HOLLYWOOD, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Capitol/ EMI Records) - As the United States welcomes President Barack Obama to the White House and
Black History Month begins, Capitol/EMI is proud to present a musical salute to universal hope and progress. A new digital EP of songs by the incomparable and unforgettable Nat King Cole, titled "Voices Of Change, Then & Now," features "At Last," "We Are Americans Too" and "
Pick Yourself Up" with excerpts from President Obama's Inaugural Address as introductions. Starting today, "Voices Of Change, Then & Now" is available for DRM-free purchase from all major digital service providers.
"We Are Americans Too," recorded by Cole in May, 1956, one month after he was assaulted onstage in Birmingham, Alabama by three white supremacists, is a call for recognition, mutual respect and human kindness. On "Voices Of Change, Then & Now," an excerpt from President Obama's momentous Inaugural Address introduces the song.
The label declined to release "We Are Americans Too," a striking departure from Cole's well-loved ballads, when it was recorded. That same year, Cole became the first African American host of a national television program (NBC's "The Nat King Cole Show"). With quiet resolve and sheer perseverance throughout his life, Cole broke through and broke down numerous color barriers in his determination to further civil rights for all marginalized Americans.
Somewhere out there in the parade
Loudly, proudly and undismayed
We'll be singing this song many millions strong
We are Americans, loyal Americans
We are Americans too.
Says Carole Cole, Nat King Cole's daughter and CEO of King Cole Partners & Productions, "Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf wrote 'We Are Americans Too' in 1940. Dad recorded it 1956. In the words of writer Will Friedwald, this song 'was a rarity in the pre-war period: an anthem of African American pride that would sing the accomplishments of the 'race' in a 'God Bless America'-like fashion. Previously, there had been protest songs delineating the African American condition... but there was never anything like 'We Are Americans Too'."
During these challenging times, "Pick Yourself Up" is a song brimming with optimism that inspires the willpower to change. This tune is also introduced by an uncanny excerpt from President Obama's Inaugural Address, in which the President advises all Americans by saying, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." Remarkably, this is the exact sentiment conveyed in Cole's song.
"At Last," recorded by Nat King Cole in 1957, four years before Etta James made the song a signature classic of her own, is a stirring and romantic vocal stunner. Television viewers around the world watched President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance at several Inaugural balls on January 20, 2009, accompanied by various renditions of "At Last."
www.natkingcole.com
Nat King Cole: "Voices Of Change, Then & Now" digital EP
1. "We Are Americans Too" (with introduction excerpt from President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address)
2. "Pick Yourself Up" (with introduction excerpt from President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address)
3. "At Last"
