Each month FT music critics and contributors discuss the story of a song, from its origins and early recordings through cover versions good and bad. Formerly called FT Arts.
Nat King Cole's 1948 hit made an unlikely celebrity of its back-to-nature songwriter, and established Cole's solo career - but, says Mike Hobart, it also lived through racial bigotry and legal action before covers by Sinatra, Bowie and Lady Gaga. Credits: The Restoration Project, Columbia Records, Interscope Records…read more