1951 HITS ARCHIVE: Too Young - Nat King Cole (his original #1 version)

Too Young (Lippman-Dee) by Nat King Cole, orchestra conducted by Les Baxter Five weeks atop the national best-seller charts for this classic Cole recording, one that had a profound influence on the career of one Nelson Riddle. A year earlier, the big band trombonist-turned-Capitol Records arranger had created the memorable chart for Cole’s “Mona Lisa,” which was conducted for the session by staffer Les Baxter who received the label credit as orchestra leader (as was the custom). With Baxter once again getting numerous plaudits for creating the distinctive sound of Cole’s #1 hit “Too Young,” a disgruntled Riddle was told by his boss that if he wished to rise above the role of uncredited arranger and see his own name included on the record labels, he’d have to move out of the background and take over the studio directing chores himself. So, a legendary arranger-conductor career was born with Cole’s next important hit, “Unforgettable”...with “Orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle” (also posted). Note that the most commonly reissued Cole recording of this title over the years has been a 1961 stereo remake with a similar arrangement, but conducted by Ralph Carmichael rather than Riddle. This posted version is the original hit. THE 1951 HITS ARCHIVE - here in one place, a good-quality library of original-release-version best-sellers and songs that made an impact that were either released or enjoyed a major chunk of their popularity within the calendar year 1951 (some were recorded in 1950).