March 17, Nathaniel Adams Coles is born in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Coles family relocates to Chicago.
Coles embarks on his first national tour as pianist for the Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle revue, "Shuffle Along."
Moves to Los Angeles with his first wife, Nadine. Drops the "s" from his last name and launches The King Cole Trio.
Records "Sweet Lorraine" as part of a short-term Decca Records deal.
Undertakes his first cross-country tour.
The King Cole Trio signs with Capitol Records.
Cole pens "Straighten Up and Fly Right," the trio's first recording for Capitol.
The trio is first voted No. 1 Best Small Combo in Down Beat magazine. "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is a huge hit on the music charts.
The King Cole Trio, Volume 1 debuts as the No. 1 album on the first Billboard chart.
The King Cole Trio, Volume 2 hits No. 1. Cole begins a weekly NBC network radio show and is the summer replacement on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall network radio show. Down Beat magazine votes The King Cole Trio No. 1 Best Small Combo in 1946, 1947 and 1948.
"Nature Boy" reaches No. 1. The King Cole Trio, Volume 3 is a Top 10 album. Cole graces the cover of Ebony for the first of eight times.
The King Cole Trio, Volume 4 hits the Top 10 and the trio is voted the Top Vocal/Instrumental Group by Billboard.
"Mona Lisa" released and hits No. 1. "Orange Colored Sky" is in the Top 10. Cole makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The use of the word "trio" is discontinued. "Too Young" and "Unforgettable" are chart hits. Cole is a favorite guest on numerous prime-time television shows.
Penthouse Serenade is a Top 10 album. "Somewhere Along the Way" and "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" are huge singles. Cole embarks on his first tour of Australia.
Unforgettable album goes gold. "Pretend" is a huge Cole single.
First European tour without the trio breaks all attendance records at London's Palladium. Two in Love and 10th Anniversary are hit albums and the singles "Answer Me My Love" and "Smile" reside high on the charts.
Universal Studios films a documentary, The Nat King Cole Story. Cole breaks attendance records for performances at New York's Copacabana and Chicago's Chez Paree. Hit records included "A Blossom Fell (No. 1)," "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup," and "If I May."
The groundbreaking Nat King Cole Show debuts on NBC-TV. Featured in his first motion picture, China Gate. Cole's integrated group plays to a segregated audience in Birmingham. Members of the White Citizens Council attack Cole on the stage. He finishes his performance.
Recognizing a losing battle between the network and advertisers, Cole pulls the plug on his pioneering, well-rated national television show after only one season. "Madison Avenue," he says, "is afraid of the dark."
An avid baseball player and fan, Cole "adopts" the Dodgers when they move to L.A. Stars as W.C. Handy in Paramount Pictures' St. Louis Blues. "Looking Back" is a hit.
Wins a Grammy Award (Best Performance By A Top 40 Artist) for "Midnight Flyer." Tours South America for the first time and is feted at Brazil's Presidential Palace.
Campaigns for presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. Tours Europe while Wild Is Love graces the U.S. charts.
Performs at President Kennedy's Inaugural Ball and is later invited to the White House. Performs at a Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II.
"Ramblin' Rose" is a hit single and the album Ramblin' Rose goes platinum. Embarks on his first tour of Japan and also produces and stars in the musical, Sights and Sounds.
Premiere performer at the new Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. Hit single is "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer." The Christmas Song album goes gold.
Performs in his final motion picture, Cat Ballou. First signs of his illness begin to appear.
His last Capitol album, Love, hits the Top 10. Dies of lung cancer on February 15, 1965, survived by his second wife Maria and five children: Carole, Natalie, Kelly, and twins Timolin and Casey.
