- Written by Irving Gordon (born 2/14/15 in Brooklyn, New York, died 12/1/96 in Los Angeles California)
- Originally recorded and performed by Nat King Cole (born Nathaniel Adams Cole 3/17/17 in Montgomery Alabama, died 2/15/65 of lung cancer, the result of a three pack a day cigarette habit, at the age of 47)
- He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as an early influence on the future of pop music
- Unforgettable was to become his signature theme song
- In 1990 he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his many accomplishments
- Over the course of his career he racked up over 150 hit recordings
- He was the first African-American to host his own TV show, from 1956 to 1957, but a lack of a national sponsor led to it's cancellation at the height of it's popularity
- His original version of Unforgettable reached # 12 on the Top 40 charts in 1952
- In 1991 the song was remade into a duet by his daughter Natalie Cole, using master tapes from the original studio sessions
- The duet remake with Nat and his daughter went to #14 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1991
- The song was included on the album
"Unforgettable...With Love
", an album made up entirely of remakes of some of her father's greatest hits
- Natalie was reportedly reluctant to take advantage of her father's fame, and forged her own style in the R&B world for many years before finally tackling her heritage and father's legacy
- That she did so with such success is a testament to her versatility as an artist
- The album sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone, and won Cole several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
- The song has been covered many times by many artists,
including:
- Dinah Washington (1959)
- Peggy Lee (1963)
- Sammy Davis, Jr. (1965)
- Marvin Gaye (1965)
- Aretha Franklin (1976)
- Engelbert Humperdinck (1980)
- Kenny Rogers (1999)
- Captain & Tennille (2001)
- Merle Haggard (2004)
- Nas ("Can't Forget About You") (2007)
- A great song for First Dance, Father/Daughter dance or Mother/Son dance at weddings
- The version performed by Oracle Band is the duet arrangement as done by Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
|
A sample of this song as performed by Oracle is available by clicking on either of the links below. The RealAudio file will stream to your computer rather quickly assuming you have the RealAudio player installed. The MP3 file must download completely first, but is of a higher audio quality. |
|
| Streaming RealAudio | Download MP3 |
|
Purchase Unforgettable: With Love by Natalie Cole from Amazon.com & save! 22 great tracks including Unforgettable, Mona Lisa, L-O-V-E, Route 66, Paper Moon, & 17 more! |
|
The Very Best of Nat King Cole 28 of his greatest hits on 1 CD at a great price. A nice balance of classics and rarities make this an excellent choice for the fledgling Nat King Cole fan |