THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

161-Nat King Cole-When I Fall in Love.

1957-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 0.29. Why was Nat King Cole the greatest singer of the pre ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll’ era? Imagine listening to a song that aggravates the hell out of you, then imagine Nat King Cole singing it,….it sounds better already doesn’t it.

Nathaniel Adams Cole (see also best songs 988-327 and 226) was born on March 17th, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, he died of lung cancer on February 15th, 1965, at the age of 45. The extensive discography of Nat King Cole includes 28 studio Albums, and one live Album, issued in 12 inch format between 1955-1966. His first four Album releases between 1945-1949 as ‘The King Cole Trio,’ were issued in 10 inch format, as were his first seven solo Albums released between 1950-1954. Since his death there have been 61 official compilation Albums made available to date, which have been issued between 1965-2014. Unfortunately I have no reliable source as to how many singles Nat King Cole released, but in America he has achieved 89 top 40 singles between 1943-2007, with three of those making the Number 1 spot, while in the UK, from the first chart in 1952, he has had 32 top 40 singles, with three of his songs, including this one, peaking at the Number 2 position. Nat King Cole was also a regular on television, including hosting 42 episodes of ‘The Nat King Cole Show’ between 1956-1957, he also appeared in several films, and documentary’s, released between 1943-1989.

‘When I Fall in Love’ was co-written by Victor Young, (1900-1956) who wrote the music, and Edward Heyman, (1907-1981) who provided the lyrics, the song was first introduced in the 1952 American romantic war film ‘One Minute to Zero,’ where it was sung by Jeri Southern (1926-1991.) The song has become a standard with hundreds of versions being recorded over the years. In America on Billboard the first hit version was by Doris Day who reached Number 20 in 1952, while other charting versions have come from ‘The Lettermen,’ (1961, Number 7) and Celine Dion and Clive Griffin, (1993, Number 23) while in the UK, Donny Osmond made Number 4 with the song in 1973.

Nat King Cole recorded ‘When I Fall in Love’ for his 1957 Album ‘Love Is the Thing,’ he also performed the song in the 1957 American crime film ‘Istanbul.’ In 1987 the English singer Rick Astley (see also best songs 627) released his version of the song as a ‘double-A-side,’ with ‘My Arms Keep Missing You,’ in order to challenge for that years Xmas Number 1 single. His main rival was the ‘Pet Shop Boys,’ (see also best songs 871 and 378) with their cover of ‘Always on My Mind,’ and their record label ‘EMI’ decided to re-release the Cole version in an attempt to split the sales of both versions. The ploy was successful as the Pet Shop Boys managed to sneak that years prestigious Xmas Number 1. Rick Astley stalled at Number 2, and Nat King Cole, on the songs 30th anniversary, peaked at Number 4.

‘In a restless world like this is love is ended before it’s begun, and too many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the warmth of the sun.’