La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special "There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days" Edition

Alright kids, right now we're going to venture a little far afield from what are considered the traditional esthetic parameters of this here blog. But it's something I've wanted to do for pretty much as long as I've been your humble host, and since life is short, I'm gonna finally go for it.

I mean, what the hell...it's not like the Power Pop Police are gonna come after me.

So -- this leads us inexorably to today's business. To wit:

The greatest male vocalist, in any popular music genre, who made hit records in the second half of the 20th Century, was Nat "King" Cole.

Discuss.

And by discuss, we mean starting with yes or no, obviously.

In case you're wondering, I vote yes.

Why? Well, as you can plainly tell from that clip, Nat's magisterial phrasing and sheer vocal gorgeousness simply oozed soul, elegance and sex appeal. And he made it look and sound so easy it felt almost supernatural.

Plus, when he wanted to -- he rocked.

Fun fact: His 1957 recording of "When I Fall in Love" (i.e., the one above) reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1987, when it was re-released in reaction to a version by Rick Astley. Heh.

Okay, look, I'm being a little silly here deliberately; I'm aware that this is all subjective and that of course there's no one greatest singer (or guitarist or songwriter or group).

And "greatest"? What the hell does that even mean?

I mean, c'mon, I'm a professional.

But, and I say this as a life-long rock-and-roll chauvinist: Nat rules, okay?

So have a good time with this, won't you?

And have a terrific weekend, everybody!!!