——
"If I Knew"86——
1961"Illusion"108——
"Take a Fool's Advice"71——
"The World in My Arms"——36
"Let True Love Begin" /
"Cappuccina"		73
115		—29
1962"Brazilian Love Song"——34
"Step Right up (And Say You Love Me)"106——
"The Right Thing to Say"110—42
"Let There Be Love"——11
"Ramblin' Rose"275
"Dear Lonely Hearts"131537
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (third version)65——
1963"All Over the World" /
"Nothing Goes Up (Without Coming Down)"		42
87		—
—		—
—
"Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer"611—
"That Sunday, That Summer" /
"Mr. Wishing Well"		12
92		19
—		—
1964"My True Carrie, Love"49n/a—
"I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore" /
"People"		22
100		n/a—
"I Don't Want to See Tomorrow" /
"L-O-V-E"		34
81		n/a—


"More and More of Your Amor"102——
1966"Looking Back"123——
"Let Me Tell You, Babe"90——
1987"When I Fall in Love" (reissue)——4
1991"Unforgettable" (with Natalie Cole)141019
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (reissue)——69
1994"Let's Face the Music and Dance"——30
2007"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)——51
201345——
201538——
201647—77
201737—66
201811—56
  • BPI: Silver [5]
201916—51
202011—56
"Deck the Halls"43——
2021"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)11—54
"Deck the Halls" (re-entry)46——
2022"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)9 [12] —35
  • BPI: Platinum [5]
"Deck the Halls" (re-entry)16 [13] —84
  • BPI: Silver [5]
2023"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)11 [14] —34
"Deck the Halls" (re-entry)17 [15] —67
2024"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (re-entry)10 [16] —32
"Deck the Halls" (re-entry)20 [16] —50

Holiday 100 chart entries

Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. [17] In December 2011, Billboard began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data", [18] and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. [19] A handful of Cole recordings have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there.

TitleHoliday season peak chart positionsAlbum
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
"Caroling, Caroling"———79 [20] ——————92 [21] 98 [22] 95 [23] — The Magic of Christmas
"The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)"3 [24] 3 [25] 2 [26] 4 [27] 3 [28] 5 [29] 3 [30] 5 [31] 7 [32] 6 [33] 9 [34] 7 [35] 10 [36] 10 [37] The Christmas Song
"Deck the Halls"———————52 [31] 25 [38] 22 [39] 29 [40] 13 [41] 15 [23] 18 [42] The Magic of Christmas
"I Saw Three Ships"————————98 [38] —————
"Joy to the World"———————91 [31] 74 [38] 71 [43] 77 [44] 80 [45] 73 [46] 78 [47]
"The Little Christmas Tree"————57 [48] —————————Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety-Two
"O Come All Ye Faithful"———————43 [31] 44 [49] 38 [50] 45 [51] 48 [52] 47 [36] 53 [37] The Magic of Christmas
"O Holy Night"——————————99 [21] ———

References

  1. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (2019-11-30). "40 Essential Christmas Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Thania (2023-01-03). "SZA's 'SOS' Rules Album Chart for Third Week; Nat King Cole's 'Christmas Song' Finally Hits Top 10 After 62 Years". Variety. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  3. ↑ "Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin, Wu-Tang Clan & More Selected for 2022 National Recording Registry: See the Full List". Billboard. 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "American certifications – Nat King Cole". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "British certifications – Ozzy Osbourne". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 24 July 2022.Type Ozzy Osbourne in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  6. ↑ "Kent Music Report No 341 – 5 January 1981 > Platinum and Gold Albums 1980". Kent Music Report . Retrieved 26 December 2022– via Imgur.com.
  7. ↑ https://resonancerecords.org/product/nat-king-cole-hittin-the-ramp-the-early-years-1936-1943/
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Pop Hits, 1940–1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 31. ISBN   0-89820-106-3.
  9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.  68. ISBN   0-89820-155-1.
  10. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. p.  88. ISBN   0-89820-115-2.
  11. ↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. pp. 161–162. ISBN   0-00-717931-6.
  12. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 (Week of January 7, 2023)". Billboard . January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nat King Cole Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard . Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 (Week of December 30, 2023)". Billboard . December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 (Week of January 6, 2024)". Billboard . January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  16. 1 2 "Billboard Hot 100 (Week of January 4, 2025)". Billboard . January 4, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  17. ↑ Judkis, Maura (2015-12-22). "Jingle bell rock: Why lots of radio stations go all-Christmas in December". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  18. ↑ "Andy Williams Hits New High, The Ronettes 'Ride' Back After 52 Years & More Hot 100 Chart Moves". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  19. ↑ "Carey Brings Back 'Christmas'". Billboard . 2013-12-14. p. 115.
  20. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 13, 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  21. 1 2 "Holiday 100 (Week of January 8, 2022)". Billboard. January 8, 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 10, 2022)". Billboard. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Holiday 100 (Week of December 16, 2023)". Billboard. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 24, 2011". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  25. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 8, 2012". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of January 4, 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  27. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 20, 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  28. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 12, 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  29. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 10, 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  30. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 16, 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Holiday 100: The week of January 5, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  32. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 7, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 12, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  34. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 11, 2021)". Billboard. December 11, 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  35. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 3, 2022)". Billboard. December 3, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  36. 1 2 "Holiday 100 (Week of December 2, 2023)". Billboard. December 2, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  37. 1 2 "Holiday 100 (Week of December 14, 2024)". Billboard. December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  38. 1 2 3 "Holiday 100: The week of January 4, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  39. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 26, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  40. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 4, 2021)". Billboard. December 4, 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  41. ↑ "Nat King Cole Chart History (Holiday 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 7, 2024)". Billboard. December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  43. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of January 2, 2021". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  44. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 18, 2021)". Billboard. December 18, 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  45. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of January 7, 2023)". Billboard. January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  46. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of January 6, 2024)". Billboard. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  47. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of January 4, 2025)". Billboard. January 4, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  48. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 19, 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  49. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 21, 2019". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  50. ↑ "Holiday 100: The week of December 19, 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  51. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of January 1, 2022)". Billboard. January 1, 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  52. ↑ "Holiday 100 (Week of December 31, 2022)". Billboard. December 31, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.

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