Nat King Cole: If I Had You

During their 1940s heyday, the King Cole Trio swept up material with the tenacity of a Hoover (the vacuum cleaner, not the G-man) and the gilt touch of Midas (the king, not the muffler). From blues to bop, soft- shoe patter to hepcat jive, even light classical takeoffs, the KCT was cool, clean and clear as crystal. But what really put them over, and crowned Nat Cole King, was balladry. Roasting this particular 1928 chestnut on an open fire, they all but changed gray skies to blue, pledging: "There is nothing I couldn't do, if I had you."