Nat King Cole

by Epstein, Daniel Mark

• ISBN13: 9780783890128
• ISBN10: 0783890125
• Edition: Large
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co

Summary

Written with the narrative pacing of a novel, this absorbing biography traces Nat King Cole's rise to fame, from boy-wonder jazz genius to megastar in a racist society -- the first African-American to have his own television show. Daniel Mark Epstein brings Cole and his times to vivid life, examining Cole's insistence on changing society through his art rather than political activism, and the famous and influential image of calm, poise, and elegance which concealed the personal turmoil that eventually undermined his health.

Author Biography

Daniel Mark Epstein is the author of Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson as well as many books of poetry, stories, and essays. His plays have been produced Off-Broadway and in regional theater. He lives in Baltimore

Table of Contents

PART ONE Chicago
The Kid --- Chicago, 1935	11	(5)
Gatemouth	16	(13)
Flight Out of Egypt	29	(6)
Schoolboys	35	(17)
Bud Billiken Days	52	(13)
On the Town	65	(17)
The Savoy Ballroom --- September 8, 1935	82	(8)
Brothers	90	(6)
Nadine	96	(11)
PART TWO Los Angeles
Sunshine and Shadow	107	(13)
The Trio	120	(26)
A Year on the Road	146	(11)
Fly Right	157	(13)
Carlos, and Capitol Records	170	(18)
The Big Money	188	(20)
Changes	208	(12)
Maria	220	(17)
Engaged	237	(22)
PART THREE America
Wedding Bells	259	(8)
Nature Boy	267	(14)
A Home of Their Own	281	(10)
The Price of Fame	291	(15)
Bop City to Dixie	306	(15)
Family	321	(19)
The Tax Man	340	(25)
The Big Show	365	(29)
Together and Apart	394	(11)
Mobbed	405	(19)
Home Again	424	(11)
PART FOUR This World and the Next
Television	435	(12)
Sammy and Harry and the General	447	(24)
Games and Children	471	(17)
The Dawn of a New Decade	488	(29)
Jackpot Attraction	517	(21)
Love and Death	538	(44)
Epilogue	582	(7)
Acknowledgments	589	(4)
Notes	593	(68)
Bibliography	661