Crooner, inspiration, father I never had: Gregory Porter on his hero Nat King Cole

Hotels turned him away, his neighbours tried to drive him out – and the KKK placed a burning cross on his lawn. But nothing could silence the extraordinary voice of Nat King Cole. Jazz star Gregory Porter pays tribute

When I was five or six, I wrote a love song: “Once upon a time I had a dreamboat / Once upon a time I had a love / Once upon a time I had a dreamboat / And upon that boat I found my love.” I sang it in a crooner style into a tape recorder and played it to my mother. “Boy, you sound like Nat King Cole,” she said. I remember thinking: what a strange name. I must have been old enough to spell out at least N-A-T.

I went to her record collection and, among the Mahalia Jackson and Ella discs, there were five or six by Nat. I put one on, looked at this very sharply dressed, elegant man on the album covers, and out of the speakers came the warm, nurturing sound of his extraordinary voice.

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from Music | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2zr9grp

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