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Nat King Cole discography

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.

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. 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.

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

  • 1965 – Unforgettable (No. 30 US)
  • 1965 – Looking Back (No. 360 US)
  • 1965 – Nat King Cole Trio: The Vintage Years
  • 1965 – Nature Boy
  • 1966 – Longines Symphonette Society Presents the Unforgettable Nat King Cole (box set)
  • 1966 – The Unforgettable Nat King Cole Sings the Great Songs (No. 145 US)
  • 1966 – Sincerely
  • 1967 – Stay as Sweet as You Are
  • 1967 – The Beautiful Ballads
  • 1967 – Thank You, Pretty Baby
  • 1968 – Best of Nat King Cole (No. 187 US) (RIAA: Platinum)
  • 1969 – Close-Up (No. 197 US)
  • 1970 – The Magic of Christmas with Children (Safeway Supermarket promo LP)
  • 1972 – The Greatest of Nat King Cole (2-album set sold by Dynamic House)
  • 1973 – Nature Boy
  • 1974 – Love Is Here to Stay
  • 1974 – Love is a Many Splendored Thing
  • 1977 – 20 Golden Greats (BPI: Platinum, AUS: Platinum)
  • 1979 – Reader's Digest Presents: The Great Nat King Cole (box set)
  • 1982 – Greatest Love Songs (BPI: Platinum)
  • 1983 – Unforgettable (Australia)
  • 1990 – Hit That Jive, Jack
  • 1990 – Jumpin' at Capitol
  • 1990 – Capitol Collectors' Series (RIAA: Gold)
  • 1990 – Cole, Christmas, & Kids
  • 1990 – 12 Historical Recordings (Conquistador; CONQ 009)
  • 1990 – 12 More Historical Recordings (Conquistador; CONQ 016)
  • 1991 – The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio (box set, Mosaic Records)
  • 1991 – The Unforgettable Nat King Cole (RIAA: Gold, BPI: Silver)
  • 1992 – Nat King Cole at the Movies
  • 1992 – Christmas Favorites
  • 1992 – The Best of the Nat King Cole Trio: The Instrumental Classics
  • 1993 – The Billy May Sessions
  • 1993 – Mis Mejores Canciones: 19 Super Exitos
  • 1994 – Let's Face the Music & Dance
  • 1994 – Greatest Hits (RIAA: Platinum)
  • 1996 – Sincerely/The Beautiful Ballads
  • 1997 – For Sentimental Reasons
  • 1997 – Retro
  • 1997 – A Touch of Class
  • 1997 – Tell Me All About Yourself/The Touch of Your Lips
  • 1998 – The Frim Fram Sauce
  • 1998 – Dear Lonely Hearts/I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore
  • 1999 – Where Did Everyone Go?/Looking Back
  • 1999 – Live at the Circle Room
  • 1999 – The Christmas Song
  • 2000 – Coast to Coast Live (1963 concert at Riverside Inn, Fresno, Calif., 1962 WNEW radio show)
  • 2000 – Route 66
  • 2000 – Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety-Two
  • 2001 – Golden Greats
  • 2001 – The King Swings
  • 2001 – Try Not to Cry
  • 2001 – Night Lights (radio recordings from 1956, most tracks previously unreleased)
  • 2002 – Sings the Great Songs/Thank You, Pretty Baby
  • 2003 – Stepping Out of a Dream
  • 2003 – The Classic Singles (4-CD book)
  • 2003 – 20 Golden Greats
  • 2003 – The Best Of...
  • 2003 – Love Songs (BPI: Silver)
  • 2003 – The Nat King Cole Trio (with famous guests)
  • 2003 – The One and Only Nat King Cole
  • 2004 – Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer/My Fair Lady
  • 2005 – The World of Nat King Cole (bonus DVD added 2006) (BPI: Silver)
  • 2006 – The Very Best of Nat King Cole
  • 2006 – Stardust: The Complete Capitol Recordings, 1955–1959
  • 2006 – L-O-V-E: The Complete Capitol Recordings, 1960–1964
  • 2008 – Holiday Collection 2008: NBC Sounds of the Season
  • 2009 – '
  • 2014 – The Extraordinary Nat King Cole
  • 2015 – The Platinum Collection: 75 Original Classics
  • 2019 - Hittin' the Ramp: the Early Years (1936-1943)
  • 2019 – Ultimate Nat King Cole
  • 2021 – A Sentimental Christmas with Nat "King" Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined
  • 2022 – From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 1)
  • 2022 – From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 2)
  • 2023 – From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 3)
  • 2023 – From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 4)
  • 2024 – From The Capitol Vaults (Vol. 5)
  • 2024 – Live at the Blue Note Chicago

Chart singles

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. 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", and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. 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.

References

Sources

  • "Both Sides Now" discographies at bsnpubs.com
  • Friedwald, Will (2006). Liner notes. In Cole, Nat King. Stardust: The Complete Capitol Recordings 1955–1959. Bear Family Records.
  • Friedwald, Will (2006). Liner notes. In Cole, Nat King. L-O-V-E: The Complete Capitol Recordings 1960–1964. Bear Family Records.