Birthplace of Nat “King” Cole

 

 

By Mark Hilton, January 12, 2014

1. Birthplace of Nat "King" Cole Marker

Inscription. Nat King Cole was a jazz pianist, composer, and singer celebrated as an American popular music artist in the 1940s and 1950s.

He was born March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama as one of five children to Edward James Coles, a minister at Beulah Baptist Church in Montgomery, and Perlina Adams Coles, who sang in the choir. He began formal lessons at the age of 12, eventually learning not only jazz and gospel but also classical music. By age 17, he wrote songs and played jazz piano in his older brother’s group.

In 1956, while Cole was participating in the first mixed race performance in Birmingham, Alabama, several white men stormed the stage, injuring him.

Also in 1956, the Nat King Cole Show debuted on NBC-TV, the first of its kind hosted by an African-American.

In 1990, Cole was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Cole in 1994.

Cole has been inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 
Erected by the Alabama Historical Commission. 
 
Location. 32° 21.943′ N, 86° 17.48′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery 

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County. Marker is at the intersection of Hall Street and Tuttle Street, on the right when traveling north on Hall Street.  Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1368 Hall Street, Montgomery AL 36106, United States of America. 
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Home of Ralph David Abernathy (a few steps from this marker); Alabama State University / Tatum Street (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Johnnie R. and Arlam Carr, Sr. Home (approx. ¼ mile away); Rosa Louise Parks (approx. ¼ mile away); Birth of Montgomery Bus Boycott (approx. ¼ mile away); Alabama State University / Tullibody (approx. 0.3 miles away); Black Members of the Alabama Legislature Who Served During The Reconstruction Period of 1868-1879 (approx. 0.3 miles away); Marshall J. Moore House (approx. 0.3 miles away).  Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.
 
Also see . . .  Biography of Nat King Cole. (Submitted on January 12, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.) 
 
Categories. • African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment •

 

By Mark Hilton, January 12, 2014

2. Birthplace of Nat "King" Cole

By Mark Hilton, August 2, 2015

3. Wide shot of the marker and its surroundings.

A ceremony by Alabama State University (ASU) President and others, including the City of Montgomery mayor, was conducted on July 31, 2015 to "recognize" this marker. Work is currently being done to renovate the inside of the building to have the home featured as a museum. ASU officials expect the museum to be completed by 2017.

By Public domain

4. Nat King Cole