VOA慢速英语2012--PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Nat King Cole, 1919-1965: One of America’s Most Popular Singers

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Nat King Cole, 1919-1965: One of America’s Most Popular Singers

 

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: I’m Shirley Griffith.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Every week, we tell the story of someone important in the history of the United States. Today we will tell about Nat King Cole, one of America’s most popular singers.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Nat King Cole was born in the southern city of Montgomery, Alabama, in Nineteen-Nineteen. His parents named him Nathaniel Adams Coles. His father was a Christian¹ minister.

When Nathaniel was four years old, his parents moved the family north to Chicago, Illinois. Nat learned² to play the piano when he was very young. His mother was the only piano teacher he ever had. He gave his first public performance when he was four. By the time he was twelve, Nat was playing piano at his father’s church.

STEVE EMBER: Nat played piano in New York City and in Los Angeles, California when he was a young man. In Nineteen Thirty-Seven, he formed a group that played jazz music. Oscar Moore played the guitar and Wesley Prince played the bass³. The trio reportedly did not need a drummer because Nat’s piano playing kept the beat so well. They named the group, The King Cole Trio. At the same time, Nat also changed his name to Nat King Cole. The trio soon became very popular. Nat sang some songs, but mostly played the piano.

By the middle Nineteen-Forties, Nat King Cole was beginning to be known as a popular singer as well as a jazz piano player. He was one of the first musicians to record with the new Capitol Records.

The first song he recorded for Capitol was “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” He wrote the song. The words were based on his father’s teachings⁴. The song became one of the biggest hits of Nineteen-Forty-Three. It sold more than five-hundred-thousand copies.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Nat recorded hundreds of songs. Some of the most popular include “Sweet Lorraine,” “Nature Boy,” “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” “When I Fall in Love,” and “Mona Lisa.” In Nineteen-Fifty, the American film industry gave him an award for his recording⁵ of “Mona Lisa.” That song made him famous as a singer.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: By Nineteen-Fifty Six, Nat King Cole was known internationally. He signed an agreement to appear for a lot of money at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nat often performed in places that only admitted white people. Black leaders criticized⁶ him. Nat said he attempted to take legal action against those places but often failed.

Nat earned more money and moved to California. He bought a house in an area where white people lived. At that time, many white Americans did not want to live near blacks. White home owners nearby protested⁷ the purchase of a house by a black family. Nat and his family refused to leave and lived in the house without problems.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Nat was the first black man to have his own television show. His show began on NBC Television in Nineteen-Fifty-Six. NBC agreed to support The Nat King Cole Show for a while. It hoped American companies would pay to sell their products on the show. However, major companies were not willing to advertise on a show that had a black performer. They were concerned that white people in the southern part of the United States would not buy their products. Many Americans watched the show, but NBC halted⁸ production after a year.

Nat King Cole also acted in movies. The best known one is Saint⁹ Louis Blues¹⁰. He acted the part of the jazz composer W.C. Handy¹¹. He also appeared in a film about himself called The Nat King Cole Story.

In the Nineteen-Fifties, he sang with some of the best known orchestras¹³ of the time. Here Nat King Cole sings “When I Fall in Love” with the Gordon Jenkins orchestra¹²:

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Nat King Cole was married two times. In Nineteen-Thirty-Six, he married a dancer, Nadine Robinson. Their marriage failed. In Nineteen-Forty-Eight, he married Maria Ellington. They had three children. They also adopted and raised two other children.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Nat King Cole always smoked a lot of cigarettes. He died of cancer of the lung in February, Nineteen Sixty-Five. He was only forty-five years old.

He received many awards during his life. He also received many more after his death. One was a Nineteen-Ninety Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.

Nat’s daughter, Natalie followed her father as a singer. She recorded many songs after her father died.

In Nineteen-Ninety-One, Natalie Cole recorded an album called Unforgettable. It contains twenty-two of Nat King Cole’s songs, including the song “Unforgettable.” Modern technology made it possible to mix her voice with a recording of her father singing the same song.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Millions of Nat King Cole’s recordings¹⁴ were sold while he was alive. And today, people around the world still enjoy listening to the music of one of America’s greatest performers of popular and jazz music.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This Special English Program was written by Yenni Djahidin Grow and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁵. Our studio engineer was David Bodington. I’m Shirley Griffith.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week at this time for another People in America program on the Voice of America.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

4 teachings   

n.教学( teaching的名词复数 )；教学工作；教诲；学说

参考例句：

• We must never be unworthy of our teachers' untiring and sincere teachings. 我们决不要辜负老师的谆谆教导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Party's teachings were ringing in her ears. 党的教导在她耳边回响。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

7 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 halted   

v.（使）停下来( halt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• She walked towards him and then halted. 她向他走去，然后停下。

9 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

10 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

11 handy   

adj.方便的；手边的，近便的；手巧的

参考例句：

• A few more traveler's checks may come in handy on holiday.多带几张旅行支票，度假时会有用的。
• She is a handy girl who can turn her hand to anything.她是个心灵手巧的姑娘。

12 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

13 orchestras   

管弦乐队( orchestra的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The orchestras, the choruses, the drama and opera casts, will be cut to pieces. 各个管弦乐队、合唱队、戏剧和歌剧的演员名单都将支离破碎。
• In Indonesia, gamelan orchestras play music on gongs, drums, and xylophones. 印度尼西亚，佳美兰乐队用锣、和木琴演奏音乐。

14 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。