Be careful who you pick this fight with, but the argument can be made that singer-pianist and smooth smiling man Nat “King” Cole was bigger than the Beatles. Cole may not have had swarms of crazed young women tailing him everywhere he went—though I’m sure he never suffered from a lack of love—but he did see more of his songs on the charts than his Liverpudlian Capitol Records label mates ever did. So you can tell the hippies and the rock and rollers to stick that in their pipes and smoke it.
In fact, Cole scored more charting singles than any other Capitol artist ever has, and the Cap’s roster has, in addition to the Fab Four, included hit makers like Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys and Garth Brooks. If you don’t believe it, witness this: One hundred of Cole’s singles have been collected and made available for purchase as Nat King Cole: The Classic Singles. The four-disc box set came out Tuesday and includes tunes Cole cut with the various incarnations of the King Cole Trio, as well as the hits he sang backed by a full orchestra, conducted by folks like Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins and Billy May. A number of these tracks are appearing on CD for the first time; all of the tracks have been sent through the 24-bit Remaster-o-Matic (patent pending), which makes every song it spits out sound positively brilliant.
Capitol’s biggest hit-maker gets the respect he deserves inside The Classic Singles‘ 60-page booklet. Writer Lynell George comments extensively on Cole’s entire career, but if you’d rather gaze at the star singer than read about him, no problem. The booklet is full of color and black-and-white photographs of Cole-in the studio, on stage, showing a wry smile in promotional shots, etc.—and many of the labels and jackets for the original single releases have been reproduced as well.
Here’s the track list:
Disc: 1
1. That Ain’t Right
2. All For You
3. I’m Lost
4. Straighten Up and Fly Right
5. Gee Baby, Aint I Good To You?
6. If You Can’t Smile And Say Yes
7. Sweet Lorraine
8. It’s Only A Paper Moon
9. I (Just) Can’t See For Lookin’
10. I Realize Now
11. I’m A Shy Guy
12. Don’t Blame Me
13. Come To Baby, Do
14. The Frim Fram Sauce
15. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
16. You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)
17. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)
18. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
19. You Don’t Learn That in School
20. Meet Me at No Special Place (And I’ll Be There)
21. What’ll I Do?
22. Kee-Mo Ky-Mo (The Magic Song)
23. Nature Boy
24. Little Girl
25. A Boy From Texas – A Girl From Tennessee
26. Lost April
Disc: 2
1. My Mother Told Me
2. Exactly Like You
3. I Almost Lost My Mind
4. Always You
5. Mona Lisa
6. Orange Colored Sky
7. Jet
8. Too Young
9. Because of Rain
10. Red Sails in the Sunset
11. Unforgettable
12. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
13. Walkin’
14. The Ruby and the Pearl
15. Somewhere Along the Way
16. Funny (Not Much)
17. Can’t I?
18. Don’t Let Your Eyes Go Shopping…
19. Strange
20. Because You’re Mine
21. I’m Never Satisfied
22. Faith Can Move Mountains
23. Mother Nature and Father Time
24. Pretend
25. A Fool Was I
26. Lover Come Back to Me
Disc: 3
1. If Love is Good to Me
2. Tenderly
3. Return to Paradise
4. Make Her Mine
5. I Am in Love
6. Why
7. Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
8. Answer Me, My Love
9. Alone Too Long
10. It Happens to Be Me
11. Unbelievable
12. Haji Baba (Persian Lament)
13. Smile
14. My One Sin (In Life)
15. The Sand and the Sea
16. A Blossom Fell
17. Forgive My Heart
18. If I May
19. Someone You Love
20. Ask Me
21. Too Young to Go Steady
22. Dreams Can Tell a Lie
23. My Personal Possession
24. That’s All There Is to That
25. Night Lights
26. To the Ends of the Earth
Disc: 4
1. Ballerina
2. Stardust
3. When I Fall in Love
4. With You on My Mind
5. Send for Me
6. Angel Smile
7. Looking Back
8. Come Closer to Me (Acercate Mas)
9. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)
10. Non Dimenticar
11. You Made Me Love You
12. That’s You
13. Midnight Flyer
14. My Love
15. Let True Love Begin
16. Let There Be Love
17. Dear Lonely Hearts
18. Ramblin’ Rose
19. Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer
20. That Sunday, That Summer
21. I Don’t Want to Be Hurt Anymore
22. L-O-V-E
23. The Christmas Song
24. L-O-V-E (medley in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian & Japanese) (Bonus Track)