From Mr. Velvet Fog (Mel Tormé) to Mr. Smooth as Silk (Nat King Cole).
Wikipedia sez:
Beginning in the late 1940s, Cole began recording and performing more pop-oriented material for mainstream audiences, often accompanied by a string orchestra. His stature as a popular icon was cemented during this period by hits such as “The Christmas Song” (Cole recorded that tune four times: on June 14, 1946, as a pure Trio recording, on August 19, 1946, with an added string section, on August 24, 1953, and in 1961 for the double album The Nat King Cole Story; this final version, recorded in stereo, is the one most often heard today),
Nat Cole’s 1946 rendition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Mel only recorded his song three times. It’s a shock to some that the diminutive Mel Tormé co-wrote the song with Bob Wells, and not Cole, because this song (like some others) has become synonymous with the black singer.
Well, I’m going out for Christmas dinner, and then will go onto see a movie. That will be It’s Complicated, Up in the Air, or Sherlock Holmes. I want to laugh this holiday. Hope you have laughter–and love–during this holiday.
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