Nat King Cole’s first major commercial hit came from an unlikely source, his father’s pulpit. In this episode, I reflect on the story behind Straighten Up and Fly Right, the folk fable at its heart, and what made the King Cole Trio so distinctive. Along the way, I share a few of my favorite Cole recordings, including his shuffle cover of On the Street Where You Live. Sometimes the best advice and the best music come from the same place.
The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.
Here’s a recording of “Straighten Up and Fly Right”:
And one of my all-time favorites, his cover of “On the Street Where You Live":
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