Nat King Cole sings in Spanish, Marino Marini sings in Polish

[jakeXT]

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Between 1958 and 1962, at the height of his career, the iconic singer of Mona Lisa and Smile recorded three albums in Spanish. Having become the first black star in the white U.S. mainstream, Cole crossed another cultural divide with his success among Latinos. His following was particularly devoted in Cuba, where he performed in Havana’s famous nightclubs and made his first Spanish recording with some of Cuba’s top musicians. He remains an emblematic singer of the island’s musical golden age.

“Dad was a frontrunner with all of this,” says Natalie, 63, who has her father’s long, lean frame, and gestures often with her slim hands, dangling earrings brushing the shoulders of her ornately patterned blouse. “People knew he was an American. They just loved the idea of this man taking these wonderful songs and making such beautiful music. For them this was like a gesture of honor, love and respect.”


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Like her father, Natalie does not speak Spanish, and learned the lyrics phonetically. But she did hear him rehearsing Cachita and Acercate at home and heard the language on family visits to a Mexican home owned by his Honduran manager, Carlos Gastel, who persuaded him to record in Spanish.


http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/25/3467947/natalie-cole-records-dad-nat-king.html#storylink=cpy

In 1948 Marino travelled to New York, earning his passage by playing piano onboard a Polish ship Sobieski. He spent six months in the Big Apple, and made friends with many musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton and Charley Ventura.
http://www.k26.com/marini/History/MMQ/mmq.html