Ike Cole--Tribute Medley to Brother Nat King Cole, 1966 TV

[@ChicagoDB]

Ike played for many years in Chicago and was a friend of my father’s. He stopped by our home and performed some songs for our 18th Birthday Party [my sister and I] in 1986. Wonderful man and extremely talented!

[@trh1493]

wow...how exciting..😃

[@TomElvisSmith]

The only other time I've seen Ike Cole was in a Scopitone music video in which he also sang a tribute medley to Nat King Cole.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Yes, I"ve seen that.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

He puts his own spin on these songs.

[@theresachiorazzi4571]

A fine tribute to your brother nat he was one of the best singers of air tim

[@wotan10950]

Their DNA is talent! Alan, you have such an extraordinary collection - do you have any of the other episodes of Beverly Sills’s talk shows? You uploaded the legendary one with Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, but I remember many others with Yul Brynner, Baryshnikov, Birgit Nilsson, et al.

[@AuntieMamie]

I feel stupid! I had no idea Mr Cole had 3 accomplished brothers. Thank you for showcasing this wonderful and talented man.

[@s.t.martin7939]

Wow!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Ike Cole, had a wonderful voice himself!! Knew that Nat, had brothers who resembled each other,… but that they had Awesome talent, as well,…nope!! My Mom was a huge Nat “King” Cole fan,… she has Alzheimer’s,…but May remember!!

[@jwjva]

Thanks for posting. I did not know anything about Ike. About 45 years ago I saw Freddy Cole at a Holiday Inn lounge in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. He was a very talented musician in his own right, but he never could get out from under Nat’s shadow and I got the impression that he resented the comparisons.

[@waldolydecker8118]

Couldn't disagree with you more. Saw Freddy Cole multiple times playing in Clubs in and around NYC (Birdland, etc) in the 1980's and 1990's, as well as listening to him in NYC radio interviews. Never got the impression he resented anything about his brother Nat, whom he frequently and understandingly praised. Although Freddy and Ike were superbly talented in their own right, I always got the impression Freddy fully understood that his success was inextricably tied to his world-renown brother, and that comparisons were inevitable, normal, and came with the territory. "Resentment" seems a mischaracterization of his sentiments.

[@jwjva]

Points well taken, Waldo. I’m sure my views were shaped by Freddy’s performance of “I’m Not My Brother, I’m Me.” Maybe on the night I saw him I read into his delivery a certain time of resentment that really wasn’t there. In any event, he was a great talent and I wish I had seen I’m in person more. (PS: I’m a big fan of Clifton Webb’s, too.)

[@waldolydecker8118]

@@jwjva - Yeah James, I think you totally misread Freddy on that tune - which I heard him play more than once, which I always read as a humorous reference to his famous brother, whom he did resemble. The tune plays on the fact that most in attendance are fans of his brother and primarily know Freddy as Nat's brother. Its a humorous way to both reference that known fact, and yes, also make a statement that he is his own man - but sans the resentment. You know Freddy could have no resentment, because if it wasn't for Nat's mega international success, Freddy's audiences, job offers, and pay would have be a fraction of what they were. Singer Tony Bennett was once asked if he ever got tired of singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," a B-side tune he recorded in 1962 that unexpectedly blew up and took him directly to Carnegie Hall and made him a household name. "Never," said Tony. "That song is the biggest musical blessing I ever had." (Or words to that effect).