Song "Nature Boy"

"Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole.

It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story. It was written by eden ahbez as a tribute to Bill Pester, who practiced the Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophies adopted by Ahbez. The lyrics of the song relate to a 1940s Los Angeles–based group called "Nature Boys", a subculture of proto-hippies of which Ahbez was a member.

"Nature Boy" was released during the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) ban of 1948. It reached the top of the Billboard music charts and sold over a million copies, helping to establish Cole's solo career, and introducing him to the white music market. "Nature Boy" was the subject of lawsuits, with Yiddish composer Herman Yablokoff claiming that it was plagiarized from his song "Shvayg mayn harts" (שװײג מײן האַרץ, "Be Still My Heart"). Eventually, Ahbez and Yablokoff settled out of court. In 1999, the song was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Following Cole's success, rival record companies released cover versions of "Nature Boy" by other artists including Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan, which were also successful. It ultimately became a pop and jazz standard, with many artists interpreting the song, including Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, who recorded it for their collaborative album Cheek to Cheek (2014). It was also used in numerous films like The Boy with Green Hair (1948), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge!, for which singer David Bowie recorded a version, and in the television series Resident Alien.

Other versions

The success of "Nature Boy" soon led to the release of a number of cover versions of the track. However, due to the AFM ban, other record companies could not release full versions with strings, only a cappella tracks. Following Cole's version of "Nature Boy", the Dick Haymes recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 24439. The record first appeared on the Billboard charts on June 4, 1948, and peaked at number 11.

Frank Sinatra also recorded a musicianless version, which was his only recording during the ban. Sinatra's version of "Nature Boy" replaced the string sounds of the original recording with a choir conducted by Jeff Alexander, which, according to Friedwald, made the song sound like a Gregorian chant. The recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38210. It debuted on the Billboard charts on May 28, 1948, and peaked at number seven. Sinatra later performed the song on the radio show, Your Hit Parade, accompanied by a choir and orchestral arrangement. RCA Records planned to release versions by singers Perry Como and Bing Crosby, but they were subsequently cancelled due to the ban. Musicraft Records released Sarah Vaughan's a cappella version on April 8, 1948. It was a commercial success, selling 20,000 copies on the first day and peaking at number 11 on the Billboard chart. A parody named "Serutan Yob" was recorded by The Unnatural Seven, an offshoot of Red Ingle and his Natural Seven that did not include Ingle due to the 1948 AFM recording ban. "Serutan Yob" featured vocals from Karen Tedder and Los Angeles DJ Jim Hawthorne. It was released by Capitol with catalog number 15210, reached the Billboard charts on October 1, 1948, and stayed there for a total of four weeks, peaking at number 24.

In 1955, Miles Davis recorded the song with Charles Mingus as bassist. The recording for the song was filled with tension due to an ongoing conflict between Davis and Mingus, resulting in a charged version of the song. They were assisted by Teddy Charles on vibraphone and Elvin Jones on drums. Another version was recorded by singer Bobby Darin, released in 1961 reaching number 14 in Canada and number 24 on the UK singles chart. A psychedelic rock version was recorded in 1965 by 1960s San Francisco rock band The Great Society, with lead vocals from singer Grace Slick, released on their 1968 post-breakup album How it Was. The same year, Marvin Gaye recorded and released his version on the Cole tribute album, A Tribute to the Great Nat King Cole. In 1969, Gandalf recorded a cover version released on their eponymous album.

A version by George Benson reached number 26 in the UK singles chart in 1977 and in 1983 soul band Central Line reached number 21.

Peggy Lee's version of "Nature Boy" was recorded in 1948, but released in 1995 as part of the compilation album, Why Don't You Do Right? Peggy Lee, 1947–1948. Johnny Hartman made a 1972 recording that was included on Blue Note's 1995 album For Trane. Abbey Lincoln recorded a version of the song for her 1995 album A Turtle's Dream. Howard Reich from the Chicago Tribune was impressed with the cover saying that "the mood of reverie and awe [that Lincoln] expresses in 'Nature Boy' epitomize this album's haunting appeal."

Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat "King" Cole, paid tribute to her father by recording her version of "Nature Boy" for inclusion on an entire album of songs that had been, according to Alex Henderson from AllMusic, "major hits for him in the 1940s and early '50s." That album, Natalie Cole's Unforgettable... with Love, won several Grammy Awards in 1991 including Record of the Year and Album of the Year at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards.

Celine Dion performed the song as part of her A New Day... concert at Caesars Palace. The song appeared on her 2002 studio album, A New Day Has Come, and on her 2004 live album, A New Day... Live in Las Vegas. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that the decision to include "Nature Boy" in A New Day Has Come was inspired by the song's appearance in Baz Luhrmann's musical, Moulin Rouge! (2001). With Billboard, Dion expressed her feelings while recording the track: "This is the one I had the most kick out of in the studio. I could hear the pedal of the piano and the touch of the keys while I was singing. We were following each other, this is the real thing. This was such my pleasure." Initially strings and other instrumentation were added in post-production, but were later removed to maintain the simplicity of Cole's version.

Aaron Neville's interpretation of the track was released in 2003 on his jazz standard album, titled Nature Boy: The Jazz Album. That year in December, Harry Connick, Jr. released a holiday themed rendition of "Nature Boy", on his holiday album, Harry for the Holidays. On the tenth season of American Idol, contestant Casey Abrams presented a jazz version of the song, which was received with a standing ovation from the audience, but faced criticism from the media for the "strange" musical arrangements.

Rick Astley covered this song for his sixth studio album Portrait in 2005. Unfortunately, Astley and Sony BMG were unhappy with the result so the album was poorly promoted, yet it managed to reach No 26 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2010, Allison Williams, then mostly known as the daughter of Brian Williams, performed a mashup of Nature Boy set to RJD2's "A Beautiful Mine", the theme song for the television series Mad Men. Norwegian singer Aurora performed an acoustic version of the song during a live session in May 2015. Her cover was later included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of her debut album All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, released in 2016.

Sofia Hoffmann recorded her interpretation for "Nature Boy" on her second studio album Rebirth which was released in 2022. The song was produced by Grammy Award winning American pianist, arranger and producer John Beasley.

Nature Boy performers ( full list 90+)

1. Abbey Lincoln - 1995
2. Aaron Neville - 2003
3. Ahmad Jamal - 1967
4. Allison Williams - 2010
5. Andrew VanWyngarden - 2017
6. Aurora Aksnes - 2016
7. Bobby Darin - 1961
8. Big Star (Alex Chilton)
9. Central Line - 1983
10. Céline Dion - 2002
11. Chris Whitley
12. David Bowie - 2001
13. Demis Roussos
14. Dick Haymes - 1948
15. Ekaterina Shelehova
16. Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass - 1976
17. Engelbert Humperdinck - 1967
18. Fila Brazillia - 2001
19. Frank Sinatra - 1948
20. Frank Sinatra and Jeff Alexander Choir - 1948
21. Gandalf - 1969
22. George Benson - 1977
23. George Benson - 2013
24. Grace Slick & The Great Society - 1965
25. Gregory Porter - 2017
26. Harry Connick, Jr. - 2003
27. James Brown and The Famous Flames - 1967
28. James Last - 1982
29. Jennifer Hudson
30. Johnny Hartman - 1972
31. Jordan Hart
32. Jose Feliciano
33. Karin Krog - 1969
34. Kurt Elling - 1997
35. Lisa Ekdahl
36. Lizz Wright
37. Manu Dibango
38. Mark Murphy
39. Marvin Gaye - 1965
40. Marty Rhone
41. Matt Forbes
42. Miles Davis - 1955
43. Natalie Cole - 1991
44. Nat King Cole - 1948
45. Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Milt Jackson - 1999
46. Peggy Lee - 1948
47. Pentatonix - 2012
48. Radka Toneff
49. Ren Massie
50. Rick Astley - 2005
51. Sam Smith
52. Sarah Vaughan - 1948
53. Shahin & Sepehr - 1998
54. Sharon Cash - 1970
55. Sofia Hoffmann - 2022
56. Stan Getz
57. The Great Society (Grace Slick) - 1965
58. The Hollyridge Strings - 1965
59. The Hot Club of San Francisco
60. The Real Group
61. The Singers Unlimited - 1975
62. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - 2014