7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7

In addition to singing, she recorded her thoughts about
her life in two books, Au bal de la chance (1958; “At the Ball
of Fortune”; Eng. trans. The Wheel of Fortune) and the post-
humously published Ma vie (1964; “My Life”; Eng. trans.
1990). Piaf ’s recordings remain available in the 21st cen-
tury, and she has been the subject of several biographies as
well as plays and movies.

Nat King Cole

(b. March 17, 1917, Montgomery, Ala., U.S.—d. Feb. 15, 1965, Santa
Monica, Calif.)

A

merican musician Nat King Cole (the byname of
Nathaniel Adams Cole) was hailed as one of the best
and most influential pianists and small-group leaders of
the swing era. Cole attained his greatest commercial
success, however, as a vocalist specializing in warm ballads
and light swing.
Cole grew up in Chicago where, by age 12, he sang and
played organ in the church where his father was pastor. He
formed his first jazz group, the Royal Dukes, five years
later. In 1937, after touring with a black musical revue, he
began playing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles. There he formed
the King Cole Trio (originally King Cole and His
Swingsters), with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley
Prince (later replaced by Johnny Miller). The trio special-
ized in swing music with a delicate touch in that they did
not employ a drummer; also unique were the voicings of
piano and guitar, often juxtaposed to sound like a single
instrument. An influence on jazz pianists such as Oscar
Peterson, Cole was known for a compact, syncopated
piano style with clean, spare, melodic phrases.
During the late 1930s and early ’40s the trio made sev-
eral instrumental recordings, as well as others that featured
their harmonizing vocals. They found their greatest success,