Cool Down, Papa, Don't You Blow Your Top

In the late 1930s, Nathaniel Adams Coles gathered guitarist Oscar Moore, bassist Wesley Prince, and drummer Lee Young to perform at a Los Angeles nightclub, the Sewanee Inn.

On opening night, Young was a no-show, so they performed as a trio without him.

The owner of the nightclub, Bob Lewis, gave the singer the nickname "King Cole" and the group soon became known as the "King Cole Trio."

Cole's father was a Baptist minister and he would play organ or sing in the choir as early as age 12.

His first national hit record, Straighten Up And Fly Right, was recorded in 1943 and was based on one of his father's sermons and a traditional black folk tale involving a buzzard and a monkey.

However, Cole had sold the rights to the song for $50 long before it became a hit and didn't garner any addition revenue from the song's success.

Nat King Cole died of lung cancer on February 15, 1965.