Music is emotional, and you may catch a musician in a very unemotional mood or you may not be in the same frame of mind as the musician. So a critic will often say a musician is slipping. – Nat King Cole
I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers. – Nat King Cole
I can’t bear to see myself even in movies. The feeling is complex. I can’t stand the sight of myself. – Nat King Cole
I’m not playing for other musicians. We’re trying to reach the guy who works all day and wants to spend a buck at night. We’ll keep him happy. – Nat King Cole
The Supreme Court is having a hard time integrating schools. What chance do I have to integrate audiences? – Nat King Cole
The only sport I’m not interested in is horse racing. That’s because I don’t know the horses personally. – Nat King Cole
The whites come to applaud a Negro performer just like the colored do. When you’ve got the respect of white and colored, you can ease a lot of things. – Nat King Cole
It’s not the people in the South who create racial problems – it’s the people who are governing. – Nat King Cole
The only prejudice I’ve found anywhere in TV is in some advertising agencies, and there isn’t so much prejudice as just fear. – Nat King Cole
For years the Trio did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people. We practically starved to death. – Nat King Cole
I am an American citizen and feel I am entitled to the same rights as any other citizen. – Nat King Cole
I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the South. – Nat King Cole
I’m a musician at heart, I know I’m not really a singer. I couldn’t compete with real singers. But I sing because the public buys it. – Nat King Cole
I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories. – Nat King Cole
I make no claim to being a business genius. You can make so much money in this business that it loses its value. – Nat King Cole
I’m proud of our court. It knocks back a lot of the propaganda the Communists put out about the way America treats her Negroes. – Nat King Cole
