Hittin’ The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)

by Nat King Cole

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Released in partnership with the Nat King Cole estate, Resonance Records’ HITTIN' THE RAMP: THE EARLY YEARS (1936-1943) is the first large-scale collection of the pivotal early recordings (1936-1943) of Nat’s 29-year recording career. Most tracks are receiving their first official release in this meticulously restored set of original live-to-disk recordings.

This definitive limited-edition 10LP 180-gram collection draws upon a wide range of sources, including many newly-discovered tracks unearthed for the first time from archives located all over the world, such as “Trompin” (jukebox-only release for Cinematone, 1939), “What’cha Know Joe" (undocumented radio performance, 1940 -- now the earliest known recording of Nat "on the air"), “The Romany Room is Jumpin’” (private recording, 1941) and “Beautiful Moons Ago” (longer alternate take, 1943). Sessions include Nat at age 17, playing piano in his brother’s band in Chicago, 1936; the first King Cole Trio recordings from 1938, made for radio broadcast only, for Standard Transcriptions; further radio transcription sessions for Standard, Davis & Schwegler, Keystone, plus his first (uncredited) session for MacGregor, with vocalist Anita Boyer; the Ammor Records Session (Spring 1940 - the first commercial-release sessions for the trio), the Decca Recordings (1940-41), the small-label sessions for Excelsior and Premier labels (1943), many previously-uncirculated Armed Forces Radio performances, and, with producer Norman Granz at the helm, early jazz sessions with Lester Young (Granz historic, first session as a producer) and Dexter Gordon, originally released on Philo and Mercury, respectively.

Boasting an extensive 14-page insert with rare photographs; essays by acclaimed author Will Friedwald and guitarist Nick Rossi (with a special focus on Oscar Moore); plus interviews and testimonials from Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Michael Feinstein and many others.

Hittin' the Ramp features new remastering from original source disks transferred for this set from a number of personal collections and from the archives at University of California - Santa Barbara, The Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the CU Boulder American Music Research Center, and the Library of Congress.

Celebrate Nat King Cole's centennial in 2019 with this definitive early years multi-disc box set. This is the origin story of a great artist just as he was just “hittin’ the ramp,” launching a distinctive style that would quickly become famous the world over.

** Please note the digital version consists of 150 tracks. Both CD and LP box sets contain 183 tracks.

Includes unlimited streaming of Hittin’ The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

ships out within 3 days

$69.99 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Released in partnership with the Nat King Cole estate, Resonance Records’ HITTIN' THE RAMP: THE EARLY YEARS (1936-1943) is the first large-scale collection of the pivotal early recordings (1936-1943) of Nat’s 29-year recording career. Most tracks are receiving their first official release in this meticulously restored set of original live-to-disk recordings.

This definitive deluxe 7CD collection draws upon a wide range of sources, including many newly-discovered tracks unearthed for the first time from archives located all over the world, such as “Trompin” (jukebox-only release for Cinematone, 1939), “What’cha Know Joe" (undocumented radio performance, 1940 -- now the earliest known recording of Nat "on the air"), “The Romany Room is Jumpin’” (private recording, 1941) and “Beautiful Moons Ago” (longer alternate take, 1943). Sessions include Nat at age 17, playing piano in his brother’s band in Chicago, 1936; the first King Cole Trio recordings from 1938, made for radio broadcast only, for Standard Transcriptions; further radio transcription sessions for Standard, Davis & Schwegler, Keystone, plus his first (uncredited) session for MacGregor, with vocalist Anita Boyer; the Ammor Records Session (Spring 1940 - the first commercial-release sessions for the trio), the Decca Recordings (1940-41), the small-label sessions for Excelsior and Premier labels (1943), many previously-uncirculated Armed Forces Radio performances, and, with producer Norman Granz at the helm, early jazz sessions with Lester Young (Granz historic, first session as a producer) and Dexter Gordon, originally released on Philo and Mercury, respectively.

Boasting an extensive 56-page booklet with rare photographs; essays by acclaimed author Will Friedwald and guitarist Nick Rossi (with a special focus on Oscar Moore); plus interviews and testimonials from Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Michael Feinstein and many others.

Hittin' the Ramp features new remastering from original source disks transferred for this set from a number of personal collections and from the archives at University of California - Santa Barbara, The Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the CU Boulder American Music Research Center, and the Library of Congress.

Celebrate Nat King Cole's centennial in 2019 with this definitive early years multi-disc box set. This is the origin story of a great artist just as he was just “hittin’ the ramp,” launching a distinctive style that would quickly become famous the world over.

** Please note the digital version consists of 150 tracks. Both CD and LP box sets contain 183 tracks.

Includes unlimited streaming of Hittin’ The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

ships out within 3 days

$39.99 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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$39.99 USD or more

1.	Mutiny in the Nursery (1938, Standard transcription) 02:52 video	buy track
2.	F.D.R. Jones (1938, Standard transcription) 03:10	buy track
3.	The Sheik of Araby (1938, Standard transcription) 02:17	buy track
4.	The Blue Danube (1938, Standard transcription) 02:50	buy track
5.	Button, Button (1938, Standard transcription) 02:52	buy track
6.	Jingle Bells (1938, Standard transcription) 02:34	buy track
7.	Swannee River (1938, Standard transcription) 02:28	buy track
8.	With Plenty of Money and You (1938, Standard transcription) 02:15	buy track
9.	Don’t Blame Me (1938, Standard transcription) 02:26	buy track
10.	Lullaby in Rhythm (1938, Standard transcription) 02:48	buy track
11.	Dark Rapture (1938, Standard transcription) 03:13	buy track
12.	The Wiggly Walk (1938, Standard transcription) 02:54	buy track
13.	Flea Hop (1938, Standard transcription) 02:43	buy track
14.	Chopsticks (1938, Standard transcription) 02:45	buy track
15.	Patty Cake, Patty Cake (1938, Standard transcription) 02:43	buy track
16.	Blue Skies (1938, Standard transcription) 02:09	buy track
17.	Liza (1938, Standard transcription) 02:58	buy track
18.	Three Blind Mice (1938, Standard transcription) 02:08	buy track
19.	Caravan (1938, Standard transcription) 02:17	buy track
20.	There’s no Anesthetic for Love (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 03:13	buy track
21.	Dixie Jamboree (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 03:04	buy track
22.	Ta-De-Ah (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:39	buy track
23.	Riffin’ at the Bar-B-Q (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:05	buy track
24.	Harlem Swing (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:30	buy track
25.	I Lost Control of Myself (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 03:16	buy track
26.	The Land of Make Believe (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:52	buy track
27.	That Please-be-Mine-able Feeling (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:15	buy track
28.	Dancing in the Street (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 03:09	buy track
29.	You’re So Different (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 03:02	buy track
30.	I Wouldn’t Have Known It (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:33	buy track
31.	Let’s Get Happy (1939, Davis & Schwegler transcription) 02:18	buy track
32.	Undecided (1939, Standard transcription) 02:26	buy track
33.	‘Taint What You Do (1939, Standard transcription) 02:53	buy track
34.	Do You Wanna Jump, Children? (1939, Standard transcription) 02:46	buy track
35.	Riffin’ in F Minor (1939, Standard transcription) 02:06	buy track
36.	Ol’ Man Mose Ain’t Dead (1939, Standard transcription) 03:30	buy track
37.	Blue Lou (1939, Standard transcription) 03:01	buy track
38.	Honey (1939, Standard transcription) 02:11	buy track
39.	Russian Lullaby (1939, Standard transcription) 02:07	buy track
40.	Georgie Porgie (1939, Standard transcription) 02:23	buy track
41.	The Limp (1939, Standard transcription) 02:52	buy track
42.	Snug as a Bug in a Rug (1939, Standard transcription) 02:35	buy track
43.	Liebestraum (1939, Standard transcription) 03:23	buy track
44.	Fidgety Joe (1939, Standard transcription) 02:57	buy track
45.	Two Against One (1939, Standard transcription) 03:00	buy track
46.	Some Like it Hot (1939, Standard transcription) 03:09	buy track
47.	Crazy Rhythm (1939, Standard transcription) 02:00	buy track
48.	Moonglow (1939, Standard transcription) 02:57	buy track
49.	Don’t Let That Moon Get Away (1939, Standard transcription) 02:45	buy track
50.	My Blue Heaven (1939, Standard transcription) 01:36	buy track
51.	I Was Doing All Right (1939, Standard transcription) 02:17	buy track
52.	I Can’t Get Started (1939, Standard transcription) 02:41	buy track
53.	Old Man Moon (1939, Standard transcription) 02:16	buy track
54.	Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (1939, Standard transcription) 02:14	buy track
55.	Moon Song (1939, Standard transcription) 03:09	buy track
56.	Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home (1939, Standard transcription) 02:20	buy track
57.	Rosetta (1939, Standard transcription) 02:11	buy track
58.	Trompin’ (1939, Standard transcription) 02:46	buy track
59.	You’re My Life (1939, Standard transcription) 02:54	buy track
60.	Hoy Soy (1939, Standard transcription) 02:33	buy track
61.	Take ‘Em (1939, Standard transcription) 02:24	buy track
62.	Scategoria (1939, Standard transcription) 02:32	buy track
63.	Rhythm Serenade (1939, Standard transcription) 02:35	buy track
64.	Rib Town Shuffle (1939, Standard transcription) 02:46	buy track
65.	Music’ll Chase Your Blues Away (1939, Standard transcription) 02:01	buy track
66.	I’ll Gather Up My Memories (1939, Standard transcription) 03:34	buy track
67.	A Fool’s Affair (1939, Standard transcription) 03:34	buy track
68.	Jump, Jack, Jump (1939, Standard transcription) 02:47	buy track
69.	I Knew a Time (1939, Standard transcription) 03:05	buy track
70.	Mine You’ll Always Be (1939, Standard transcription) 03:18	buy track
71.	Doin’ the Bow Wow (1939, Standard transcription) 02:44	buy track
72.	Lilla Mae (1939, Standard transcription) 02:18	buy track
73.	I Like to Riff (1940, Ammo, master take) 02:49	buy track
74.	On the Sunny Side of the Street (1940, Ammo, master take) 02:55	buy track
75.	Black Spider Stomp (1940, Ammo, master take) 02:40	buy track
76.	By the River St. Marie (1940, Ammo, master take) 02:25	buy track
77.	Slew Foot Joe (1940, Standard transcription) 02:14	buy track
78.	1-2-3-4 (1940, Standard transcription) 02:09	buy track
79.	Crazy ‘Bout Rhythm (1940, Standard transcription) 02:05	buy track
80.	Off the Beam (1940, Standard transcription) 02:18	buy track
81.	King Cole Blues (1940, Standard transcription) 02:07	buy track
82.	Jivin’ With the Notes (1940, Standard transcription) 02:01	buy track
83.	Never Mind, Baby (1940, Keystone transcription) 01:45	buy track
84.	I’m a Perfect Fool Over You (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:38	buy track
85.	Lovely Little Person (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:23	buy track
86.	Love Me Sooner (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:32	buy track
87.	Sentimental Blue (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:47	buy track
88.	Goin’ to Town with Honey (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:23	buy track
89.	Syncopated Lullaby (1940, Keystone transcription) 01:51	buy track
90.	Falling in and Out of Love (1940, Keystone transcription) 01:50	buy track
91.	Let’s Do Things (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:03	buy track
92.	Jumpy Jitters (1940, Keystone transcription) 01:51	buy track
93.	Nothing Ever Happens (1940, Keystone transcription) 02:38	buy track
94.	What’cha Doin’ to My Heart (1940, Keystone transcription) 01:35	buy track
95.	Bedtime (1940, Standard transcription) 02:44	buy track
96.	Honey Hush (1940, Standard transcription) 02:18	buy track
97.	French Toast (1940, Standard transcription) 02:17	buy track
98.	Vine Street Jump (1940, Standard transcription) 02:43	buy track
99.	B Flat (1940, Standard transcription) 02:32	buy track
100.	You Send Me (1940, Standard transcription) 02:11	buy track
101.	Love is My Alibi (1940, Standard transcription) 03:13	buy track
102.	Pogo Stick Bounce (1940, Standard transcription) 02:19	buy track
103.	Whatcha’ Know, Joe? (1940, unreleased radio broadcast) 02:36	buy track
104.	Jumpin’ with the Mop (1941, Standard transcription) 02:26	buy track
105.	Jam Man (1941, Standard transcription) 02:05	buy track
106.	Let’s Try Again (1941, Standard transcription) 03:05	buy track
107.	Fudge Wudge (1941, Standard transcription) 03:52	buy track
108.	Smokey Joe (1941, Standard transcription) 02:00	buy track
109.	Windy City Boogie Woogie (1941, Standard transcription) 02:26	buy track
110.	Ode to a Wild Clam (1941, Standard transcription) 02:26	buy track
111.	Let’s Try Again (1941, MacGregor transcription) 03:09	buy track
112.	Whatcha’ Know, Joe? (1941, MacGregor transcription) 02:13	buy track
113.	Lazy River (1941, MacGregor transcription) 01:46	buy track
114.	Georgia on My Mind (1941, MacGregor transcription) 02:45	buy track
115.	Old Rockin Chair (1941, MacGregor transcription) 03:12	buy track
116.	A Little Jive is Good for You (1941, MacGregor transcription) 03:40	buy track
117.	You’ve Changed (1941, MacGregor transcription) 03:04	buy track
118.	The Romany Room is Jumpin’ (1941, unreleased private recording) 02:37	buy track
119.	Hip, Hip, Hooray (1943, AFRS Jubilee #5) 02:25	buy track
120.	I Know That You Know (1943, AFRS Jubilee #5) 02:09	buy track
121.	I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town (1942 or 1943, Live from the 331 Club) 03:44	buy track
122.	Pitchin’ Up a Boogie (1943, Excelsior master take) 03:14	buy track
123.	I’m Lost (1943, Excelsior master take) 03:19	buy track
124.	Beautiful Moons Ago (1943, Excelsior master take) 02:27	buy track
125.	Let’s Spring One (1943, Excelsior master take) 02:43	buy track
126.	Slender, Tender, and Tall (1943, AFRS Jubilee #29) 02:06	buy track
127.	Solid Potato Salad (AFRS Jubilee #36) 02:09	buy track
128.	F.S.T. (Fine, Sweet & Tasty) (1943, Premier master take) 03:07	buy track
129.	Got a Penny (1943, Premier master take) 02:36	buy track
130.	Let’s Pretend (1943, Premier master take) 03:18	buy track
131.	My Lips Remember Your Kisses (1943, Premier master take) 03:10	buy track
132.	I’m an Errand Boy for Rhythm (1943, AFRS Jubilee #51) 01:50	buy track
133.	Straighten up and Fly Right (1943, AFRS Jubilee #51) 02:45	buy track
134.	By the River St. Marie (1938 Standard transcription) 02:12	buy track
135.	I Like to Riff (1939, Standard transcription) 02:33	buy track
136.	Black Spider Stomp (1939, Standard transcription) 02:56	buy track
137.	Sweet Lorraine (1939, Standard transcription) 03:23	buy track
138.	Early Morning Blues (1940, Standard transcription) 02:55	buy track
139.	Gone with the Draft (1940, Standard transcription) 02:22	buy track
140.	Trompin’ 01:48	buy track
141.	Scotchin’ with the Soda (1941, Standard transcription) 02:27	buy track
142.	Gone with the Draft (1941, Standard transcription) 02:28	buy track
143.	The Romany Room is Jumpin’ (1941, unreleased private recording, alternate take) 02:33	buy track
144.	Hit That Jive, Jack ( 1942, AFRS Mail Call #16) 02:18	buy track
145.	Beautiful Moons Ago (1943, Excelsior alternate take) 03:36	buy track
146.	Honeysuckle Rose (1943, AFRS Jubilee #29) 03:20	buy track
147.	I Know That You Know (1943, AFRS Jubilee #36) 02:53	buy track
148.	Solid Potato Salad ( AFRS Command Performance #87) 02:14	buy track
149.	My Lips Remember Your Kisses (1943, Premier alternate take) 03:07	buy track
150.	Straighten up and Fly Right (1943, AFRS Personal Album #227) 02:52	buy track

about

Released in partnership with the Nat King Cole estate, Resonance Records’ HITTIN' THE RAMP: THE EARLY YEARS (1936-1943) is the first large-scale collection of the pivotal early recordings (1936-1943) of Nat’s 29-year recording career. Most tracks are receiving their first official release in this meticulously restored set of original live-to-disk recordings.

This definitive 7CD and limited-edition 10LP 180-gram collection draws upon a wide range of sources, including many newly-discovered tracks unearthed for the first time from archives located all over the world, such as “Trompin” (jukebox-only release for Cinematone, 1939), “What’cha Know Joe" (undocumented radio performance, 1940 -- now the earliest known recording of Nat "on the air"), “The Romany Room is Jumpin’” (private recording, 1941) and “Beautiful Moons Ago” (longer alternate take, 1943). Sessions include Nat at age 17, playing piano in his brother’s band in Chicago, 1936; the first King Cole Trio recordings from 1938, made for radio broadcast only, for Standard Transcriptions; further radio transcription sessions for Standard, Davis & Schwegler, Keystone, plus his first (uncredited) session for MacGregor, with vocalist Anita Boyer; the Ammor Records Session (Spring 1940 - the first commercial-release sessions for the trio), the Decca Recordings (1940-41), the small-label sessions for Excelsior and Premier labels (1943), many previously-uncirculated Armed Forces Radio performances, and, with producer Norman Granz at the helm, early jazz sessions with Lester Young (Granz historic, first session as a producer) and Dexter Gordon, originally released on Philo and Mercury, respectively.

Boasting an extensive 56-page (CD) and 14-page (LP) booklet with rare photographs; essays by acclaimed author Will Friedwald and guitarist Nick Rossi (with a special focus on Oscar Moore); plus interviews and testimonials from Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Michael Feinstein and many others.

Hittin' the Ramp features new remastering from original source disks transferred for this set from a number of personal collections and from the archives at University of California - Santa Barbara, The Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the CU Boulder American Music Research Center, and the Library of Congress.

Celebrate Nat King Cole's centennial in 2019 with this definitive early years multi-disc box set. This is the origin story of a great artist just as he was just “hittin’ the ramp,” launching a distinctive style that would quickly become famous the world over.

** Please note the digital version consists of 150 tracks. Both CD and LP box sets contain 183 tracks.

credits

released November 1, 2019

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about

Nat King Cole Chicago, Illinois

Nat King Cole, legendary vocalist, pianist, and actor, can now be appreciated in a brand new way thanks to the work of Resonance Records and the Nat King Cole Estate. Born in 1919, Cole began his career by joining his older brother Eddie Cole on two recordings for Decca. This sparked a lasting career as a recording artist, performer, film actor, and television host. ... more

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