For years the Trio did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people. We practically starved to death.
- Nat King Cole Quote

I am an American citizen and feel I am entitled to the same rights as any other citizen.
- Nat King Cole Quote

I am famous because I am an African American jazz artist.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

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..
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

I'm in the music business for one purpose - to make money.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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.
- Nat King Cole Quote

It's not the people in the South who create racial problems - it's the people who are governing.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

Primarily I'm a meat man, although once in a while I toy with a few vegetables.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

The people who know nothing about music are the ones always talking about it.
- Nat King Cole Quote

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

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.
- Nat King Cole Quote

There's just one thing I can't figure out. My income tax!
- Nat King Cole Quote