Kansas City Phone Call

Destination Freedom Destination Freedom, dramatization of the great democratic traditions of the Negro people, is brought to you by Station WMAQ as a part of the pageant of history and of America's own destination freedom. In the past decade, the soaring popularity of the Spoon crooner has been one of the most spectacular phenomenon in popular music circles.

Chicago's contribution to the ranks of these Silicon Voice Balladiers is the master pianist and arranger, Nat King Cole, one of the nationally famous King Cole trio. In a chapter entitled, Kansas City Phone Call, we bring you the Cole story.

Is it you, March? I thought you were March. Can I talk to March? March. Sure, this is me, March. Don't I sound like myself? Well, maybe I don't. I got a reason for sounding different. We've got another member for our fan club. Yeah, George Stoker. Yes, he did, Mark. Yes, he did. Oh, he put up a struggle, but I had some help. Guess who from? King

Cole himself. Well, you know how George felt about our fan club and the King Cole trio? Uh-huh, he couldn't stand us or them. Well, I'd about giving up getting George in the club. My last chance was to get him to take me to the auditorium to hear King Cole in person.

Well, after we got downtown, we went into a drugstore. We sat down in a booth near the jukebox. It had six King Cole records on it. No, the jukebox. and Marge, George just sat there like a stack of wheat.

I asked him to play number seven. Yeah, well he wouldn't, so I reached over in plug number seven myself. Gee ain't I good to you, or something like that. Naturally I just sat back and so fit all in.