My Mother's Records?

I put a question mark in the title above because I'm not sure which of my parents this record belonged to. Even though it always sat in the sideboard with the rest of my mother's albums I've a feeling it actually belonged to my Dad and he left it behind when he buggered off. My old man was a big fan of elegant Jazz pianists like George Shearing, Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck so in my mind I always thought of it as one of his records, but I could be wrong. I supposed I could clear that up by asking my mum but she'd probably think it was a bit peculiar me asking her who bought some record over 40 years ago. Besides, I don't want to ruin my cozy nostalgic impressions with inconvenient things like facts.

I used to think this was a 1950s album but it actually came out in December 1961 exactly one year after my parents got married so maybe the old man bought it as an anniversary present. It's romantic mood makes it perfect for lovey-dovey young newlyweds though my parent's marriage didn't exactly get off to an ideal start because, to tell a family secret, my mother was pregnant with my sister when they got married — something we didn't figure out until she turned 16 and the penny dropped that her birthday was only 6 months after their wedding anniversary. That was a bit of a shock I can tell you. Though I'm certain that wasn't the only reason they got married it does all sound a bit like "A Kind of Loving" with my dad in the Alan Bates role, in those days any bloke who got a girl in the family way bought himself an express ticket to the altar. There was another alternative of course, mum told us some in the family hinted she could try the "drink a bottle of gin and sit in a hot bath" way out of the situation which sounds like the shabby subplot of another 'kitchen sink' movie.

Still, this would have been just the right thing to put on the record player after the baby had gone to sleep for the night and my parents wanted to relax in their little council flat. Cole had a warm, milk chocolatey voice that could charm any woman out of her girdle and with Shearing's elegant piano and the silky strings it would make all your cares float away. I thought for a minute that I might have been conceived to this record but then I realized I was born only 8 months after it came out. That's another question I won't be asking my mother either.

Download: Let There Be Love - Nat King Cole with The George Shearing Quintet (mp3)
Download: Azure-Té - Nat King Cole with The George Shearing Quintet (mp3)
Buy: Nat King Cole Sings, George Shearing Plays (album)

PS: I wasn't the only one whose parents had a copy of this album.