# 2852 - 1994 29c Popular Singers: Nat "King" Cole

US #2852
1994 Nat “King” Cole

• From the Popular Singers set
• Part of the Legends of American Music series
• Features five famous singers from the 20^th century

Category of Stamp:  Commemorative
Set:  Legends of American Music series
Value:  29¢
First Day of Issue:  September 1, 1994
First Day City:  New York, New York
Quantity Issued:  35,436,000
Printed by:  Stamp Venturers
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 20, from printing cylinders of 180 subjects (12 across, 15 down)
Perforations:  10.2 X 10.2

Reason the stamp was issued:  The Popular Singers stamps were issued as part of the Legends of American Music series.  They honor some of the most famous popular singers of the 20^th century, including Al Jolson

About the stamp design:  Artist and magazine illustrator C.F. Payne was chosen to create the artwork for the Popular Singers stamps.  Using photos provided by the USPS, he produced color sketches, then painted the singers using acrylic, watercolor, ink, oil paint, colored pencils, and airbrush. 

Special design details:  The background colors were chosen to fade into one another to give a sense of continuity to the set.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at Damrosch Park in New York City.  Family members and friends of those honored on the stamps were present at the ceremony.  The ceremony also launched the US Postal Service’s month-long American Music Stamp Festival.

Unusual thing about this stamp:  During the planning for these stamps, it was decided birth and death dates would be added on the edge of each stamp.  After the stamps were issued, Nat “King” Cole’s widow informed the USPS they had the wrong birth date.  He had been born in 1919, not 1917 as shown on the stamp.  Future stamps in this series don’t contain these dates to avoid another mistake.

About the Legends of American Music Series:  The Legends of American Music Series debuted on January 8, 1993, and ran until September 21, 1999.  The stamps were issued in semi-jumbo size.  The name of each performer is in white letters, sometimes on a black background to make it stand out.  The name of the set is shown running up the left side of the stamp.

More than 90 artists are represented from all styles of music:  rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and pop, opera and classical, gospel and folk.  In addition to individual singers and Broadway musicals, subjects include band leaders, classical composers, Hollywood songwriters and composers, conductors, lyricists, and more.  The Legends of American Music Series was a huge advancement for diversity because it honored many Black and female artists.

History the stamp represents: 

Described as “one of the greatest singers of the century,” Nat “King” Cole is best remembered for his satiny-smooth voice, although he originally began his career as a jazz pianist.  In fact, his style of using the piano as a solo, rather than a rhythm instrument inspired other pianists to form similar groups and is an influence still felt in the jazz world today.
Kole began to play music as the organist at his father’s church, but he turned to playing at jazz clubs and later formed the popular King Cole Trio – one of the first black groups to have their own radio show.  In 1943, his recording of “Straighten up and Fly Right” won him fame as a singer, and although he would continue to perform as a jazz musician, his image as a singer would dominate the rest of his career.  By the early 1950s, Cole’s music turned to pop with “Walking My Baby Back Home,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and “For Sentimental Reasons.”
Riding on the success of what is considered his best remembered hit “When I Fall in Love,” Cole broke color barriers and made musical history when he was given his own musical TV series.  Popular for more than two decades, other successes such as “Mona Lisa” and “Unforgettable,” helped him attain lasting acceptance by audiences throughout the world.