Darling, It’s Incredible: Nat King Cole’s Centennial Celebrated With Two New Compilations and Marvin Gaye Tribute Album
Unforgettable…that’s what he is.
This year marks what would have been the 100th birthday of one of America’s finest performers of popular song: Nat “King” Cole. In his decades-long career, Cole blazed the trail for many entertainers to come, influencing the likes of Count Basie and Ray Charles along the way. Universal Music Group will celebrate his milestone centennial with a pair of retrospectives this spring, plus a digital expansion of another vocal icon paying tribute to the legend.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919, Cole first broke through as a pioneer of the small jazz trio with 1940’s hit “Sweet Lorraine.” He was signed to Capitol in 1943 and his debut album, The King Cole Trio, topped Billboard‘s first-ever album chart. As the decade progressed, the smooth-voiced bandleader transitioned from jazz to pop, fronting orchestras with lush arrangements (often courtesy of the great Nelson Riddle) of favorites like “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” “Orange Colored Sky” and others. (During this time, Cole hosted his own radio program, the first black man to do so, and would host a variety show for NBC from 1956 to 1957.)
Even in a time of musical change in the early ’60s, Cole continued to succeed with songs like “Unforgettable” and “Let There Be Love.” His last major recording, “L-O-V-E,” was recorded just months before the lung cancer diagnosis that prematurely ended his career and his life in 1965, at only 45 years old. His legacy has continued to last, though: no Capitol Records artist has matched his number of charting singles, a run which has extended even into the ’90s (when his daughter Natalie Cole’s virtual duet version of “Unforgettable” entered the Top 20, also winning three Grammys) and just weeks ago (his immortal rendition of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 this past holiday season).
To celebrate Cole’s centennial and his legacy of enduring music, Capitol/UMe has partnered with the Nat King Cole Estate for a number of exciting projects. Among them are two new collections that showcase Cole’s remarkable talents — both due out on March 15. Ultimate Nat King Cole will arrive on CD and digital, with a 2LP configuration to follow on June 14. It features 21 tracks, including all those aforementioned classics, plus a new duet version of “The Girl From Ipanema” with Grammy Award winner Gregory Porter, who made waves with his Nat King Cole and Me tribute album last year. Accompanying the music are new liner notes including an essay penned by James Ritz.
On the same day, Capitol/UMe will release International Nat King Cole, a 14-track set of non-English versions of classic songs, all recorded in August 1964 . Among them are “L-O-V-E” in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Italian; “Muetterlein” (“Answer Me, My Love”) in German; and “Autumn Leaves” in French and Japanese. The limited-edition collection will be available exclusively from the uDiscoverMusic Online Store and will also feature liner notes from James Ritz.
Also due for release on digital download and streaming services on March 15 is a newly expanded edition of Marvin Gaye’s 1965 album, A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole. Motown/UMe’s new edition will feature the original mono mix of the album, which makes its digital debut, plus more than a dozen bonus tracks, including alternate takes from the original sessions.
So, straighten up and fly right with these upcoming Nat “King” Cole releases arriving on March 15 from UMe! Find all the pre-order links and track listings below.
Nat King Cole, Ultimate Nat King Cole (Captiol/UMe, 2019)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: uDiscoverMusic Online Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
- (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
- Straighten Up and Fly Right
- (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
- Sweet Lorraine
- Unforgettable
- Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
- Mona Lisa
- Pretend
- Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)
- Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow
- Stardust
- Orange Colored Sky
- When I Fall In Love
- The Very Thought of You
- Perfida
- Let There Be Love
- Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
- L-O-V-E
- Smile
- Nature Boy
- The Girl From Ipanema (with Gregory Porter)
Nat King Cole, International Nat King Cole (Capitol/UMe, 2019) (uDiscoverMusic Online Store)
- L-O-V-E (French Version)
- Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves / French Version)
- Crois-Moi Ca Durera (You’ll See / French Version)
- Le Bonheur C’est Quand On S’aime
- Vous Qui Passez Sans Me Voir (Passing By / French Version)
- L-O-V-E (German Version)
- Muetterlein (Answer Me, My Love / German Version)
- L-O-V-E (Japanese Version)
- I Don’t Want To Be Hurt Anymore (Japanese Version)
- Kareha (Autumn Leaves / Japanese Version)
- L-O-V-E (Spanish Version)
- Tu Eres Tan Amable
- L-O-V-E (Italian Version)
- Tu Sei Cosi Amabile
Marvin Gaye, A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole (originally Tamla LP T 261, 1965 — expanded and reissued Motown/UMe, 2019) (Digital Links TBD)
- Goodbye
- I Wish You Love
- If I Had To Go
- So In Love
- The End of a Love Affair
- The More I See You
- Violets For Your Furs
- You’re All That Matters To Me
- Nature Boy / original mono LP mix
- Ramblin’ Rose / original mono LP mix
- Too Young / original mono LP mix
- Pretend / original mono LP mix
- Straighten Up and Fly Right / original mono LP mix
- Mona Lisa / original mono LP mix
- Unforgettable / original mono LP mix
- To the Ends of the Earth / original mono LP mix
- Sweet Lorraine / original mono LP mix
- It’s Only a Paper Moon / original mono LP mix
- Send for Me / original mono LP mix
- Calypso Blues / original mono LP mix
- Unforgettable / original California version, take 2
- Send for Me / original California version, take 1
- Send for Me / original California version, take 3
- Ramblin’ Rose / alternate vocal
- Too Young / alternate vocal, take 1
- Send for Me / alternate vocal, take 1
Tracks 1-8 from Marvin Gaye, Motown Unreleased 1965 (Motown/UMe digital-only release, 2015)
Tracks 21-26 previously unreleased
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9 thoughts on “Darling, It’s Incredible: Nat King Cole’s Centennial Celebrated With Two New Compilations and Marvin Gaye Tribute Album”
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Hi Sam,
Do you know if there will be any new/updated remastering associated with these titles?
Hi Sam,
Do you know if there will be any new/updated remastering associated with these titles?
The award for most Uninspiring releases of the year goes to…
UME must not think much of NKC if this is all he gets for his Centennial.
HEY UME!?!?! How about a complete album box set?
Exactly Robert
Issue all of his albums remastered in a massive boxed set on CD and Vinyl. Or do it like UME did the Marvin Gaye albums and issue the albums in three or four boxed sets.
These re-issues are worthless, really…very disappointing.
On the expanded edition of Marvin’s “A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole”, what is the significance of the first eight songs on the set? Nat never sang those; are they included because they fit into the timeline in which the album’s songs were recorded?
Yes, the eight first tracks were all recorded in New York on August 10, 1965 and while unrelated to Cole, they are in a “standards” vein. (Two of the tracks, “If I Had to Go On Without You” and “You’re All that Matters to Me” were Motown originals from co-writer Morris Broadnax of “Just a Little Misunderstanding” and “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” fame.) These are reprised from the digital-only collection MARVIN GAYE UNRELEASED 1965. That set is almost exclusively pop standards and Broadway material, and is well worth seeking out.
are the Nat King Cole tracks the original hits or the 1960’s remakes? I have the remakes but it is hard to find good sound quality of the original hits.
The set has mostly original versions with some stereo remakes, i.e. “Nature Boy” and “Smile.” If you have a question about a particular song, I’ll do my best to answer!
Orange Colored Sky sounds like the stereo remake.