FREDDY COLE
Genres: Vocal Jazz, Blues • United States

Lionel Frederick Cole (October 15, 1931 – June 27, 2020) was an American jazz singer and pianist whose recording career spanned almost 70 years. He was the brother of musicians Nat King Cole, Eddie Cole, and Ike Cole, father of Lionel Cole, and uncle of Natalie Cole and Carole Cole. Freddy Cole was born to Rev. Edward J. Coles and Perlina (Adams) Coles, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. His brothers Nat King Cole (1919–1965), Eddie (1910–1970), and Ike (1927–2001) also each pursued careers in music. He began playing piano at the age of six, and continued his musical education at the Roosevelt Institute in Chicago. He moved to New York in 1951, where he studied at the Juilliard School of Music, before completing a master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. Following the moderate success of "Whispering Grass" on OKeh Records in 1953 Cole spent several months on read more...