Nat King Cole Centennial Celebrations To Launch With New Compilations
The new retrospectives will be joined by an expanded edition of Marvin Gaye’s tribute album to the great entertainer.
Capitol/UMe’s celebration of the great entertainer Nat King Cole’s centennial year, with the direct participation of his estate, will begin with the 15 March of two new compilations by Cole. On the same day, an expanded edition of Marvin Gaye’s tribute album to the storied singer will be available. All three releases are part of the array of special events, projects and programmes that will mark the 100th anniversary of Cole’s birth on 17 March 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Ultimate Nat King Cole will be released on CD and digital formats, with a 2LP vinyl edition to follow on 14 June. The collection includes such signature hits as ‘Unforgettable,’ ‘Mona Lisa,’ ‘Straighten Up And Fly Right,’ ‘L-O-V-E,’ ‘The Very Thought Of You,’ ‘Stardust’ and ‘Nature Boy.’
The album also has a new duet version of ‘The Girl From Ipanema,’ on which Cole’s original vocals are paired with those of Grammy-winning Blue Note/Decca artist Gregory Porter. His 2018 tribute set Nat King Cole and Me is nominated in two categories at the 2019 Grammy Awards, which take place on 10 February.
15 March also sees the appearance on CD of International Nat King Cole, a limited edition CD containing 14 songs that Cole recorded in languages other than English at Capitol Studios in August 1964. They include French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Italian versions of ‘L-O-V-E’; ‘Muetterlein’ (‘Answer Me, My Love’) in German; and ‘Autumn Leaves’ in French and Japanese. Both compilations feature newly-written essays by the actor and award-winning writer James Ritz.
Also on 15 March, Motown/UMe will release a newly expanded edition of Gaye’s A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole, first out in 1965, for download purchase and streaming. As well as the album’s original mono mix, which will be appearing digitally for the first time, the augmented edition offers more than a dozen bonus tracks, including six alternate takes from the studio sessions.
Ultimate Nat King Cole, International Nat King Cole and Marvin Gaye’s A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole are all released on 15 March. The tracklistings are as follows:
Ultimate Nat King Cole [CD; digital; 2LP vinyl]
1. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
2. Straighten Up And Fly Right
3. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
4. Sweet Lorraine
5. Unforgettable
6. Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
7. Mona Lisa
8. Pretend
9. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)
10. Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow
11. Stardust
12. Orange Colored Sky
13. When I Fall In Love
14. The Very Thought Of You
15. Perfidia
16. Let There Be Love
17. Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer
18. L-O-V-E
19. Smile
20. Nature Boy
21. The Girl From Ipanema (with Gregory Porter)
International Nat King Cole [CD]
1. L-O-V-E (French Version)
2. Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves / French Version)
3. Crois-Moi Ca Durera (You’ll See / French Version)
4. Le Bonheur C’est Quand On S’aime
5. Vous Qui Passez Sans Me Voir (Passing By / French Version)
6. L-O-V-E (German Version)
7. Muetterlein (Answer Me, My Love / German Version)
8. L-O-V-E (Japanese Version)
9. I Don’t Want To Be Hurt Anymore (Japanese Version)
10. Kareha (Autumn Leaves / Japanese Version)
11. L-O-V-E (Spanish Version)
12. Tu Eres Tan Amable
13. L-O-V-E (Italian Version)
14. Tu Sei Cosi Amabile
Marvin Gaye: A Tribute To The Great Nat King Cole (Expanded Edition) [digital]
1. Goodbye
2. I Wish You Love
3. If I Had To Go
4. So In Love
5. The End Of A Love Affair
6. The More I See You
7. Violets For Your Furs
8. You’re All That Matter To Me
9. Nature Boy / original mono LP mix
10. Ramblin’ Rose / original mono LP mix
11. Too Young / original mono LP mix
12. Pretend / original mono LP mix
13. Straighten Up and Fly Right / original mono LP mix
14. Mona Lisa / original mono LP mix
15. Unforgettable / original mono LP mix
16. To the Ends of the Earth / original mono LP mix
17. Sweet Lorraine / original mono LP mix
18. It’s Only a Paper Moon / original mono LP mix
19. Send for Me / original mono LP mix
20. Calypso Blues / original mono LP mix
21. Unforgettable / original California version, take 2
22. Send for Me / original California version, take 1
23. Send for Me / original California version, take 3
24. Ramblin’ Rose / alternate vocal
25. Too Young / alternate vocal, take 1
26. Send for Me / alternate vocal, take 1
Explore our Nat King Cole Artist Page.
UK English
Roberta Gurwood
January 22, 2019 at 2:20 am
Can’t wait. Loved him . He had such style and class.
Andrea Lockhart
February 9, 2019 at 4:40 am
On the “Tribute” expanded edition from Marvin, what’s the significance of the first eight songs? Nat himself never sang those. I was expecting covers of other Nat “King” Cole songs from Marvin that were previously unreleased, aside from the album’s alternates that are featured on the set.