Nat King Cole Discography
by Jordan Taylor & George Hewitt
Nat King Cole is one of the most iconic figures in the history of American jazz and popular music. An enormously influential pianist and leader of the King Cole Trio during the 1930s and 40s, Cole transitioned away from the piano in the early 1950s in favor of vocals, partnering with the era's most talented arrangers to produce an endless string of hit singles and classic albums.
Though he died in 1965 at the age of 45, in his 28-year recording career, Cole managed to record more than two thousand performances, the majority of which were done for Capitol Records. This discography presents not only Cole's work for Capitol, but also his recorded legacy for radio, television, motion pictures, and live concert recordings.
Capitol albums with both mono and stereo editions are displayed using a hybrid catalogue number, unless there are different performances between the two editions, in which case the mono and stereo editions will appear separately in the session and issue indexes. Foreign singles are ignored unless it's an original release, or contains a different performance than the domestic issue. Various artist compilations are listed only if the issue is from an original label, or if a rare performance is included. Album reissues are selectively reported within this discography, and compilations are only included if they were issued by a reputable label, or if a rare performance is included. Digital downloads of Cole's music are not reported in this discography.
This discography was generated using BRIAN, Steve Albin's software application for the creation of discographies.