PBS to Air Nat ‘King’ Cole Special, Marking Centennial

  I  
Image

Nat “King” Cole (1919–1965)

(Photo: Capitol Photo Archives)

My Music: Nat “King” Cole’s Greatest Songs is set to air March 2 on PBS, just ahead of the singer’s 100th birthday on March 17.

The tribute to the Alabama-born pianist and vocalist will be hosted by actor Martin Sheen.

While issuing dozens of recordings during his truncated life, Cole for about a year beginning in 1956 also helmed NBC’s The Nat ‘“King” Cole Show, bringing some of period’s top talent to the nation’s viewing audience.

In 2006, PBS also ran an installment of American Masters on Cole. For this upcoming show, performances are set to include renditions of “Unforgettable,” “Mona Lisa,” “Nature Boy,” “Ramblin’ Rose” and “Sweet Lorraine,” among others.

For more information about My Music and to find local air times, visit the PBS website. DB



  • Rodney_Holmes_Courtesy_Meinl.jpg

    A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.

  • DB26_Critics_Poll_Montage.jpg

    Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.

  • Abdhullah_Ibrahim_Detroit_Jazz_Festival_2022_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”

  • DB26_Joe_Lovano_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.

  • promoFINALdress-1_copy.jpg

    “There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.


On Sale Now
August 2026
74th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad