Serenade Nat With His Own Hits at
SING! SING! SING! on Friday, March 12
The late pop balladeer Nat King Cole is serenaded by his audience of fans at SING! SING! SING!’s latest sing-in, Happy Birthday, Nat King Cole! on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at The Triad on New York’s Upper West Side.
Co-hosts Anne Phillips and Michael Shepley will provide piano and anecdotal accompaniment, respectively, and the audience takes over. Lyric sheets are provided to keep everyone happily in sync.
Songs to be sung together will include “When I Take My Sugar to Tea,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Sweet Lorraine,” “Nature Boy,” “Ballerina,” “Pretend,” “Mona Lisa,” “Walking My Baby Back Home,” “Too Young,” “Route 66” and “Unforgettable,” among others. Cole’s birthday is March 17; his birth year has been reported as 1917 and 1919.
$10 cover; 2-drink minimum (cash only, please). The Triad is located at 158 West 72nd Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue. Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 72nd Street. Info and reservations at www.thetriadnyc.com. Questions: Call 212-786-9064.
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles was born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama (some sources give 1917 as his year of birth). He formed the King Cole Trio in 1939, and wrote the Trio’s first big hit in 1942, “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” With an exceptional voice and phrasing, he had three #1 hits: “I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)” (1946), “Nature Boy” (1948) and “Mona Lisa” (1950). The Trio broke up in 1951, but Cole’s career soared, with 78 hit singles on the Billboard charts from 1944 to 1964, including “Too Young,” “Unforgettable,” “Pretend,” “Answer Me, My Love,” “Ballerina,” and “Send for Me.” Composer Hoagy Carmichael said Cole’s complete version of “Stardust” (released in 1957) was his favorite. He continued to record until his death from cancer in February of 1965.
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