![]() ![]() But civil rights activists sometimes criticized him for not doing enough for the cause. His efforts at integration, which included suing hotels that refused to admit him and moving into a previously all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles, earned the enmity of racists once, he was even physically attacked on-stage in Alabama. At the same time, as a prominent African-American entertainer during an era of tumultuous change in social relations among the races in the U.S., he sometimes found himself out of favor with different warring sides. For some reason, there seem to be more jazz critics than fans of traditional pop among music journalists, and Cole's transition from jazz to pop during a period when jazz itself was becoming less popular was seen by them as a betrayal. ![]() Oddly, that was one source of controversy. Instead, he had spent a decade as a celebrated jazz pianist, leading his own small group. But unlike them, he had not emerged from a background as a band singer in the swing era. He shared with those peers a career that encompassed hit records, international touring, radio and television shows, and appearances in films. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. ![]()
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