In the ranking of successful pop singers, Nat King Cole comes in second only to Frank Sinatra. Born Nathaniel Adams Coles, on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, Cole's family moved to Chicago when he was 4 years old. Cole learned to play the piano at a young age, and by the time he was 15, he dropped out of high school to become a professional musician, formed a sextet with his brother called Eddie Cole's Swingsters and released two singles on Decca Records. In 1937 he formed the King Cole Trio and became the singer as well as the pianist. Cole had his first hit in 1943 with "That Ain't Right," and his band was signed to Capitol Records, where they recorded "Straighten Up and Fly Right," which topped the black charts and hit Top 10 on the pop charts. After releasing a string of hit singles, including "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" and "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)," the trio debuted their own weekly radio show, King Cole Trio Time, in 1946. And in 1956, with the debut of The Nat "King" Cole Show, Cole became the first African American host of a network television series. He recorded his last hit, "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer," in 1963, and on February 15, 1965, Cole died of lung cancer.

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• The Classic Singles