“The Monkey and the Buzzard”
Cole/s Family Memories and the Nat King Cole Trio—A Black Music Month Reminiscence
by©️Leslye Joy Allen
In the photo above is L-R: Oscar Moore on “Guitar,” Johnny Miller on “Acoustic Double Bass,” Nat “King” Cole on “Piano and Vocals.” Jazz Trios in the early years often used guitars to keep the rhythm rather than drums that came later. Aside from simple preferences for one over the other, if the sound equipment was rather unsophisticated, drums were occasionally not used because drums tended to drown out the other instruments.
I am not going to write a history of the great Nat “King” Cole. Nor is this essay about his most popular recordings as a singer (“Nature Boy,” “The Christmas Song,” “Unforgettable”) I am going to point out a few things that I remember about his music, and his phenomenal piano playing and his playfulness that influenced an entire generation of singer-pianists.
Everyone from Jazz great Oscar Peterson to Diana Krall to Brazil’s Tania Maria has cited Nat “King” Cole’s piano playing as an influence on them.
As for his warm and rich voice, I remember my favorite singer Johnny Mathis gushing about Nat as his favorite singer. “I was so proud of him,” Johnny said. The hyperlink attached to Mathis’s name is his version of “They Live In You,” which as far as I am concerned, these masters of Jazz and Popular song do “live in us.”
The entire Cole/s family was musically talented. Nat’s brother Freddy Cole lived near me. Freddy sounded like Nat, but had more rasp in his voice. Freddy Cole was an Atlanta musical treasure until the day he died. Freddy’s wife and my Mama supplemented their incomes as teachers by selling Fashion Two-Twenty cosmetics— the brand was local to Atlanta, not a nationwide enterprise. (Sidebar: You definitely want to check out Freddy Cole’s funny tribute to Nat called “I’m Not My Brother, I’m Me.”)
It was Mr. Freddy Cole that told me the family name was originally “Coles” with a “s” on the end. Importantly, while Freddy was among the youngest of the Cole/s siblings, he told me that the song “Straighten Up and Fly Right” was based on he and Nat’s minister father who preached a sermon about a “Monkey and a Buzzard.”
As a small child I fell in love with “Straighten Up and Fly Right” which was recorded by the Nat “King” Cole Trio. I personally renamed the song “The Monkey and the Buzzard.”
In the book written by Will Friedwald titled “Straighten Up and Fly Wright,” Nat stated that he was strapped for money in 1943. Nat said that, “I sold ‘Straighten Up and Fly Right’ for fifty dollars, outright, no royalties.” The man who purchased the song was *Irving Mills whom Nat allowed to place his name on the song as co-writer. According to Friedwald’s book Nat needed money to pay his hotel bill and Mills’ $50 dollars helped him cover his room and board.
By the way, every name above and below with a hyperlink attached has some exquisite music.
Nat “King” Cole died February 15, 1965 at the age of 45. I was 4 years and 2 months old. It was the first time I saw my father cry like a baby.
(Below is The Nat “King” Cole Trio performing “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” with lyrics attached.)
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT (composed by Nat ‘King’ Cole & *Irving Mills)
A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air
The monkey thought that everything
Was on the square
The buzzard tried to throw the monkey
Off his back
The monkey grabbed his neck and said
"Now listen, Jack..."
Straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top
Ain't no use in divin'
What's the use of jivin'?
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top
The buzzard told the monkey
You are chokin' me
Release your hold, I will set you free
The monkey looked the buzzard right
Dead in the eye and said
"Your story's so touching, but it sounds just like a lie"
Straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top
Straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right
Cool down, papa, don't you blow your top
Fly right!
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