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**PAM*THE*SHAM*COM**SEPTEMBER*29TH*2013*08*22*A*M**
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The Latest from the bloggers in the Your Black World Network: 100% black-owned, 100% of the time.
NSA Employee Caught Listening to Phone Calls of 9 Women Without Being Caught by His Bosses
The government has been caught numerous times spying on American citizens. But despite this, they ask you to trust them. But do you? This story might give you…
Just Shoot Me: 8 Things We Hated about the Movie “Baggage Claim”
A few of us at Your Black World went out to see the new “black” film, “Baggage Claim.” The only thing we enjoyed about this trip to the…
Woman Calls Out Michael Jordan on Facebook for Being a Deadbeat Dad to Her Son
Michael Jordan has had his pick of the litter when it comes to the ladies, and with those opportunities come the consequences. Jordan is being targeted by another paternity suit, in addition to the others he’s had to deal with in the past. This one is from a woman who says that Jordan is the […]
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Family Robs Church then Sells Items in a Yard Sale Less than a Block Away
Reported By: Britt L A family that robs together….Stays together? ABC News reported that a mother-father-daughter trio allegedly robbed church items and sold the stolen goods in a yard sale at their home in Slidell, Louisiana. St. Tammany Police Captain George Bonnett informed ABC News that the family confessed that they robbed the El […]
September 28, 2013No CommentRead More#
Chicago 4.0 Student Arrested After Getting Caught Carrying Gun For Protection…
President Obama Makes History: First US President to Speak to Iranian Leader Since 1979
September 27, 2013No Comment
In what has been labeled to be a landmark conversation, President Barack Obama spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. This would be the first conversation between the leaders of these two nations since 1979. For those who support the move, the conversation is seen as an opportunity to find a solution to the impasse the […]
How Did the Founding Fathers Feel about Slavery? A New Book Explores this Issue
September 27, 2013No Comment
By Dr. Lachin Hatemi Pulitzer Prize-winning author – Alan Taylor describes the events around the issue of slavery during and after the American Revolution in his most recent book “The Internal Enemy”. Alan examines the mass exodus of slaves to the ranks of the Royal British Army. “The Internal Enemy” shows the personal side […]
HealthyBlackWoman.com: Why Your New Man Won’t Sleep With You
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Controversial portrait of freed slave now on view at National Portrait Gallery
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The portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is currently open to public viewing on a long-term loan to the National Portrait Gallery in London, from the Orientalist Museum in Qatar. However I am very hard-pressed to describe this “loan arrangement” as a voluntary exchange. This loan was only made possible as a result of the British […]
by Barry Burch Jr. An officer simply trying to do his job, received more than what he perhaps expected, when trying to detain a fair jumper near a train station platform. Last week the cop was wrestled to the ground and pinned against a glass barrier and bench. Surveillance cameras were able to capture it all on tape. To […]
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by Barry Burch Jr. The sound of late-term abortion clinics do not sit well with many, and people like former physician Kermit Gosnell explain why. Gosnell is known for running the “House of Horrors” abortion clinic in Philadelphia. He claims that he is “spiritually innocent” for the first degree murders of newborn babies because he was […]
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September 28, 2013 | ||
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Today’s Featured Job Posting: Sales Rep at PTE Energy. To learn more about this and other job opportunities, check out our Jobs Section. | ||
Today’s Top Views | ||
Government Shutdown Looming | by Breanna Edwards
African Americans will be hard-hit if Congress can’t reach an agreement. |
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Stripper Tweets Are Good for Cory Booker | by Keli Goff
The scandal may actually help the Newark mayor’s image. |
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The Unjustified Fear of Black Men | by Mary C. Curtis
“Falling back on fear of a black man is a shortcut,” Mary C. Curtis writes in an incisive piece at the Washington Post that examines the police shooting of an unarmed black man who was actually seeking the officer’s help. |
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Meet The Root 100 Honorees for 2013 | by The Root Staff
These African-American achievers between the ages of 25 and 45 are among our most important influencers. Click to learn more.
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Today’s Top Buzz | |
Kanye’s Quotes on Racism Aren’t Funny | by The Buzz
The rapper isn’t that off about race. |
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Was My Black Ancestor a Civil War Soldier? | by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Eileen Curley, NEHGS Researcher
Tracing Your Roots: A reader struggles to connect her forebear to someone listed in the muster rolls. |
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Why Are Black Voters Embracing Chris Christie? | by Lynette Holloway
Call it “the Obama effect.” Many cite his backing of the president in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. |
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Today’s Non-News: Man Won’t Date Black Women | by Jenee Desmond-Harris
A story about a Texas man’s tacky expression of his preferences for marriage is a reminder, not a scandal. |
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Today’s Top Photos | ||
March on Washington 2013: Why They Came | by Marvin Anderson and Janell Ross
Old and new generations came together to celebrate history and renew the fight for civil rights. |
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March on Washington 2013: Signs of the Time | by Tracy Clayton
They came to D.C. to deliver a message. Here are our eight favorite protest signs. |
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March on Washington’s Unsung Heroes | by John Daniels
We hear plenty about the event’s “Big Six,” but here are some forgotten players who deserve some glory. |
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The Badass Women of the March | by Keli Goff
Without women like Lena Horne or Prince Lee, the epic gathering never would have happened. |
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1963 vs. 2013: Marching on Washington | by Jenee Desmond-Harris
March on Washington at 50: The dream has evolved, and so has just about everything else. |
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Today’s Top Videos | ||
March on Washington: By the Numbers | by The Buzz
Watch this: Have you ever wondered exactly how much it took to put on the march? If so, take a peek. |
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Minority Report: Reflections on Supreme Court Rulings | by The Buzz
Meet J.R., Phil and Pat. They gave us their honest opinions about three landmark Supreme Court rulings this week. |
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‘The Root Live’ Video: Making a Difference | by The Buzz
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, entrepreneur Tracey Edmonds and others talk about becoming the change you want to see. |
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Adam Serwer: Success Is Not Your Own | by The Buzz
The Root of My Success: Mother Jones reporter Adam Serwer says he’s standing on the shoulders of others. |
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‘The Root Live’ Video: Switching Careers | by The Buzz
Webisode 8: Featuring author Demetria L. Lucas, Marie Johns of the SBA and more. |
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In the traditional pop market, Nat King Cole is best-known for major pop hits like “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” “Too Young,” and “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.” But Cole’s roots were straight-ahead jazz, and before he was a pop superstar, he was a swing-oriented singer/pianist who had an improvising group that was billed as the Nat King Cole Trio. One thing that made the combo unique was the absence of a drummer; while about 98-percent of the small swing groups that were active in the ‘30s and ‘40s had full-time drummers, the Cole Trio only used piano, guitar, and acoustic bass. Whether Cole was singing or favoring an instrumental approach, that piano/guitar/bass format was unique — and if the Nat King Cole Trio did work with a drummer, he was strictly a guest.
Born Nathaniel Adams Cole Montgomery, AL on March 17, 1917 but raised in Chicago, Cole came from a very musical family — three of his brothers (Freddy, Eddie, and Isaac Cole) were also jazz musicians, and of course, his daughter Natalie Cole (b. February 6, 1950, Los Angeles, CA) became an R&B/pop superstar about ten years after his death. It was in 1936 that Cole first played piano and recorded with his siblings in a Chicago-based group that was billed as “Eddie Cole’s Solid Swingers.” Cole was really the group’s leader, but it was named after Eddie because he was better-known in Chicago at the time. Then, in 1937, Nat King Cole (who was heavily influenced by Earl “Fatha” Hines) ended up in Los Angeles (where he spent the rest of his life) and formed the original lineup of the Nat King Cole Trio, which employed Oscar Moore (b. December 25, 1912, Austin, TX, d. October 8, 1981, Las Vegas, NV) on guitar and Wesley Prince (b. April 8, 1907) on upright bass. Moore started out on acoustic guitar, but he plugged in and took up the electric guitar after hearing the seminal Charlie Christian. Playing the Hollywood club circuit as well as the famous Central Avenue scene in South Central L.A., the Cole Trio acquired a small local following in the late ‘30s and recorded a lot of radio transcriptions. Those transcriptions were broadcast nationally on NBC Radio, and in 1939, the Cole Trio was receiving enough attention to embark on its first tour of the East Coast and the Midwest. In New York, Cole, Moore, and Prince backed singer Billie Holiday on one of her Manhattan gigs.
Commercially, the Cole Trio continued to make progress in 1940, when the group had an extended engagement at a Hollywood club called the Radio Room, backed Lionel Hampton on some 78s, and signed with Decca. That year, the Cole Trio made its first commercially available recording of “Sweet Lorraine,” which featured Cole on lead vocals and became the group’s first hit as well as the group’s theme on radio. Amazingly, Cole was not fond of singing lead at the time — he considered himself a pianist first and foremost, and many of the Cole Trio‘s late-‘30s transcriptions were either instrumentals or group vocals. But when he realized that there was a demand for his lead vocals, Cole gave the people what they wanted and did more and more lead singing.
In 1941, things seemed to be moving right along for the Nat King Cole Trio. In addition to having a deal with Decca, the group was getting quite a few gigs in New York. But some historic events adversely affected the Trio and the recording industry in general. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. That meant rationing, and one of the things that had to be rationed was shellac — which was an important ingredient of 78s. Between the rationing of shellac and the American Federation of Musicians‘ infamous recording ban, 1942 was a rough year for the recording industry, and Decca ended up dropping the Cole Trio. It was also in 1942 that Prince was drafted into the U.S. military, which illustrated the mind-boggling contradictions of racism — Prince, an African-American, was willing to serve his country and do his part to protect the U.S. from fascist aggressors, but was still considered a second-class citizen under the racist Jim Crow laws of the Deep South. He was good enough to fight in Germany or the Pacific, but he was still required to go to the back of the bus if he decided to use public transportation in many parts of the South.
But the blows that the Cole Trio was dealt in 1942 certainly weren’t fatal. Prince was temporarily replaced by Red Callender, and the Cole Trio recorded a few 78s for the independent, L.A.-based Excelsior label. When Callender left the Trio in November 1942, he was replaced by Johnny Miller (b. 1915, d. 1988). After recording some 78s for Premier Records (another small indie label), the Cole/Moore/Miller edition of the group signed with Capitol in 1943, and it was at Capitol that the threesome enjoyed its greatest commercial success. Moore (whose brother was Johnny Moore of the Three Blazers) stayed with the group until 1947, when he was replaced by Irving Ashby (b. December 29, 1920, Somerville, MA, d. April 22, 1987, Perris, CA).
During its 1943-1949 period, the Cole Trio had its share of major hits, which included “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” (a number one pop hit on Billboard’s pop singles chart in 1946), “I’m a Shy Guy,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” and “The Frim Fram Sauce.” Another big Cole Trio hit from that period was “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You,” which spent four week at number one in Billboard in 1944. And the Trio‘s famous 1946 recording of Bobby Troupe‘s “Route 66” not only became a number 11 pop/number three R&B hit in Billboard, it was also loved by the Rolling Stones, who covered the tune in the ‘60s. The Trio‘s recordings were not only commercially successful, they were also extremely influential. Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Shirley Horn, Red Garland, Tommy Flanagan, Gene Harris, and Diana Krall are among the numerous artists who have been influenced by the Trio over the years.
But as commercially successful as the Cole Trio was in the ‘40s, Capitol had even bigger plans for Nat King Cole; bigger from a pop standpoint anyway. By the end of the ‘40s, Capitol was starting to envision Cole as a jazz-influenced pop singer instead of an improvising jazz singer/pianist. Capitol was doing extremely well with traditional jazz-influenced pop singers like Peggy Lee and Jo Stafford, and the company saw no reason why Cole couldn’t be just as big in the pop market. There were certain ‘40s recordings that made Capitol feel that way — lavish pop recordings that he recorded apart from the Trio. One was his 1948 version of Eden Ahbez‘s haunting “Nature Boy,” which soared to number one on Billboard’s pop singles chart. Another was Cole’s 1946 recording of Mel Tormé‘s “The Christmas Song,” a number three pop hit in Billboard. Both of those smashes were jazz-influenced, but neither was jazz, and both predicted what was to come in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. From 1950 on, Cole was primarily a pop singer — he didn’t abandon jazz altogether, but he did make pop his main focus. After phasing out the Nat King Cole Trio, he did little improvising and was backed by lavish pop orchestras (including arranger Nelson Riddle‘s band). And that is the Nat King Cole who pop fans know best: the crooner who took Billboard’s pop singles chart by storm thanks to smashes like “Mona Lisa” (a number one hit in 1950), “Too Young” (a number one hit in 1951), “Unforgettable,”, “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” and “Pretend.” In the ‘50s, Cole was so famous for his pop singing that many pop fans didn’t know he played piano. But jazz fans knew, and many of them criticized him for placing jazz on the back burner. However, Cole revisited straight-ahead jazz with his After Midnight album of 1956. Capitol has reissued the After Midnight sessions on CD, and the After Midnight sessions are also heard in their entirety on Mosaic’s 18-CD box set The Complete Capitol Trio Recordings (which spans 1942-1961 and takes an exhaustive look at Cole’s more jazz-oriented work).
In the early ‘60s, jazz fans kept dreaming of the Cole Trio being reunited on a full-time basis — a hope that was every bit as unrealistic as going to a Miles Davis concert in the ‘70s or ‘80s and expecting the ever-evolving trumpeter to open with “My Funny Valentine.” Traditional pop, not jazz, remained Cole’s primary focus, who was only 47 when he died of lung cancer in Santa Monica, CA on February 15, 1965. Please enjoy the link provided by PhatSak1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J1glriB54oE
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