Nat King Cole is remembered for one of the smoothest voices of the 20th century, but he considered himself a jazz pianist first and even recorded instrumental tracks under pseudonyms like Shorty Nadine and Sam Schmaltz to avoid singing. This episode traces his path from a Baptist minister's household in Montgomery, Alabama and Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, through formal piano lessons at 12, dropping out of high school at 15, and forming the King Cole Trio in Los Angeles, where a customer's song request led to his first vocal performance of Sweet Lorraine.

The conversation follows the Trio's explosion at Capitol Records, the label headquarters known as the house that Nat built, his transition into a solo vocalist with lush strings on Mona Lisa, Nature Boy and The Christmas Song, and the racial hostility he faced: a burning cross on hi ...