Capitol Records, Part II (1948-1952)

Nat Cole (v, p)

Demo Recording

An acetate of this demo first surfaced a few years ago and was made available by Gordon Skene at Past Daily. You can listen to it here.

Location

Though the acetate label reveals Studio & Artists Recorders at 6107 Columbia Square, this is probably where the record was pressed but not necessarily where it was recorded. Cole would've used Radio Recorders if this was made in Los Angeles.

However, there's no guarantee it was recorded on the west coast. The song was registered with the copyright office on December 20, 1948, and the trio played and recorded in New York for most of the fall. When Cole finally recorded the song for Capitol in March 1949, it was in New York.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), others unknown (acc), Carlyle Hall (con)

others unknown (acc) on a; Carlyle Hall (con) on a.

Overdubs, Dates, & Location

Ruppli's Capitol discography indicates that the trio overdubbed their parts on "Portrait Of Jennie" onto a pre-recorded orchestral track, possibly conducted by Carlyle Hall. See the following session for more details about the arrangement of "Jennie".

Ruppli lists the session as occurring in Los Angeles, while Teubig says New York. Yet, Teubig's own chronology of the trio indicates they were playing in Chicago from December 9-22, and arrived in New York by the 24th. Assuming the date is correct, this session must have taken place in Chicago.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), others unknown (acc), Carlyle Hall (con)

others unknown (acc) on a; Carlyle Hall (con) on a.

Personnel

Though Carlyle Hall has historically been credited with conducting and arranging "Portrait Of Jennie", it's possible that Gus Levene is responsible for this arrangement. Levene, known to have written a handful of Cole arrangements in the early 1950s, contributed a 1948 arrangement of "Jennie", which is currently housed in the Cole collection at the Schomburg library. No other arrangement of the song is believed to exist in the archive.

This session was probably produced by Pete Rugolo and Walter Rivers. The photograph at the top of this page is likely from this date.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Walter Rivers (pro), Clair Krepps (eng)

Nat Cole (v) on c; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a-b, (cga) on a-b.

Nat Cole (v, p), Sid Cooper (f, cl), Al Richman (frh), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Mel Zelnick (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), George Koch, Zelly Smirnoff, Frank York, George Zoming (vn), Dick Freitag, Rudy Sims (vl), Pete Makas, Ray Sabinsky (clo), Pete Rugolo (con)

Nat Cole (v, p), The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Pete Rugolo (cga)

The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv) on a; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on c-d, (cga) on c-d; Pete Rugolo (cga) on a.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Pete Rugolo (cga)

Nat Cole (v) on a, d; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a, c-d; Pete Rugolo (cga) on a.

Nat Cole (v, p, spk), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), others unknown (acc), Pete Rugolo (con)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on b, (cga) on b; Nat Cole (spk) on b.

Nat Cole (v, p), The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), others unknown (acc), Maria Cole (spk)

The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv) on a-b; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on c-d, (cga) on c-d; others unknown (acc) on b; Maria Cole (spk) on c.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga)

Nat Cole (v) on a-d, h; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on b, e-h, (cga) on b, e-h.

Titles are listed in programming order. The range of master numbers for this session are ET 51675 through ET 51682. Only confirmed numbers are reported beside performances.

Nat Cole (v, p), The Starlighters (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga)

The Starlighters (bkv) on a-b; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a, c, (cga) on a, c.

Personnel

The Starlighters consist of Vince Degen, Tony Paris, Pauline Byrns, Jerry Duane and Howard Hudson.

Nat Cole (v, p), unknown (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga, ref)

unknown (bkv) on a; Nat Cole (p) on a-c; Irving Ashby (g) on a-c; Joe Comfort (b) on a-c; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on c, (cga) on c-d, (ref) on b.

Composers

While Nat Cole and Don George are now typically credited as the composers of "Calypso Blues", this has not always been the case, and the composers listed here reflect all those who have been credited at one time or another.

The earliest 78 issue credited only Cole. Later singles added Don George. However, a UK single from 1957 credits Cole, George, and Carmen Clifford. In fact, a 1950 newspaper article says that Pittsburgh resident Carmen Clifford (referred to in some sources as Clifford Carmen, further confusing matters) wrote the song with Cole (she the lyrics, he the music). Therefore, all three individuals are credited here.

Nat Cole (v, p), Woody Herman (v), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Gene Orloff (vn)

Nat Cole (p) on b; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a, (cga) on b; Gene Orloff (vn) on a.

Label Credit

"Mule Train" was credited to "Woody Herman & Nat King Cole and His Mule Skinners".

Releases

Some sources suggest these performances were also issued on 45 rpm (F 787), but there remains no evidence of this.

Nat Cole (v, p), Nellie Lutcher (v), Charlie Barnet (ts), Ernie Royal (t), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Earl Hyde (d), Jim Conkling (pro)

Personnel

Ruppli incorrectly claims that Earl Hyde was a pseudonym of Lee Young.

Label Credit

Nellie Lutcher and Nat "King" Cole

Nat Cole (v, p), Girl Trio, The Starlighters (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Lee Young (d), Jim Conkling (pro)

Girl Trio (bkv) on b-c; The Starlighters (bkv) on a, d-e.

Personnel

The Starlighters consisted of Imogene Lynn Clark, Jerry Duane, Vince Degen, Howard Hudson and Tony Paris. Although most discographies list Pauline Byrns on this date, she had left the group just prior to this session.

Nat Cole (v, p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Ken Nelson (pro)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on d-g, i, (cga) on d-g, i.

Personnel

It is suspected that Ken Nelson, later A&R head of Capitol's country division, produced this session. Nelson was in charge of Capitol's transcription department at the time — AFM documentation finds him producing one such session for Cole in 1949 — and the presence of his song "Third Finger Left Hand" only furthers this assumption.

Location

All previous sources (Mosaic, Teubig, Ruppli) have placed this final transcription session in New York. This seems incredibly unlikely. According to Teubig himself, the trio played the Oasis in Los Angeles from March 7-12. And we know that Cole was in Los Angeles on March 11, which is the session that produced "Mona Lisa". Assuming the date of this session is correct, it simply could not occur in New York.

Master Numbers

The Mosaic and Teubig discographies do not list master numbers for "Third Finger Left Hand", "After My Laughter Came Tears", "All Aboard", and "'Deed I Do". Ruppli assigns master numbers, although he questions each number. Based on the numbering sequence, Ruppli has slightly adjusted the order of the songs compared to Mosaic/Teubig, which reports the songs as they appear on the ET. Ruppli is observed here, although the designations should be deemed tentative.

Composers

Numerous sources differ on who should be credited with composing "Ooh, Kickeroonie". In some places it is simply Cole, others list Cole and Billy May, some say May and Harold 'Hal' Dickinson (a member of the Modernaires), while still others list all three men. All three men are reported here until new information suggests otherwise.

"All Aboard" is nearly identical to "Congaroo", which Cole performed just prior to this in a Universal short with Benny Carter. Carter discographer Ed Berger believes "Congaroo" is a Carter composition, while Teubig lists no one. Cole will be listed for both until documentation suggests otherwise.

Nat Cole (v, p), unknown (bkv), Buddy Cole (p), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (per), Sam Cytron, Dave Frisina, Murray Kellner, Mark Levant, Dan Lube, Lou Raderman, Paul Shure, Felix Slatkin (vn), Al Harshman, Dave Sterkin (vl), Cy Bernard, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Les Baxter (con), David Klein (mgr), Lou Busch (pro), John Palladino (eng)

unknown (bkv) on a-b, d; Buddy Cole (p) on a-c; Nat Cole (p) on e; Jack Costanzo (per) on d; Sam Cytron (vn) on a-c; Dave Frisina (vn) on a-c; Murray Kellner (vn) on a-c; Mark Levant (vn) on a-c; Dan Lube (vn) on a-c; Lou Raderman (vn) on a-c; Paul Shure (vn) on a-c; Felix Slatkin (vn) on a-c; Al Harshman (vl) on a-c; Dave Sterkin (vl) on a-c; Cy Bernard (clo) on a-c; Eleanor Slatkin (clo) on a-c; Les Baxter (con) on a-d.

Composers

Marty Snider was a pseudonym for Douglas Arthur, and Charlie Snider was a pseudonym for Herb Handler, a manager for Ralph Flanagan.

Maria Cole (v), Nat Cole (v, p), The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (cga), others unknown (acc), Pete Rugolo or Walter Rivers (con), Walter Rivers (pro)

The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv) on b; Jack Costanzo (cga) on b.

Personnel

Pete Rugolo arranged all the titles recorded at this and the following session (1676), and it has long been assumed that he conducted as well. All issues of these titles have credited Rugolo as conductor. However, Walter Rivers' name appears on the conductor score (prominently under the song title) for the songs recorded at these two sessions, casting doubt as to whether it was Rugolo who conducted or Walter Rivers, who also produced. Therefore, we have elected to include the 'Rugolo or Rivers' credit until confirmation can be made.

Session Numbers

Cole recorded five titles for Capitol on May 11, 1950. However, these were spread out over two sessions (1675 & 1676), rather than one long session, likely in an effort to avoid paying the musicians overtime.

Maria Cole (v), Nat Cole (v, p), The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Jack Costanzo (per), others unknown (acc), Pete Rugolo or Walter Rivers (con), Walter Rivers (pro)

Maria Cole (v) on c; The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv) on a-b; Jack Costanzo (per) on b-c.

Personnel

See note for May 11, 1950 (Session #1675) for discussion of who conducted.

Songs

According to Capitol files, Nat overdubbed his vocals on "Tunnel Of Love" and "The Way I'm Loving You" on May 26, 1950 (Capitol Session #1676-A).

Maria Cole (v), Nat Cole (v, p), The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv), Sid Cooper (f, cl), Al Richman (frh), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Mel Zelnick (d), Stan Karpenia, George Koch, Zelly Smirnoff, Lou Stone, Frank York, George Zorning (vn), Dick Freitag, Rudy Sims (vl), Pete Makas, Ray Sabinsky (clo), others unknown (acc), Pete Rugolo or Walter Rivers (con), Walter Rivers (pro)

Maria Cole (v) on d-e; Nat Cole (v) on a-c, e; The Alyce King Vokettes (bkv) on a-c.

Personnel

As with the May 11, 1950 sessions, there is some doubt as to who conducted this session. See the note from that session for more information.

The orchestral personnel for Nat's 1949-50 New York sessions should be considered speculative at best. Previous discographies have listed nearly identical personnel for the March 1949 ("Lush Life") session and this May 1950 date, which is highly unlikely.

Songs

According to Capitol files, Nat overdubbed his vocal for "Ev'ry Day" on May 26, 1950 (Capitol Session #1677-A). It is not known if Maria Cole also overdubbed her vocals for this performance at the later date.

It is assumed that Nat played piano on Maria Cole's "A Woman's Got A Right To Change Her Mind", which explains its listing here.

Nat Cole (v, p), Art Pepper, Bud Shank (as), Bart Caldarell, Bob Cooper (ts), Bob Gioga (bar), Chico Alvarez, Buddy Childers, Maynard Ferguson, Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Salko (t), Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Bob Fitzpatrick, John Haliburton, Herbie Harper (tb), Stan Kenton (p, dir), Laurindo Almeida, Irving Ashby (g), Don Bagley, Joe Comfort (b), Shelly Manne (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Stan Kenton Orchestra (acc), Jim Conkling (pro)

Nat Cole (v) on a; Stan Kenton (p) on b; Laurindo Almeida (g) on b; Irving Ashby (g) on a; Don Bagley (b) on b; Joe Comfort (b) on a.

Personnel

Cole and Kenton play piano together on "Jam-Bo".

Composers

Some early issues of "Orange Colored Sky" incorrectly credit Frank Loesser as the song's only composer. According to Milton DeLugg, Loesser did write the last 16 bars ('flash, bam, alakzam...') but he's remained uncredited on all ensuing releases.

Nat Cole (v, p, cel), The Jud Conlon Rhythmaires (bkv), Julie Kinsler (f, cl, as), Harry Steinfeld (ob, bcl, bar), Buddy Childers (t), Irving Ashby (g), Dave Barbour (g, con), Lou Busch (cel, pro), Joe Comfort (b), Shelly Manne (d, slb), Jack Costanzo (bgo), George Kast (vn), Cy Bernard, Armand Kaproff, Ed Lustgarten, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Pete Rugolo (con)

Nat Cole (v) on a, c-e, (p) on b, d-e, (cel) on a, d; The Jud Conlon Rhythmaires (bkv) on a-c; Julie Kinsler (f) on a, d, (cl) on e, (as) on b; Harry Steinfeld (ob) on d, (bcl) on a, e, (bar) on b-c; Buddy Childers (t) on a-c; Irving Ashby (g) on a-b, d-e; Dave Barbour (g) on e, (con) on e; Lou Busch (cel) on c; Shelly Manne (d) on a-b, d-e, (slb) on c; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on e; George Kast (vn) on a; Cy Bernard (clo) on d-e; Armand Kaproff (clo) on d-e; Ed Lustgarten (clo) on d-e; Eleanor Slatkin (clo) on d-e; Pete Rugolo (con) on a-d.

Personnel

The Jud Conlon Rhythmaires probably consisted of Conlon, Mac McLean, Charlie Parlato, Louie Jean Norman, and Gloria Wood. On "Frosty The Snowman", the background singers were billed as 'The Singing Pussycats' (the chorus vocals are sped up on this recording only). Meanwhile, the label of the "Make Believe Land" single acknowledges the presence of a chorus, but does not provide credit.

The AFM contract for this session indicates that four men were paid for arranging: Pete Rugolo, Lou Busch, Heinie Beau, and Harold Mooney. Mooney's appearance on the contract makes it possible that he arranged "Make Believe Land" and "Little Christmas Tree", while Rugolo wrote only "Get to Gettin'". However, Rugolo's name appears on the score for all three titles and they are all in the same hand. At best, Mooney may have have assisted Rugolo.

Composers

Some copies of "Make Believe Land" incorrectly credit Mark Hurley. Hurley composed a different song by the same name.

Nat Cole (v, p), The Ray Charles Singers (bkv), Artie Drelinger, Toots Mondello, Hank Ross, Stanley Webb, Murray Williams (ww, sax), Chris Griffin, Jimmy Maxwell, Dick Poole, Shorty Rogers (t), Will Bradley, Buddy Morrow, Kai Winding (tb), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Shelly Manne (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), others unknown (str), Neal Hefti, Joe Lipman (con), Walter Rivers (pro)

The Ray Charles Singers (bkv) on a; Artie Drelinger (ww) on a, (sax) on b-c; Toots Mondello (ww) on a, (sax) on b-c; Hank Ross (ww) on a, (sax) on b-c; Stanley Webb (ww) on a, (sax) on b-c; Murray Williams (ww) on a, (sax) on b-c; Nat Cole (p) on c; others unknown (str) on a; Neal Hefti (con) on b-c; Joe Lipman (con) on a.

Personnel

Known personnel stems from a Down Beat article of 1951.

Composers

According to a Billboard article from early 1951, initial pressings of "Jet" gave songwriter credit to Weiss, Benjamin, and Warne. Later runs corrected this, replacing Warne with Harry Revel.

Label Credit

On the UK 78 issue of "Paint Yourself A Rainbow", Pete Rugolo received conductor credit.

Nat Cole (v, p), Bill Hamilton, Ronald Pirozzi (as), Jimmy Giuffre, Julie Kinsler (ts), Chuck Gentry (bar), Buddy Childers, Ray Linn, Ralph Muzzillo, Jimmy Salko (t), Ray Conniff, Jerry Rosa, Harold Smith (tb), Tony Rizzi (g), Joe Comfort (b), Louie Bellson (d), Jack Costanzo (cga), Pete Rugolo (con), Louis Wood (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Personnel

Cole split this session with Mel Tormé, who recorded just one song as well. Pianist Al Pellegrini is listed on the AFM contract, however it is most likely that he played only on the Tormé song, with Cole himself taking the piano part, and solo, on "That's My Girl".

Nat Cole (v), Buddy Cole (p, cel), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Lee Young (d), Harry Bluestone, Benny Gill, Seymour Kramer, Dan Lube, William Miller, Mischa Russell, Jack Shulman, Bob Sushel, Jerry Vinci (vn), Joseph DiFiore, Lou Kievman (vl), Armand Kaproff, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Milt Kestenbaum (arco), Kathryn Julye (hrp), Les Baxter (con), Benjamin Barrett (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Buddy Cole (cel) on c.

Personnel

The AFM contract indicates that in addition to a three-hour session from 14:30-17:30, three men, including Baxter (conductor), Ben Barrett (orchestra manager), and pianist Buddy Cole were all paid for an extra hour of work. That might indicate some piano and/or celeste overdubbing, although it is speculative.

Songs

"The Lighthouse In The Sky" was rejected and presumably destroyed. It was remade exactly one month later in New York. Refer to March 6, 1951 for details.

Nat Cole (v), The King Sisters (bkv), Skeets Herfurt, Jules Kinsler (f, as), Jimmy Giuffre (af, ts), Chuck Gentry (bf, bar), Babe Russin (ts), Buddy Childers (t), Buddy Cole (p, cel), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), Louie Bellson (d), Jack Costanzo (per), Pete Rugolo (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

The King Sisters (bkv) on a-d; Buddy Cole (p) on a-b, e, (cel) on c-d; Jack Costanzo (per) on e.

Nat Cole (v, p), The Ray Charles Singers (bkv), Irving Ashby (g), Joe Comfort (b), unknown (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), others unknown (acc), Joe Lipman (con), Dave Cavanaugh (pro)

The Ray Charles Singers (bkv) on d; Nat Cole (p) on c-e; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on c, (cga) on c-d; Joe Lipman (con) on a-c.

Personnel

Though Walter Rivers was still the East Coast head of Capitol at this time, near the end of 1950 Capitol announced that Rivers would transition into artist relations and promotion. Meanwhile, Dave Cavanaugh, who played a major role for the remainder of Cole's career, would backfill Rivers on A&R responsibilities in New York. Therefore, it is assumed that Cavanaugh produced this session.

Nat Cole (v), Buddy Cole (p, cel), Bob Bain (g), Joe Comfort (b), Nick Fatool (d), Jack Costanzo (per), Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, Henry Hill, Dan Lube, Erno Neufeld, Mischa Russell, Marshall Sosson (vn), Paul Robyn, Dave Sterkin (vl), Cy Bernard, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Ann Mason Stockton (hrp), Nelson Riddle (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Personnel

Costanzo is listed on the AFM contract, though it does not sound as if he plays on any of these recordings.

Take Numbers

Ruppli incorrectly cites take 9 as master for "My First And My Last Love".

Nat Cole (v), Skeets Herfurt, Willie Schwartz (as), Fred Falensby, Ted Nash (ts), Chuck Gentry (bar), John Best, Conrad Gozzo, Mannie Klein, Ray Linn (t), Ed Kusby, Murray McEachern, Tommy Pederson, Jimmy Priddy (tb), Jimmie Rowles (p), Barney Kessel (g), Phil Stephens (b), Alvin Stoller (d), Billy May (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Nat Cole (v), unknown (bkv, acc), Les Baxter (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Personnel

The AFM paperwork for this and the following session no longer exist. According to union records, however, this date lasted for 3.5 hours and featured 23 musicians (including Les Baxter and orchestra manager David Klein).

It is not known for certain who arranged "A Weaver Of Dreams". Keith Pawlak, former curator of the Les Baxter Collection at the University of Arizona, after examining a page of the score, believes it is the work of Hal Daniels working in collaboration with Les Baxter.

Nat Cole (v), unknown (bkv, acc), Les Baxter, Harry Geller (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

unknown (bkv) on a, c; Les Baxter (con) on b-e; Harry Geller (con) on a.

Personnel

The AFM paperwork for this and the previous session no longer exist. According to union records, however, this date lasted for 3.5 hours and featured 20 musicians (including Les Baxter and orchestra manager David Klein).

"The Ruby And The Pearl" was possibly arranged by Baxter.

Nat Cole (v, p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Joe Lansky (eng)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a, c, e-f, (cga) on a, c, e-f.

Dates

The date given in the Capitol files for this session is January 2, 1952. However, this is unlikely since Cole was playing in Los Angeles at the time, and most likely refers instead to the date that Capitol purchased these masters from MGM.

Master Numbers

Master numbers and session number were both assigned in 1975.

Nat Cole (v), unknown (bkv), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), others unknown (acc), Nelson Riddle (con, mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

unknown (bkv) on a.

Personnel

AFM paperwork for this session no longer exists. The session lasted 4.5 hours and included 23 musicians, including Riddle who served as both conductor and orchestra manager.

Piano/celeste probably Buddy Cole.

Nat Cole (v, p), Gus Bivona, Alex Gershunoff (as), Bob Cooper, Don Lodice (ts), Chuck Gentry (bar), Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey, Shorty Rogers, Joe Triscari (t), Walter Benson, Jimmy Priddy, Si Zentner (tb), Buddy Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Shelly Manne (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Pete Rugolo (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Buddy Cole (p) on b-e; Nat Cole (p) on a.

Personnel

The piano solo on "It's Crazy" is likely the only piano that Nat plays on this session.

Nat Cole (v, p), Carl Prager, Hymie Schertzer (as), Phil Bodner, Al Klink (ts), Art Drellinger (bar), Mickey McMickle, Bernie Privin, Rickey Trent (t), Larry Alpeter, Jack Lacey (tb), Lou Stein (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Bunny Shawker (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo), Dave Cavanaugh (con)

Nat Cole (v) on a-b, (p) on c; Lou Stein (p) on a-b; Dave Cavanaugh (con) on a-b.

Personnel

The personnel for this session was sourced from a Down Beat listing, which also mentions the use of a vocal group. However, no chorus is heard on the resulting masters, therefore a chorus has not been included in the personnel listing for this session.

The Capitol Records manuscript collection at BYU contains two original scores of "Rough Ridin'", both apparently written for Cole. An online finding aid, created by a former music student at BYU, credits at leasts one of these to Billy May.

Songs

"Penthouse Serenade" was rejected and destroyed. It was remade in Los Angeles; refer to July 18, 1952 for details.

Nat Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Bunny Shawker (d)

Personnel

Michel Ruppli lists Charlie Blackwell as a possibility for the bongo player on this session. The remakes in July featured Jack Costanzo.

Songs

All titles were rejected and destroyed. Each was remade in Los Angeles; refer to July 18, 1952 for details.

Nat Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Lee Gillette (pro)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on b-c, (cga) on b-c.

Personnel

Drummer Bunny Shawker has been traditionally been credited as this album's drummer. However, Shawker was only the drummer for the rejected New York sides. For the July remakes, and the 1955 session that expanded the album to 12-inch, it is in fact Lee Young who plays drums.

Master/Take Numbers

July 18, 1952 featured Nat and the combo remaking eight sides that had been recorded a few months earlier in New York (refer to March 31 & April 3, 1952) that were rejected and ultimately destroyed by Capitol. New master numbers were not assigned to these July remakes. It is, therefore, also reasonable to assume that the take numbers that appear for this and the next session are a continuation of the number of takes that were laid down earlier in New York. For example, it is highly unlikely that 35 takes of "Laura" were attempted on July 18; it's more plausible that 35 takes represents the total number of attempted takes between the two sessions. The unusually high number of takes for all sides recorded on these sessions would seem to confirm this.

Nat Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Lee Gillette (pro)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on b-c, (cga) on b-c.

See note from previous session.

Nat Cole (v), Earl Bergman, Jim Schneider (as), Billy Usselton, Buddy Wise (ts), Leo Anthony (bar), Bruce Bruckert, Dean Hinkle, Jack Laubach (t), Keith Butterfield, Dick Reynolds, Walter Shields, Ken Trimble (tb), Fred 'Buddy' Savarise (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Archie Freeman (d), The Ray Anthony Orchestra (acc), Lee Gillette (pro)

Personnel

The personnel listed here is taken directly from the AFM contract of July 24, 1952, a split session between Ray Anthony and Nat Cole. Previous personnel listings of this session, notably the discography in the Mosaic box and Ruppli's Capitol Discography, have not been entirely accurate, omitting Knobby Lee while erroneously adding Chris Griffin and Martin White (trumpets), respectively.

Though he likely played on other tunes on this date, it is not believed that Ray Anthony played trumpet on Cole's master.

Despite the prominent piano in the first chorus and the billing (on the original single) of 'King Cole and the Trio', it is believed that Buddy Savarise, Ray Anthony's pianist, played on this song and not Cole.

Nelson Riddle has been credited with conducting his own arrangement. While he may in fact have conducted, his name appears nowhere on the AFM contract, something that more than likely would have occurred had he conducted.

In addition to the listed personnel, reed player Julie Kinsler and percussionist Ralph Hansell are both listed on the AFM contract. They likely played on the other Ray Anthony titles from this session, although neither man appears in any Ray Anthony discographies for this session.

Nat Cole (v), Bob Lawson (bar), Pete Candoli, Mickey Mangano (t), Joe Howard, Ed Kusby, Bill Schaefer, Paul Tanner (tb), Buddy Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo, cga), Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, Jacques Gasselin, Henry Hill, Erno Neufeld, Mischa Russell (vn), Stan Harris, Paul Robyn (vl), Armand Kaproff, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Ann Mason Stockton (hrp), Nelson Riddle (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a, (cga) on a.

Overdubs

Ruppli's discography claims that the orchestral parts for these two songs were recorded on July 24, while Cole overdubbed his vocals on July 28. This is most likely in error.

Nat Cole (v), Bob Lawson (ww, bar), Pete Candoli, Mannie Klein, Carlton McBeath, Ollie Mitchell (t), Joe Howard, Ed Kusby, Paul Tanner, Si Zentner (tb), Buddy Cole (p), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo), Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, Jacques Gasselin, Henry Hill, Erno Neufeld, Mischa Russell (vn), Stan Harris, Dave Sterkin (vl), Victor Gottlieb, Armand Kaproff (clo), Ann Mason Stockton (hrp), Nelson Riddle (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Bob Lawson (ww) on a-b, (bar) on d; Mannie Klein (t) on d; Ollie Mitchell (t) on d; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on d; Victor Bay (vn) on a-c; Alex Beller (vn) on a-c; Harry Bluestone (vn) on a-c; Walter Edelstein (vn) on a-c; Jacques Gasselin (vn) on a-c; Henry Hill (vn) on a-c; Erno Neufeld (vn) on a-c; Mischa Russell (vn) on a-c; Stan Harris (vl) on a-c; Dave Sterkin (vl) on a-c; Victor Gottlieb (clo) on a-c; Armand Kaproff (clo) on a-c; Ann Mason Stockton (hrp) on a-c.

Personnel

This was a split session with June Christy, who recorded "Some Folks Do And Some Folks Don't" following the four Cole/Riddle titles. Tenor saxist Maxwell Davis was featured on the Christy title and may also appear on Cole's "I'm Never Satisfied".

Nat Cole (v), unknown (bkv), Harry Klee, Ted Nash, Champ Webb (ww), Pete Candoli, Mickey Mangano (t), Vince DeRosa (frh), Joe Howard, Jimmy Priddy (tb), Buddy Cole (p, cel), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Jack Costanzo (bgo), Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, Henry Hill, Nat Ross, Mischa Russell, Felix Slatkin (vn), Stan Harris, Dave Sterkin (vl), Armand Kaproff, Eleanor Slatkin (clo), Ann Mason Stockton (hrp), Nelson Riddle (con), David Klein (mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

unknown (bkv) on b; Pete Candoli (t) on a-b; Mickey Mangano (t) on a-b; Buddy Cole (cel) on d; Jack Costanzo (bgo) on a.

Personnel

While "My Flaming Heart" is credited to 'Nat King Cole and His Trio', aural evidence suggests that Buddy Cole is at the piano instead of Nat.

Nat Cole (v), Buddy Cole (p, cel), John Collins (g), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), others unknown (acc), Nelson Riddle (con, mgr), Lee Gillette (pro)

Personnel

The AFM contract for this session no longer exists. However, records indicate that the session was four hours long, five sides were recorded, and 26 musicians (including Riddle as conductor and orchestra manger), were paid.

Despite the note about five sides being recorded, Capitol files indicate only the four listed titles.