eden ahbez, music and lyrics · First recorded by Nat King Cole in Hollywood, 1947
Nature Boy
Nature Boy is a song by eden ahbez, first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1947. Cole's record reached the top of the Billboard charts and sold over a million copies. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Abbey Lincoln and Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Nat King Cole's 1947 record and Frank Sinatra's choir version, then moves through Miles Davis, Stan Getz and the Ramsey Lewis Trio. It continues with John Coltrane's 1965 quartet and ends with Archie Shepp and Jackie McLean in the late 1990s. Abbey Lincoln and Gregory Porter are among the extra versions.
Nat King Cole recorded Nature Boy on August 22, 1947, at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, with an orchestra conducted by Frank De Vol. Capitol released it as a single on March 29, 1948.
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Nat King Cole sings with an orchestra, and strings and a flute surround his voice. At 2:40 it is the shortest record on this path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the from the chart: , , Dm, Em7♭5 A7♭9, Dm , , Dm, Em7♭5. Smaller version: play only Dm and A7♭9, one per , and hum the melody.
Frank Sinatra with the Jeff Alexander Choir · 1948
Columbia single 38210
Frank Sinatra recorded Nature Boy in 1948 with the Jeff Alexander Choir in place of an orchestra, during the musicians' union recording ban. Columbia released it as single number 38210.
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Frank Sinatra sings with a choir and no instruments, so voices carry the whole record. It runs 3:18, close to Cole's length.
Try it on your instrument
Sing the melody with no accompaniment, as this record does. Then play only and under it, one per . Smaller version: sing the first eight bars alone.
Miles Davis recorded Nature Boy on July 9, 1955, at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, with trombone, vibes, bass and drums. Debut Records issued it on Blue Moods (DEB-120) in 1956.
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Miles Davis plays trumpet with a trombone, vibes, bass and drums around him. At about six minutes it is more than twice as long as Cole's record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , two per : , , , A7♭9. Smaller version: play A7♭9 for two bars, then Dm for two bars, and stop.
Stan Getz recorded Nature Boy in Baden-Baden in March 1960 with a quintet and strings arranged by Russell Garcia. Verve issued it on Cool Velvet: Stan Getz and Strings (MGV-8379), released in November 1960.
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Stan Getz plays tenor sax with a harp, vibes and strings around him. It runs 3:02, close to the length of the Cole and Sinatra records.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last four of the slowly: , , Dm, . Smaller version: play only Dm, Gm6, Dm.
The Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded Pot Luck at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago on February 27 and 28, 1963, and Argo issued the album the same year.
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Ramsey Lewis plays piano with a bass and drums behind him. The whole record lasts about three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the : for two , , , , A7♭9, Dm, A7♭9. The extended are harder; for a smaller version play only the roots: A for two bars, then D, B, E, A, D, and E then A in the last bar.
John Coltrane recorded Nature Boy at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in February 1965, with two bass players in the group. Impulse! issued it on The John Coltrane Quartet Plays in August 1965.
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John Coltrane plays tenor sax with two bass players in the group, and the track runs 8:04, longer than anything before it on this path. McCoy Tyner plays piano and Elvin Jones drums.
Try it on your instrument
Playing over all 32 as a soloist needs more practice. Smaller version: pick the notes D and A and play them over a slow and for one .
Archie Shepp's quartet recorded Nature Boy at Clinton Recording Studios in New York on December 7, 1996. Venus Records of Japan issued it on True Ballads in 1997.
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Archie Shepp leads on tenor sax with a piano, bass and drums, and the track takes six minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole chart through once, one per , and hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play only the first eight bars, the .
Jackie McLean's quartet recorded Nature Boy at Avatar Studios in New York on June 12 and 13, 1999. EMI Music Japan released the album Nature Boy on September 22, 1999.
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Jackie McLean plays alto sax with Cedar Walton on piano, and the track runs 9:30, the longest on this path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart through twice, A to C, at a slow pace, one per . Smaller version: play only the , eight bars, and repeat it.
eden ahbez wrote the song, and Nat King Cole recorded it with Frank De Vol's orchestra in August 1947. Capitol released it in March 1948, and Frank Sinatra recorded it with a choir.
1950s
Miles Davis plays it in July 1955 with trombone, vibes, bass and drums for the Debut label. Bud Shank's quartet records it for Capitol in 1956.
1960s
Stan Getz plays it with strings in March 1960, and the Ramsey Lewis Trio records a three-minute version in 1963. John Coltrane's quartet records it in February 1965 with two bass players.
1970s
George Benson sings it and plays guitar on his album In Flight, recorded in 1976 and released in February 1977, with arrangements by Claus Ogerman.
1990s
Abbey Lincoln sings it on A Turtle's Dream, recorded in 1994. Archie Shepp's quartet records it in December 1996, and Jackie McLean's quartet plays it for nine and a half minutes in June 1999.
2010s
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga record it for Cheek to Cheek, released in September 2014. Gregory Porter sings it with the London Studio Orchestra on Nat King Cole & Me, released in October 2017.
More great versions
4 more, from 1956 to 2017. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sBud Shank Quartet1956
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990sAbbey Lincoln1994 · Contemporary jazz
2000s
2010sTony Bennett & Lady Gaga2014 · Swing
Gregory Porter2017 · Contemporary jazz
Bud Shank Quartet (feat. Claude Williamson)
1956
The Bud Shank Quartet
Bud Shank's quartet, with Claude Williamson, made this record for Capitol in 1956; Richard Bock produced it.
Gregory Porter sang Nature Boy with the London Studio Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza, on Nat King Cole & Me, released on October 27, 2017.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
D minorusual key
32 barsA · B · A · C form
D minorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
D m
The chart has four parts, A, B, A again and C, 32 bars in all, and it stays in throughout. A moves from to and back to Dm, then repeats that, then plays Dm , , Dm and ends on Em7♭5. B holds A7♭9 for two bars, Dm for two bars, for two bars and A7♭9 for two bars. The second A repeats the first. C starts with A7♭9 for two bars, then plays Dm, , E7♭9, A7♭9, Dm and a last bar of Em7♭5 A7♭9. This follows the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.