(This story was originally written and recorded for Retrocast 41, released on February 26, 2026.)
One of the most popular entertainers of the 1950s was Nat King Cole. He’s also one of my all-time favorites. I like to joke that he could sing the phone book and still sound great.
And for all those listeners who may be too young to know who he was, I would bet that you hear him singing The Christmas Song, aka Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire every year.
He was also the first African American to host a network television show, The Nat King Cole Show, which ran on NBC from November 5, 1956, through December 17, 1957. The show proved immensely popular, but in the days when a single corporation sponsored an entire show, NBC was unable to get a national sponsor, so Cole decided to pull the plug on the broadcast. It’s generally thought that advertisers worried about associating their products with a black artist, for fear of product boycotts in the segregated American South.
So, I thought I’d share with you a lesser-known Nat King Cole story, one that you may not have heard, but it clearly shows how dangerous it was to be an African American in the South in the 1950s, including one who was as famous as Nat King Cole.
An advertisement in the April 10, 1956, edition of the Birmingham News included a large photo of Cole and the following text:
2 Big Shows Tonight
For Whites 7:00 P.M.
For Colored 9:30 P.M.
In Person
Nat King Cole (additional acts were listed)
White Tickets Now On Sale at E.E. Forbes Co., 403 N. 20th St.
Prices: $2.00, $2.25, $2.50 (Tax Included)
Colored Tickets On Sale Now Temple Pharmacy
(Note: In 1956, Birmingham segregation laws prohibited the mixing of races at public gatherings.)
It was that first all-white show, with 3500 in attendance, that would make front-page news the following day.
While Cole was singing his second number, “Little Girl,” which he had first recorded with his King Cole Trio in 1947, there was a bit of a commotion at the main doors to the Memorial Auditorium. An usher overheard a man say, “Let’s go get that coon!”
Suddenly, a small group of men raced down the main aisle, hurtled some of the footlights that lined the front of the stage, and then jumped up on it. One of the men tackled Cole, who fell backward from his piano bench. His microphone then fell and hit him in the face.
Both uniformed and plain-clothed policemen, who had been stationed throughout the auditorium after receiving a number of threatening phone calls in the days leading up to the performance, surrounded the men and quickly got the situation under control. That’s when one of the assailants yelled out to the audience, “white trash.”
As Cole lay on the stage, the house lights were turned on, and the curtain was dropped. But as the suspects were being escorted off the stage, members of the audience mistook the plainclothes officers for the attackers and further confrontations took place.
Once the audience learned that Cole was okay, one man in the audience repeatedly yelled, “Tell him to come back out so we can apologize for what happened.”
Eventually, Cole returned to the stage and was greeted with nearly 10 minutes of applause. He told the audience, “I just came here to entertain you. That’s what I thought you wanted. I was born in Alabama.”
While there were repeated pleas for him to continue with his performance, he said he was unable to do so because he had back pain from the assault. He then exited the stage amid additional applause, where a doctor examined him and determined that Cole wasn’t seriously injured.
The all-white audience was then cleared from the building, but Cole did later return for his scheduled 9:30 show before an all-black audience, which went off without a hitch.
Police arrested six men in the attack, five of whom had driven more than 60 miles (97 km) from Anniston, Alabama, with the intent of stopping Cole’s performance.
The Anniston men were identified as:
Willis Vinson, 23
Edgar Vinson (brother), 25
Kenneth Adams, 35
Orlis Clevenger, 18
Mike Fox, 36
A search of their car uncovered brass knuckles, a homemade blackjack, and two 22-caliber rifles loaded with hollowed-out shells.
The men denied that they planned to use these weapons in the attack and insisted that they used the guns for hunting.
The five, plus a Birmingham man, Jesse W. Mabry, 43, were charged with intent to murder and sent to the County Jail.
After his Birmingham performance, Cole canceled appearances in three other cities: Greenville, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Raleigh, NC. He planned to resume his tour that Saturday in Norfolk, VA.
Cole made it clear that he was “not mad with anyone in the South,” and pointed out that he had appeared there “at least a half-dozen times before.”
He added, “The people of Birmingham were just great. I just hope that I can get back to Alabama again soon to sing. I know I have many friends in the state and I believe in them.”
As for the men who were arrested, four were found guilty of lesser charges and fined, then sentenced to 180 days in jail. Upon appeal, that was changed to a 180-day suspended sentence. The other two men were charged with assault and pleaded guilty to the charges. Kenneth Adams was fined $100 (~$1,200 today) for attacking an officer, while Willie Vinson was fined $50 (~$600 today) for attacking Cole.
