Nat King Cole - Straighten Up and Fly Right

"Straighten Up and Fly Right" was the first commercial success for the Nat King Cole Trio when it was recorded in November of 1943. Although not known as a songwriter, Nat had composed the song having been inspired by a sermon his father, a preacher, had often given based on an Uncle Remus-like folk tale. Johnny Mercer, one of the heads of Capitol Records, had heard Nat sing it live, and quite possibly it was the thought of having Nat record this for Capitol that afforded Nat a musical association with that recording company that lasted the rest of his life. Nat recorded this version of it in March of 1961 as he was re-recording his great catalog of hits for "stereo".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Nat King Cole
• Jazz
• Pop

[ENACODNOM]

Excellent idea to rerecord 36 songs from Nat's wonderful catalog for the triple album THE NAT KING COLE STORY! ★★★★ You surely agree with me, since you're uploading with tender loving care so many of these songs!

[Nocaro]

@ENACODNOM Of course, the advent of stereophonic recording was the impetus behind these re-recordings. I just wish he had done more during this period when his voice was at its peak.

[ENACODNOM]

@Nocaro Part II: Connie Francis, to name only a few! They sound ridiculous when they insist on singing while they don't have an acceptable voice anymore! What do you think? You once suggested that you don't like the more modern singers, but surely that doesn't apply to people like Neil Diamond, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Céline Dion, Huey Lewis, Ronnie McDowell, Billy Joel, to name only some? Greetings from nearby Paris!

[Nocaro]

Although I was speaking primarily of singers of the past 20 years or so, even the ones you just listed are not in the same league with the Coles, Sinatras, Fitzgeralds, et.al. That's not to say they can't sing, but several of the people you listed are better songwriters than they are vocalists.

[MfEuTrArLy]

@Nocaro Regarding the whole "There is no good modern music thing", you probably just haven't heard it. Judging generations of music by the popular stuff is not accurate, especially with today's music. But hey, maybe you have heard every piece of modern music in existence and have the right to make such a sweeping assumption. Tell you what. Listen to the song "Frank Sinatra" by Cake. If you can't find any redeeming qualities in that, I... I don't know. I guess you only like specific older genres.

[KennyKawai]

Why are people arguing that people have learned of this song through a video game? Infact, it almost seems as some people are bragging that they heard the song back in Nat's hey day. Ever heard the phrase 'Better late than never'? Just because someone was born in the 20th and 21st centuries doesn't make someone inferior. They can't choose to be born in a particular time era, expecting to bare witness to a great song.

[TMGMACx]

Mafia 2!!!!

[Bordicci]

thumbs up if the first time u heard this was on mafia 2

[ENACODNOM]

@Nocaro Yeah, perhaps, but Neil Diamond sings for exemple with a lot of emotion HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER, which he didn't write. Elton John sounded in the 70s like a pianist who sang, but metamorphosed in the 80s as a singer who played piano. Of course, there are songwriters with ugly voices who can't sing, like Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, etc., and I collect their songs only when they are done by a performer I love or really like.

[ENACODNOM]

@Nocaro You're right, but Nat was quite a hard working man and he recorded quite a lot of songs. I'm halfway into 1961 and I already bookmarked 755 of them! When I will finish, I will use the Bear Family and other important compilations to try and put them in the exact recording order, when that will be possible. Nat had a very nice voice until the end, probably because he didn't live long enough to have it completely spoiled, like it happened to Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash &

[aoeiifreak]

Something about Nat King Cole makes me love his music...I normally hate songs in this genre, but his voice is something special.

[ilovecornishpixies]

That monkey at around 00:28 scared the daylights out of me. I was listening to this while in another window and I changed back to look at the video right then and I was like what am I listening to that has scary monkeys like?