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Song Parodies -> "Most Regrettable (Dear Mr. Cole)"

Original Song Title:

"Unforgettable"

 (MP3)
Original Performer:

Nat King Cole

Parody Song Title:

"Most Regrettable (Dear Mr. Cole)"

Parody Written by:

Paul Robinson

The Lyrics

Back in 1956 Nat King Cole was signed by NBC to host a weekly musical variety show that would be aired nationally, making him the first major black performer to host such a show. Cole was an immensely gifted vocalist, a talented pianist, a fine dancer, and a very charming, personable and articulate host. The show attracted a plethora of wonderful guests - Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Stan Getz, Sammy Davis Jr., Eartha Kitt, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Pearl Bailey, Mahalia Jackson, Tony Bennett and others; all of whom worked at the minimum allowed by the union as a gesture of support. However, the network and their Advertising agencies were unable to convince any major national sponsors to buy time. After a bit more than one year NBC, which had been eating the costs, finally pulled the plug and cancelled the show. Cole himself turned down over $500,000 in performance dates over that period in order to give the show his full attention and dedication.
Most regrettable
Dear Mr Cole
but we must cancel
your TV show
Though your program
really was superb
some folks in the South
might get perturbed
We regret that we
must do this to you

Quite lamentable
we know that's true
That White seems the only
sanctioned hue
Though your talent really
is immense
Prejudice like this
does not make sense
Advertisers are afraid
to back you

~ ~ ~ {There is an Instrumental interlude here} ~ ~ ~
~ ~ [during the interlude you'll see brief clips from some of the other shows of that day - most of which could not hold a candle to "The Nat King Cole Show"] ~ ~


Quite nonsensical
to us today
That's what things were like
back in that day
Seems the South was not
yet ready to
Let a black man in
their living room
Black or white that thought
should now make you blue

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Original Song: 
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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.7
How Funny: 4.7
Overall Rating: 4.7

Total Votes: 14

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   1
 1
 1
 
 2   0
 0
 0
 
 3   0
 0
 0
 
 4   0
 0
 0
 
 5   13
 13
 13
 

User Comments

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AFW - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
interesting memorabilia..and deserving issue...Nat King Cole was a fantastic talent. His recording of "Mona Lisa" will always be one of the all time greats..
John Barry - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Nice tribute to a great and classy talent.
alvin rhodes - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
yes...nice job...5s
Paul Robinson - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Thanks, I remembered Cole from when I was small...he was one of my Mother's favorite singers. But I really wasn't aware of just how good he was until I bought a DVD of songs culled from his TV show and watched it with my Dad this last Saturday afternoon...I really figured that my Dad would at least recognize the songs (he is having trouble memory-wise these days) and that I would find them well-done, if not totally my cup of tea, music-wise...Got a big surprise...it was very, very good! My Dad thoroughly enjoyed it, even singing some of the lyrics ahead of Cole in places...he was moving his toes with the music and applauded after some songs. I was amazed, not so much by the singing, which I expected, but by Cole's piano talent and touch and the way his personal charisma and warmth came through on the screen ...he played with great dexterity and ease while singing at the same time...and clearly enjoying it - he was playing with a small combo of fine players from that era....The DVD has 47 songs (we only watched about half...Dad decided he'd liked to save the other half for this coming weekend - Cool - it's something we can do that both of us can relate to and enjoy.). So I guess the "consolation" for Cole...long gone, of course...is that his memory, talents and spirit live on his music...hmmm...and also that the ignorant prejudice that killed off his show has subsided to a large degree.
Tim Hall - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Historical and touching.
Paul Robinson - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Thanks, Tim ~ ~ ~
Ingeborg S. Nordén - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Thought-provoking story and good OS choice. 5-5-5!
Kristof Robertson - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
PPP...poignant parody, Paul! 555
jonaco - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
Excellent. Nat Cole was, and is, one of my all-time favorite performers- I'm old enough to remember when many of his hits were new. Never made a bad record. When this song became a chart-topper all over again (in daughter Natalie's "enhanced" version), I made an observation friends never forgot: "If that's the #1 album, there's still hope for this country." Thanks for this classy entry.
Adagio - May 18, 2005 - Report this comment
One classy performer that I'm just finding out about. Good job, Paul.
Leo Jay - May 19, 2005 - Report this comment
Nicely done. Nat Cole was a phenomenal piano talent and charismatic performer.
Johnny D - May 19, 2005 - Report this comment
Historical, cultural, and Most Regrettable a story indeed. 5's
Paul Robinson - May 19, 2005 - Report this comment
Thank you all...it's interesting how thoughts, actions, responses and reactions can create such a positive ripple in such a short span of time...as I said, I knew Nat Cole was very talented and had done some wonderful songs but I really did not know too much more than that. As we were watching it I realized that these songs were all performed on the same basic set...then I read the DVD back-cover notes again...I probably looked at them when I was deciding which Nat Cole DVD to buy, but it didn't set off any alarms at that time...When I read that it was all from the TV show I made a mental note to look up the show on the Web later on (Dad's not connected to the Net) when I got home...I checked it out the next day and as I was reading it I thought it was the type of story that should be told.
Michael Pacholek - May 21, 2005 - Report this comment
Anybody who can inspire both Ray Charles and Burt Reynolds (who once called Nat his favorite singer of all time) deserves to be called King... not to mention a second season. Maybe he had too much class to complain, but maybe he, alone, could've gotten away with it.
Paul Robinsonq - August 26, 2005 - Report this comment
yeah, you petty dipward, you think "one-ing" 3 or 4 of my back pieces every day makes up for not being able to deal with me linguistically. You know who you are. So my average gets lower...big deal...that still doesn't make you anything but a petty dipward who can't argue their way out of a paper bag. have a nice dipwad day...

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