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Bass - Johnny Miller Guitar - Irving Ashby Piano & Vocals - Nat King Cole Music and Lyrics Written By Eden Ahbez. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1941, a 33-year-old George McGrew arrived in Los Angeles and began playing piano in the Eutropheon, a small health food store and raw food restaurant on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. The café was owned by John and Vera Richter, who followed a Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophy influenced by the Wandervogel movement in Germany. Their followers, known as “Nature Boys“, wore long hair and beards and ate only raw fruits and vegetables. McGrew adopted the philosophy and chose the name “eden ahbez“, writing and spelling his name with lower-case letters. It was there, while living in a cave near Palm Springs, that ahbez wrote “Nature Boy“. Partly autobiographical, the song was a tribute to his mentor Bill Pester, who had originally introduced him to Naturmensch and Lebensreform. In 1947, at the prompting of Cowboy Jack Patton and Johnny Mercer, ahbez approached Nat King Cole's manager backstage at the Lincoln Theater in Los Angeles, handed him a tattered copy of “Nature Boy“, and asked him to show it to Cole. However, his pleas were ignored and a disappointed ahbez left the sheet music of “Nature Boy“ with Cole's valet, Otis Pollard. From him, Cole came to know of the song and loved it. Cole began playing “Nature Boy“ for live audiences, and he received much acclaim. Irving Berlin, who was present during one of the performances, initially offered to buy the track from Cole, but Cole decided to record it for himself. He needed to get permission from ahbez, however, before releasing it as a single, but he was not able to find the songwriter since ahbez had disappeared without providing any contact details. After ahbez was discovered living under the Hollywood Sign, Cole got his permission and recorded the song. Nat's Snader telescription Nature Boy in 1951 captures a live performance that is distinct from his 1948 hit single. It was filmed back-to-back with Mona Lisa without even moving the stationary camera. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Global Juke // Global Chalet on: Youtube: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter:
