The career of Nat "King" Cole has been exceedingly well-represented in the CD era, whether via numerous, expanded original album reissues or the hefty box sets released by the Bear Family and Mosaic labels. But one period of King Cole's career has been rather overlooked: the recordings he made prior to signing with Capitol Records, the label with which he would spend more than two decades. Now, Resonance Records is addressing that situation with a remarkable, comprehensive new box set that ranks as the jazz label's most ambitious project yet. Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) is a 7-CD or 10-LP box set exploring that all-but-unknown period of the artist's career with previously unreleased and new-to-commercial-release rarities and tracks culled from transcription discs and private collectors' sources. It's due from Resonance on November 1 in both formats. (Dig that sensational cover designed by John Sellards!)
Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) has been produced in association with the Cole Estate - the latest release in a centennial year celebration that has also seen the release from Universal Music of International Nat King Cole and Ultimate Nat King Cole as well as TJL Productions' 3-CD collection Nat King Cole: Favorites (a companion to the public television broadcast of the new special My Music: Nat King Cole's Greatest Songs). The set is co-produced by noted jazz and vocal pop historian Will Friedwald (a Grammy nominee for his liner notes to 1992's The Complete Capitol Recordings of The Nat King Cole Trio) who points out, ""At the height of his fame in the 1950s and '60s, Nat King Cole (1919-1965) was primarily known as a popular singer -- the biggest-selling artist of his generation, no less -- who occasionally played piano. By that point, only a few older fans and critics remembered that he had been one of the greatest pianists in the whole history of American music, a true spiritual descendent of Earl 'Fatha' Hines and Art Tatum, and himself a huge inspiration for Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Erroll Garner, and many others."
Legendary vocalist Johnny Mathis (whose own catalogue is currently being reissued by Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music) is among those interviewed for the set. He concurs with Friedwald's opinion, and shares, "As a young boy, studying the art of vocalizing, Nat was everything I needed. All I did was listen and learn...And then I want [people] to remember that he also, also, also played the piano. Please, please, please remember that. Even as gigantic as a pianist as he was as a vocalist."
The nearly 200 tracks on Hittin' the Ramp focus on the earliest recordings featuring The King Cole Trio, emphasizing Cole's fertile creative partnership with guitarist Oscar Moore. It all begins, however, with Nat's pair of sides recorded with his brother Eddie for Decca in 1936 as a teenaged piano prodigy. You'll then hear Cole's first versions of future standards "Sweet Lorraine" and "Straighten Up and Fly Right" as well as rare recordings (including as sideman and accompanist) for the Decca, Ammor, Excelsior, Premier, Mercury, and Philo labels (including a session for the latter, started by Norman Granz during the 1942 Musicians Union recording ban, with the great saxophonist Lester Young). The box includes numerous radio transcriptions and war-era recordings for Armed Forces Radio Service.
It also contains dozens of transcriptions, mainly by the trio, cut by Standard, Davis and Schwegler, and MacGregor for servicing to radio stations, as well as wartime recordings produced for American servicemen by the Armed Forces Radio Service. Among the rarest items on the box set are performances never known to exist previously such as a privately-recorded song, "The Romany Room is Jumping" (in tribute to the Washington, DC club in which the Trio played), a transcription of "Trompin'," and a 1940 Trio reading of Trummy Young's "Watcha Know Joe." Friedwald is quoted in the press release: "Although nothing on this package can be described as 'common,' these are some of the rarest Cole items known to exist."
He continues, "Just in time for his centennial, we cover this quintessential American artist from his very first stirrings at the start of the swing era to the very precipice of universal fame during World War Two, with dozens of fascinating detours along the way. This, then, is the incredible but true origin story of a sound and a career that would change the world."
Indeed, Hittin' the Ramp, produced by Resonance's Zev Feldman, Friedwald, Berg, Matt Lutthans (who also remastered), and Jordan Taylor, and executive produced by Resonance's George Klabin, chronicles the ground floor of an extraordinary career that would not only see Cole rack up over 150 chart entries and sales of over 50 million records during his lifetime, but also break significant barriers for African-American artists.
This essential box set is available now for pre-order from Resonance Records. You can peruse the track listing and pre-order links below!
Nat "King" Cole, Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) (Resonance Records, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
7CD Track Listing:
DISC 1
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:52
- Stompin' at the Panama (Skoller's Shuffle) (Nat Cole) 2:59
- Bedtime (Sleepy Moan) (Nat Cole) 2:54
- Thunder (Nat Cole) 2:50
- Mutiny in the Nursery (Johnny Mercer) 2:52
- D.R. Jones (Harold Rome) 3:10
- The Sheik of Araby (Ted Snyder, Francis Wheeler, Harry B. Smith) 2:17
- The Blue Danube (Johan Strauss II) 2:50
- Button, Button (Clay A. Boland, Bickley 'Bix' Reichner) 2:52
- Jingle Bells (J.S. Pierpont) 2:34
- Swanee River (Stephen Foster) 2:28
- With Plenty of Money and You (Harry Warren, Al Dubin) 2:15
- Don't Blame Me ((Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) 2:26
- Lullaby in Rhythm (Edgar Sampson, Walter Hirsch, Clarence Profit, Benny Goodman) 2:48
- Dark Rapture (Edgar Sampson, Manny Kurtz, Benny Goodman) 3:13
- The Wiggly Walk (Al Jacobs, Dave Oppenheim, Jack Palmer) 2:52
- Flea Hop (Al Jacobs, Dave Oppenheim, Jack Palmer) 2:43
- Chopsticks (Arthur De Lulli) 2:44
- Patty Cake, Patty Cake (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf, J. C. Johnson) 2:43
- Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) 2:09
- Liza (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn) 2:58
- Three Blind Mice (Traditional) 2:08
- Caravan (Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol, Irving Mills) 2:17
- There's No Anesthetic for Love (Marshall Walker) 3:15
- Dixie Jamboree (Lyle Griffin, Charles Callender) 3:04
- Ta-De-Ah (Betty Johnson, Charlie Bourne) 2:39
- Riffin' at the Bar-B-Q (Nat Cole) 2:05
- Harlem Swing (Bonnie Lake) 2:30
- I Lost Control of Myself (Irwin 'Hap' Kaufman, Nat Cole) 3:16
DISC 2
- The Land of Make Believe (Betty Johnson, Charlie Bourne) 2:52
- That Please-Be-Mine-Able Feeling (Reginald Sloan) 2:15
- Dancing in the Street (Arthur Norris) 3:09
- You're So Different (Nat Leslie) 3:02
- I Wouldn't Have Known It (Marie Bryant, Nat Cole) 2:33
- Let's Get Happy (Dan Arons) 2:18
- Undecided (Charlie Shavers, Sid Robin) 2:26
- 'Taint What You Do (Sy Oliver, James 'Trummy' Young) 2:53
- Do You Wanna Jump, Children? (Jimmy Van Heusen, Willie Bryant, Victor Selsman) 2:46
- Riffin' in F Minor (Nat Cole) 2:06
- Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead (Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin) 3:30
- Blue Lou (Edgar Sampson, Irving Mills) 3:01
- Honey (Seymour Simons, Haven Gillespie, Richard Whiting) 2:11
- Russian Lullaby (Irving Berlin) 2:07
- Georgie Porgie (unknown) 2:23
- The Limp (unknown) 2:52
- Snug as a Bug in a Rug (Frank Loesser, Matty Malneck) 2:35
- Liebestraum (Franz Liszt) 3:23
- Fidgety Joe (Frank Loesser, Matty Malneck) 2:57
- Two Against One (L. Wolfe Gilbert, Benny Meroff, Lew Pollack) 3:00
- Some Like it Hot (Remo Biondi, Frank Loesser, Gene Krupa) 3:09
- Crazy Rhythm (Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Irving Caesar) 2:00
- Moonglow (Will Hudson, Edgar DeLange, Irving Mills) 2:57
- Don't Let That Moon Get Away (James Monaco, Johnny Burke) 2:45
- My Blue Heaven (Walter Donaldson, George Whiting) 1:36
- I Was Doing Alright (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2:17
- I Can't Get Started ((Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) 2:41
- Old Man Moon (Hoagy Carmichael) 2:16
- Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (James Bland) 2:14
DISC 3
- Moon Song (Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow) 3:09
- Baby, Won't You Please Come Home (Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams) 2:20
- Rosetta (Earl Hines, Henri Woode) 2:11
- Trompin' (unknown) 2:46
- You're My Life (unknown) 2:54
- Hoy Soy (unknown) 2:33
- Take 'Em (unknown) 2:24
- Scategoria (unknown) 2:32
- Rhythm Serenade (unknown) 2:35
- Rib Town Shuffle (unknown) 2:46
- Music'll Chase Your Blues Away (unknown) 2:01
- I'll Gather Up My Memories (unknown) 3:34
- A Fool's Affair (unknown) 3:34
- Jump, Jack, Jump (Charles 'Lucky' Roberts) 2:47
- I Knew a Time (unknown) 3:05
- Mine You'll Always Be (unknown) 3:19
- Doin' the Bow Wow (unknown) 2:44
- Lilla Mae (unknown) 2:18
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:49
- On the Sunny Side of the Street (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) 2:55
- Black Spider Stomp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 2:40
- By the River St. Marie (Harry Warren, Edgar Leslie) 2:25
- Slew Foot Joe (unknown) 2:14
- 1-2-3-4 (Milt Gabler, Gordon Jenkins) 2:09
- Crazy 'Bout Rhythm (unknown) 2:04
- Off the Beam (unknown) 2:18
- King Cole Blues (unknown) 2:07
- Jivin' with the Notes (unknown) 2:01
- Never Mind, Baby (Hal Hampton) 1:45
DISC 4
- I'm a Perfect Fool Over You (Sebastian Apollo) 2:38
- Lovely Little Person (Al Heath, Buddy Leroux) 2:23
- Love Me Sooner (unknown) 2:32
- Sentimental Blue (Josh Chamberlain Lawrence) 2:44
- Goin' to Town with Honey (E.E. Waters) 2:21
- Syncopated Lullaby (Felix De Cola) 1:51
- Falling in and Out of Love (Nat Cole) 1:50
- Let's Do Things (Virginia Ferragamo) 2:01
- Jumpy Jitters (Gale Hunt, Jack Green) 1:51
- Nothing Ever Happens (Laurence Morgan) 2:35
- What'cha Doin' to My Heart (Tim M. George) 1:37
- Bedtime (Nat Cole) 2:45
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:18
- French Toast (unknown) 2:15
- Vine Street Jump (unknown) 2:43
- B Flat (unknown) 2:32
- You Send Me (unknown) 2:11
- Love Is My Alibi (Nat Cole) 3:123
- Pogo Stick Bounce (unknown) 2:19
- Whatcha' Know, Joe? (James 'Trummy' Young) 2:36
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 2:57
- Honeysuckle Rose (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf) 2:34
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:44
- This Side Up (Nat Cole) 2:49
- Jumpin' with the Mop (Nat Cole) 2:26
- Jam Man (unknown) 2:05
- Let's Try Again (Biff Hammond, Billy Moore, Jr.) 3:05
- Fudge Wudge (unknown) 3:51
- Smokey Joe (unknown) 1:58
- Windy City Boogie Woogie (unknown) 2:26
- Ode to a Wild Clam (unknown) 2:26
DISC 5
- Let's Try Again (Biff Hammond, Billy Moore, Jr.) 3:10
- Whatcha' Know, Joe? (James 'Trummy' Young) 2:12
- Lazy River (Hoagy Carmichael, Sidney Arodin) 1:46
- Georgia on My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) 2:45
- Rockin' Chair (Hoagy Carmichael) 3:13
- A Little Jive Is Good for You (Ralph Yaw, Ralph Waters) 3:41
- You've Changed (Carl Fischer, Bill Carey) 3:05
- Babs (Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young) 2:27
- Scotchin' with the Soda (W. Jack Riley) 2:35
- Slow Down (Redd Evans) 3:09
- Early Morning Blues (Nat Cole) 2:46
- The Romany Room Is Jumpin' (Nat Cole) 2:30
- This Will Make You Laugh (Irene Higginbotham) 3:14
- Stop! The Red Light's On (Joseph 'Taps' Miller) 2:39
- Hit the Ramp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 3:21
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:48
- Call the Police (Nat Cole) 3:05
- Are You Fer It? (Nat Cole, Carl Sigman) 3:08
- That Ain't Right (Nat Cole) 3:14
- Hit That Jive, Jack (John Alston, Campbell 'Skeets' Tolbert) 2:59
- Indiana (James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald) 4:53
- I Can't Get Started (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) 4:55
DISC 6
- Tea for Two (Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar) 4:47
- Body and Soul (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton) 5:13
- Vom, Vim, Veedle (Robert Scherman, Frankie Jaxon) 3:02
- All for You (Robert Scherman) 3:28
- Hip Hip Hooray (Henry Nemo, Milt Ebbins) 2:24
- I Know That You Know (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) 2:10
- I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town (William Weldon, Andy Razaf) 3:44
- Pitchin' Up a Boogie (Nat Cole) 3:14
- I'm Lost (Otis René) 3:19
- Beautiful Moons Ago (Oscar Moore, Nat Cole) 2:27
- Let's Spring One (Otis René) 2:43
- Slender, Tender, and Tall (Mike Jackson, Hughie Prince) 2:06
- I've Found a New Baby (Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams) 4:44
- Rosetta (Earl Hines, Henri Woode) 5:10
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 4:56
- I Blowed and Gone (Harry 'Sweets' Edison) 4:47
- Solid Potato Salad (Don Raye, Gene DePaul, Hughie Prince) 2:07
- S.T. (Fine, Sweet & Tasty) (Nat Cole) 3:07
- Got a Penny (Robert Scherman, Henry May) 2:37
- Let's Pretend (Robert Scherman) 3:18
- My Lips Remember Your Kisses (Robert Scherman, Ben Siegel, Henry May) 3:11
- I'm an Errand Boy for Rhythm (Nat Cole) 1:51
- Straighten Up and Fly Right (Irving Mills, Nat Cole) 2:45
DISC 7
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:47
- By the River St. Marie (Harry Warren, Edgar Leslie) 2:12
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:33
- Black Spider Stomp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 2:54
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 3:23
- Early Morning Blues (Nat Cole) 2:53
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:22
- Trompin' (unknown) 1:48
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 2:57
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:41
- Scotchin' with the Soda (W. Jack Riley) 2:25
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:28
- The Romany Room Is Jumpin' (Nat Cole) 2:33
- Hit That Jive, Jack (John Alston, Campbell 'Skeets' Tolbert) 2:16
- Beautiful Moons Ago (Oscar Moore, Nat Cole) 3:36
- Honeysuckle Rose (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf) 3:20
- I Know That You Know (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) 2:53
- Solid Potato Salad (Don Raye, Gene DePaul, Hughie Prince) 2:14
- My Lips Remember Your Kisses (Robert Scherman, Ben Siegel, Henry May) 3:07
- Straighten Up and Fly Right (Irving Mills, Nat Cole) 2:52
10LP Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Track Listing
Side 1A (A)
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:52
- Stompin' at the Panama (Skoller's Shuffle) (Nat Cole) 2:59
- Bedtime (Sleepy Moan) (Nat Cole) 2:54
- Thunder (Nat Cole) 2:50
- Mutiny in the Nursery (Johnny Mercer) 2:52
- D.R Jones (Harold Rome) 3:10
- The Sheik of Araby ((Ted Snyder, Francis Wheeler, Harry B. Smith) 2:17
- The Blue Danube (Johan Strauss II) 2:50
- Button, Button (Clay A. Boland, Bickley 'Bix' Reichner) 2:52
Side 1B (B)
- Jingle Bells (J.S. Pierpont) 2:34
- Swanee River (Stephen Foster) 2:28
- With Plenty of Money and You (Harry Warren, Al Dubin) 2:15
- Don't Blame Me ((Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) 2:26
- Lullaby in Rhythm (Edgar Sampson, Walter Hirsch, Clarence Profit, Benny Goodman) 2:48
- Dark Rapture (Edgar Sampson, Manny Kurtz, Benny Goodman) 3:13
- The Wiggly Walk (Al Jacobs, Dave Oppenheim, Jack Palmer) 2:52
- Flea Hop (Al Jacobs, Dave Oppenheim, Jack Palmer) 2:43
- Chopsticks (Arthur De Lulli) 2:44
- Patty Cake, Patty Cake (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf, J. C. Johnson) 2:43
Side 2A (C)
- Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) 2:09
- Liza (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn) 2:58
- Three Blind Mice (Traditional) 2:08
- Caravan (Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol, Irving Mills) 2:17
- There's no Anesthetic for Love (Marshall Walker) 3:15
- Dixie Jamboree (Lyle Griffin, Charles Callender) 3:04
- Ta-De-Ah (Betty Johnson, Charlie Bourne) 2:39
- Riffin' at the Bar-B-Q (Nat Cole) 2:05
- Harlem Swing (Bonnie Lake) 2:30
- I Lost Control of Myself (Irwin 'Hap' Kaufman, Nat Cole) 3:16
Side 2B (D)
- The Land of Make Believe (Betty Johnson, Charlie Bourne) 2:52
- That Please-be-Mine-able Feeling (Reginald Sloan) 2:15
- Dancing in the Street (Arthur Norris) 3:09
- You're So Different (Nat Leslie) 3:02
- I Wouldn't Have Known It (Marie Bryant, Nat Cole) 2:33
- Let's Get Happy (Dan Arons) 2:18
- Undecided (Charlie Shavers, Sid Robin) 2:26
- 'Taint What You Do (Sy Oliver, James 'Trummy' Young) 2:53
- Do You Wanna Jump, Children? (Jimmy Van Heusen, Willie Bryant, Victor Selsman) 2:46
- Riffin' in F Minor (Nat Cole) 2:06
Side 3A (E)
- Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead (Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin) 3:30
- Blue Lou (Edgar Sampson, Irving Mills) 3:01
- Honey (Seymour Simons, Haven Gillespie, Richard Whiting) 2:11
- Russian Lullaby (Irving Berlin) 2:07
- Georgie Porgie (unknown) 2:23
- The Limp (unknown) 2:52
- Snug as a Bug in a Rug (Frank Loesser, Matty Malneck) 2:35
- Liebestraum (Franz Liszt) 3:23
- Fidgety Joe (Frank Loesser, Matty Malneck) 2:57
Side 3B (F)
- Two Against One (L. Wolfe Gilbert, Benny Meroff, Lew Pollack) 3:00
- Some Like it Hot (Remo Biondi, Frank Loesser, Gene Krupa) 3:09
- Crazy Rhythm (Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Irving Caesar) 2:00
- Moonglow (Will Hudson, Edgar DeLange, Irving Mills) 2:57
- Don't Let That Moon Get Away (James Monaco, Johnny Burke) 2:45
- My Blue Heaven (Walter Donaldson, George Whiting) 1:36
- I Was Doing Alright (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2:17
- I Can't Get Started ((Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) 2:41
- Old Man Moon (Hoagy Carmichael) 2:16
- Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (James Bland) 2:14
Side 4A (G)
- Moon Song (Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow) 3:09
- Baby, Won't You Please Come Home (Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams) 2:20
- Rosetta (Earl Hines, Henri Woode) 2:11
- Trompin' (unknown) 2:46
- You're My Life (unknown) 2:54
- Hoy Soy (unknown) 2:33
- Take 'Em (unknown) 2:24
- Scategoria (unknown) 2:32
- Rhythm Serenade (unknown) 2:35
- Rib Town Shuffle (unknown) 2:46
Side 4B (H)
- Music'll Chase Your Blues Away (unknown) 2:01
- I'll Gather Up My Memories (unknown) 3:34
- A Fool's Affair (unknown) 3:34
- Jump, Jack, Jump (Charles 'Lucky' Roberts) 2:47
- I Knew a Time (unknown) 3:05
- Mine You'll Always Be (unknown) 3:19
- Doin' the Bow Wow (unknown) 2:44
- Lilla Mae (unknown) 2:18
Side 5A (I)
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:49
- On the Sunny Side of the Street (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) 2:55
- Black Spider Stomp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 2:40
- By the River St. Marie (Harry Warren, Edgar Leslie) 2:25
- Slew Foot Joe (unknown) 2:14
- 1-2-3-4 (Milt Gabler, Gordon Jenkins) 2:09
- Crazy 'Bout Rhythm (unknown) 2:04
- Off the Beam (unknown) 2:18
- King Cole Blues (unknown) 2:07
- Jivin' With the Notes (unknown) 2:01
- Never Mind, Baby (Hal Hampton) 1:45
Side 5B (J)
- I'm a Perfect Fool Over You (Sebastian Apollo) 2:38
- Lovely Little Person (Al Heath, Buddy Leroux) 2:23
- Love Me Sooner (unknown) 2:32
- Sentimental Blue (Josh Chamberlain Lawrence) 2:44
- Goin' to Town with Honey (E.E. Waters) 2:21
- Syncopated Lullaby (Felix De Cola) 1:51
- Falling in and Out of Love (Nat Cole) 1:50
- Let's Do Things (Virginia Ferragamo) 2:01
- Jumpy Jitters (Gale Hunt, Jack Green) 1:51
- Nothing Ever Happens (Laurence Morgan) 2:35
- What'cha Doin' to My Heart (Tim M. George) 1:37
Side 6A (K)
- Bedtime (Nat Cole) 2:45
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:18
- French Toast (unknown) 2:15
- Vine Street Jump (unknown) 2:43
- B Flat (unknown) 2:32
- You Send Me (unknown) 2:11
- Love is My Alibi (Nat Cole) 3:123
- Pogo Stick Bounce (unknown) 2:19
- Whatcha' Know, Joe? (James 'Trummy' Young) 2:36
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 2:57
Side 6B (L)
- Honeysuckle Rose (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf) 2:34
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:44
- This Side Up (Nat Cole) 2:49
- Jumpin' with the Mop (Nat Cole) 2:26
- Jam Man (unknown) 2:05
- Let's Try Again (Biff Hammond, Billy Moore, Jr.) 3:05
- Fudge Wudge (unknown) 3:51
- Smokey Joe (unknown) 1:58
- Windy City Boogie Woogie (unknown) 2:26
- Ode to a Wild Clam (unknown) 2:26
Side 7A (M)
- Let's Try Again (Biff Hammond, Billy Moore, Jr.) 3:10
- Whatcha' Know, Joe? (James 'Trummy' Young) 2:12
- Lazy River (Hoagy Carmichael, Sidney Arodin) 1:46
- Georgia on My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) 2:45
- Rockin Chair (Hoagy Carmichael) 3:13
- A Little Jive is Good for You (Ralph Yaw, Ralph Waters) 3:41
- You've Changed (Carl Fischer, Bill Carey) 3:05
Side 7B (N)
- Babs (Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young) 2:27
- Scotchin' with the Soda (W. Jack Riley) 2:35
- Slow Down (Redd Evans) 3:09
- Early Morning Blues (Nat Cole) 2:46
- The Romany Room is Jumpin' (Nat Cole) 2:30
- This Will Make You Laugh (Irene Higginbotham) 3:14
- Stop! The Red Light's On (Joseph 'Taps' Miller) 2:39
- Hit the Ramp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 3:21
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:48
Side 8A (O)
- Call the Police (Nat Cole) 3:05
- Are You Fer It? (Nat Cole, Carl Sigman) 3:08
- That Ain't Right (Nat Cole) 3:14
- Hit That Jive, Jack (John Alston, Campbell 'Skeets' Tolbert) 2:59
- Indiana (James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald) 4:53
- I Can't Get Started (Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin) 4:55
Side 8B (P)
- Tea for Two (Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar) 4:47
- Body and Soul (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton) 5:13
- Vom, Vim, Veedle (Robert Scherman, Frankie Jaxon) 3:02
- All for You (Robert Scherman) 3:28
- Hip, Hip, Hooray (Henry Nemo, Milt Ebbins) 2:24
- I Know That You Know (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) 2:10
- I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town (William Weldon, Andy Razaf) 3:44
Side 9A (Q)
- Pitchin' Up a Boogie (Nat Cole) 3:14
- I'm Lost (Otis René) 3:19
- Beautiful Moons Ago (Oscar Moore, Nat Cole) 2:27
- Let's Spring One (Otis René) 2:43
- Slender, Tender, and Tall (Mike Jackson, Hughie Prince) 2:06
- I've Found a New Baby (Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams) 4:44
- Rosetta (Earl Hines, Henri Woode) 5:10
Side 9B (R)
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 4:56
- I Blowed and Gone (Harry 'Sweets' Edison) 4:47
- Solid Potato Salad (Don Raye, Gene DePaul, Hughie Prince) 2:07
- S.T. (Fine, Sweet & Tasty) (Nat Cole) 3:07
- Got a Penny (Robert Scherman, Henry May) 2:37
- Let's Pretend (Robert Scherman) 3:18
- My Lips Remember Your Kisses (Robert Scherman, Ben Siegel, Henry May) 3:11
- I'm an Errand Boy for Rhythm (Nat Cole) 1:51
- Straighten up and Fly Right (Irving Mills, Nat Cole) 2:45
Side 10A (S)
- Honey Hush (Nat Cole) 2:47
- By the River St. Marie (Harry Warren, Edgar Leslie) 2:12
- I Like to Riff (Nat Cole) 2:33
- Black Spider Stomp (Nat Cole, Oscar Moore) 2:54
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 3:23
- Early Morning Blues (Nat Cole) 2:53
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:22
- Trompin' (unknown) 1:48
- Sweet Lorraine (Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell) 2:57
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:41
Side 10B (T)
- Scotchin' with the Soda (W. Jack Riley) 2:25
- Gone with the Draft (Earl Dramin, Wesley Prince, Nat Cole) 2:28
- The Romany Room is Jumpin' (Nat Cole) 2:33
- Hit That Jive, Jack (John Alston, Campbell 'Skeets' Tolbert) 2:16
- Beautiful Moons Ago (Oscar Moore, Nat Cole) 3:36
- Honeysuckle Rose (Thomas 'Fats' Waller, Andy Razaf) 3:20
- I Know That You Know (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) 2:53
- Solid Potato Salad (Don Raye, Gene DePaul, Hughie Prince) 2:14
- My Lips Remember Your Kisses (Robert Scherman, Ben Siegel, Henry May) 3:07
- Straighten up and Fly Right (Irving Mills, Nat Cole) 2:52
Dirk says
I got TJL’s Nat King Cole’s favorites but was not impressed with the sound quality at all. Quite depressing because I was impressed with the ultimate collection.
Joe Marchese says
Sorry you were disappointed, Dirk. At the end of the day, sound quality is subjective, but I can assure you that everybody involved with the project gave their all to make the set a worthwhile tribute to Nat and the scope of his hits and career.
Dirk says
I will give it another listen. Thanks!
R. Michael Cox says
I've got the Mosaic box set from back in the day and it is easily one of the best box sets in my collection. I haven't checked to see if anything is repeated here from that set or if this is all new but I'll be doing so---off the cuff doesn't look like any repeats.
Joe Marchese says
There is a tiny amount of overlap from the Mosaic collection.
One of this set's co-producers, Matt Lutthans, has shared over at the Hoffman forums that "there is a very, very small amount of overlap between the Resonance set and the Mosaic set. It's something like ten tracks or so. This is because the Mosaic set began with the first tracks that Capitol OWNED, which were actually pre-Capitol tracks for which Capitol later bought the masters, while the new Resonance set goes up to (but not including) the first session RECORDED BY Capitol. The overlap is 'Vom, Vim, Veedle' through 'My Lips Remember Your Kisses' on little labels like Excelsior and Premier. Funny thing we discovered while working on this set: The version of 'My Lips Remember Your Kisses' in the Mosaic set is an alternate - it's not the original 78 version. We have both versions in the new set, both of which I newly transferred from original 78 RPM disks. (The alternate version, which exists as a white-label test pressing, wins the award for coming the farthest distance, being safely shipped from Australia to the Seattle area for transfer.)"
R. Michael Cox says
Thanks Joe. Good info to know.
Paul M. Mock says
Joe, YOU KNOW that I am gonna be allover this one! Plus with Matt Lutthans behind the sound quality, this set is bound to be a big time WINNER! Thanks for letting us know about this gem of a gem.