Quotes from Nat King Cole

I am an American citizen and feel I am entitled to the same rights as any other citizen.

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.

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.

Critics don't buy records. They get 'em free.

Only time, education and plenty of good schooling will make anti-segregation work.

The people who know nothing about music are the ones always talking about it.

Unforgettable in every way, and forever more, that's how you'll stay.

The only prejudice I've found anywhere in TV is in some advertising agencies, and there isn't so much prejudice as just fear.

You've got to change with the public's taste.

There's just one thing I can't figure out. My income tax!

If you smile through your fear and sorrow, smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through for you.

Smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see that life is still worth while if you just smile

I'm an interpreter of stories. When I perform it's like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.

The only sport I'm not interested in is horse racing. That's because I don't know the horses personally.

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.

I'm in the music business for one purpose - to make money.

I make no claim to being a business genius. You can make so much money in this business that it loses its value.

People don't slip. Time catches up with them.

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.

I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers.

I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.

The sheriff is at the cash register, and if I don't get a hit soon, I don't know what I'll do.

If I could read it, I could play it.

I can't bear to see myself even in movies. The feeling is complex. I can't stand the sight of myself.