VOICE TWO:

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.

VOICE ONE:

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.

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VOICE TWO:

Millions of Nat King Cole’s recordings 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.

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VOICE ONE:

This Special English Program was written by Yenni Djahidin Grow and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

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