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Nat King Cole recorded the most beloved holiday song three times.

The Christmas Song was recorded in 1946, 1953, and 1961.

In 2004, the 1961 version was the most loved seasonal song with women between the ages of 30 and 49.

Cole pushed jazz piano in a new direction and paved the way for later generations of performers.

Tonight we meet a Broadway World nominee who pays tribute to Nat King Cole in his music legacy.

I'm so happy you're joining us.

From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to Everybody with Angela Williamson, an innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

Erin Akins is here with us.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

I'm grateful to be here.

You are going to grace us with your beautiful voice in the second segment.

But before we get there, I want us to get to know you.

So tell me a little bit about yourself.

Well, I'm from Chicago, Illinois, and at about 8 or 9 years old, I was playing outside of my, house out, out front.

And, there was a famous singing group that lived across the street from me.

And the name of the group is, called Heaven and Earth.

Oh, and I was singing.

Just playing.

I was just a baby.

And, they said, overheard me and said, oh, man, you can hoop.

And I said, what?

So, so so I found out later that hooping is a, slang way of saying you can really sing.

Wow.

Right.

So I didn't think much about that, and I didn't do much with that, in high school, because I was an athlete, I play sports, you know, I was a basketball player and ended up being the captain of basketball team, but when I got to college and I had to declare my major, you know, you you have to decide what you want to do.

So I thought I was going to do, like, physical therapy or physical education or something, or, you know, when you're trying to declare your majors, like, I guess I'll be a lawyer, or maybe I'll go into political science, but I said to myself, well, what I want to do, and this was probably the greatest thought that I ever had.

I decided that I wanted to do something that I loved.

If I was going to do something for the rest of my life, I would rather do something that I love.

Whether I made it or not.

And that's when I decided to major in music.

See, that's really interesting because you said, you know, you heard from this famous group that you definitely knew how to sing, and then you get to high school and you decide that you want to play basketball instead, but you never lost your love of music, is what you're telling me, right?

I never forgot that.

They told me that.

So when I got in college, I formed my first band with a guy named Darryl Jones.

And Darryl Jones is a bass player.

He was snatched out of that band by Miles Davis and then handed over to sting.

And now the Rolling Stones.

He's been playing with the Rolling Stones for over 20, 20 years, maybe 30.

Wow.

Okay, so you start a band in college?

Yeah.

Were you also still playing basketball at that time?

I played a little bit in college, but ultimately, because I was getting back down by six, five guards and I'm like 510.

I said, I don't think this is going to be it.

So no, no time, but time for change.

But you already had decided your majors almost had your change right there.

Right, right.

So I went complete Lee into music.

And you graduate from college with a degree in music, right?

What happens next with this?

You know, music business, which is really good.

So what happens to Aaron then?

Because.

Are you still in Chicago or are you out here?

No.

Let me back up.

Something interesting in college happen.

One of my professors, we.

He took us to a, music plant in Nashville to see how records were made.

And he put us all in a circle, and he said, I want all of you to drop out of school and go to where they're doing what you want to do.

If you want to sing, go to where they're singing, you want to write, go to where they're writing if you want.

And I thought that was.

A college professors telling you to.

Drop.

Out of school.

It was like the weirdest thing I ever heard, but I never forgot that.

I finished, I completed, I got my hundred and 20 credits to the, you know, for undergrad.

Yes, good for you.

But, I immediately came out to Los Angeles right after that, you know, after I complete it.

And, that's how I ended up in in Los Angeles.

What in?

What you're telling me is that even though you stayed, what he was doing was he was instilling in all of you.

If this is your passion, you need to follow it.

It doesn't matter what other distractions you have.

Could be college, but follow that without thinking about anything else.

Just go forward.

I mean, that's what I'm hearing that he's giving you as advice.

Yeah, he I think he he was saying just be around the people that are doing what you want to do.

And and, and I did.

A c go home for two months, decided to come out to California.

So you decided California instead of New York?

Yeah, because California is the entertainment capital of the world.

Well, I guess we are, aren't we?

Yeah.

Okay, so this makes sense.

So you get to California.

What's next for Aaron?

So I get to California, and, a lot of things happened.

my first big gig was opening for Bob Hope at the Hollywood Palladium.

You just walk into California just asking for one of the biggest stars ever to live.

That was interesting, right?

Yes.

To have that happen.

I also I also had a friend who here who was in the music department at Southern Illinois University named Darryl Fennessy, and he, he was already singing with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones and, yeah, he's the one who produced my first project.

Oh, wow.

And that first project.

Was it difficult for you, or did you feel that you were walking in the steps that was meant for Aaron?

I wouldn't say difficult because it goes back to it was, I was doing what I love doing, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

And so if you're doing what you love doing.

And that's the thing when I said I want to do what I love doing it, it's really not hard at that point if you love it.

And and, you know, I'm always asked if what would I say to a, you know, an independent artist coming up?

And I would say, if you don't have passion for it, you should get out, because without passion, something is going to distract you.

Something's going to stop you from getting where you want to go to.

But if you have passion, you'll find a way to make it work.

And I think that's the hardest for anybody, especially when someone's in any form of entertainment.

You already have the talent or you wouldn't be pursuing it.

But with that passion, do you think that just helps you to move forward when you hit roadblocks?

Because you're I know you had to hit some roadblocks coming out here.

Oh, God, I can't even tell you.

Right.

But yet you're here today.

So how does you think it was just that passion that helped you get through the roadblocks, or do you think.

I think it was just that.

I think with passion.

And, you'll find a way to to do what it is that you want to do, no matter what.

But you have to have the passion.

If you don't have the passion, you'll give up.

And I've seen many people give up.

And they have.

So my question for you and I know I'm putting you on the spot.

Tell me that one situation that you thought was a roadblock, but because of that passion, you found a way to get around it.

And that's why we're talking today.

One thing that was a roadblock.

Oh, God.

There were many things I know, you know, like, to to record you, you you have to have, a record deal.

Yeah.

For one.

And, so ultimately, I decided to start my own record company.

See?

So that's, that's the example I wanted to.

I'm just going to start my own company.

Yeah.

And then I'll be the first artist on the label.

But while people don't realize that, I mean, when you hit that obstacle or, you know, obstacles, roadblocks, they don't realize that you could go around that and still get what you want.

And and so did you tell somebody about that?

Because I love hearing these stories where people tell me, I told so-and-so and they thought, oh, this wasn't a good idea, or they gave me every everything I needed to start my own record label.

Well, well, at the time, I was actually a member of Screen Actors Guild because I'm also an actor.

I stumbled into acting.

Yes.

somehow, a roommate sent out a picture.

He said, you're, performing, you know, at night in clubs, on weekends and stuff, and you have, like, time to go and do, like, some extra work.

And I said, what's extra work?

Oh.

Oh, so, so then I didn't know.

Okay.

And he said, oh, it's the people that walk in the background and stuff.

I said, they pay people to do that.

He said, yeah.

So I started I did that a little bit and I said, no, this is not for me.

I got to get in SAG.

So I said, if I don't get in SAG soon, within, within a certain amount of, I put like a small amount of time on myself.

Okay.

And I see, I see your, your philosophy here.

You challenge yourself to get to that next step.

Yeah.

And I, I ended up in SAG.

I got into SAG.

Yeah.

And so do you think SAG helped give you that strength to say, I'm going to start my own record company?

Well, well, you.

Know, I'm going to keep coming back.

No no no no no.

This is interesting because it's Screen Actors Guild.

There's this company where the singers, you know, go to.

Okay.

Right.

And so the, the guy who was heading the, the, the, the portion for the singers, we became friends somehow.

And we got into a conversation and I was telling them about, you know, some pitfalls and things.

He said, why don't you.

That's when he said, why don't you start your own label?

I said, start my own label.

Oh, I supposed to start my own label?

He said, I'll help you.

So he gave me some tips and I got registered, blah, blah, blah.

And I released my first song and my first song, and it got on a compilation with Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri and Destiny's Child and Master P, and like all these big names because I, I, I said, I'm, I'm, Ricky, Brown, my name and my mother's maiden name.

I'm the director of promotions for Aaron Aikens.

So you found your way.

Oh my goodness.

Oh.

I hate to do this.

steer us off of that topic because that is just like.

But you know what?

That just means that our audience will have to find where you're playing next so they can hear more about the story.

But before we go to our break, at some point, Aaron, decides to sing songs of this great musician of all time.

So how does that happen?

Tell us a little bit about before we go into the break and come back to hear you sing.

Okay.

Well, I was, you know, going around LA kind of singing wherever I could, right.

And I would sing, I just happened to sing one of Nat King Cole songs, and I heard a whoosh over the audience like, oh, and I didn't know what was going on.

So when I got off, I just kept asking people, why, why, why is everybody going, And they said, you sound a lot like Nat King Cole.

And I said, okay, that's cool.

But I didn't really realize.

Right?

And, some people would say, you should record some Nat King Cole songs, and I and I would say, please get away from me.

No, that's not that.

I'm not.

No.

Because of my respect, my love and for Nat King Cole and appreciation and, So.

I went to the mausoleum where Nat King Cole is buried, and I said, Nat King Cole, do you think it's a good idea for me to record some of your songs?

And what I got was, yes, it's just carrying on my legacy.

I'm going to stop you right there, and we're going to take a break.

You are going to show us how you're carrying on his legacy.

Okay.

Aaron, that was wonderful.

Thank you.

Come back to here, Aaron saying Nat King Cole, favorite recorded song plus some of his own music.

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Today.

Ladies and gentlemen, Aaron Aikens.

I'm going to start off with the song you all know by my favorite artist, Nat King Cole, and it's called Mona Lisa.

Mona Lisa of Mona Lisa.

Men have named you.

You're so like the lady with the mystic smile.

Is it only cause you're lonely?

They have blamed you for that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile.

Do you smile to tempt a lover?

Mona Lisa.

Oh, is this your way to hide.

A broken heart?

Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep.

They just lie there.

All.

And they die.

They're all.

Are you one?

Are you really Mona Lisa?

Or just a cold.

And lonely, lovely work of, Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa?

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen.

I, a lot on keyboards.

Okay, I'm going to sing an original song for you, and it's called a lovely.

lovely.

And goes.

Like this.

one, two.

Three, four.

Where can I find a lovely.

lovely.

Thank you.

I'm sure that it's impossible to do.

Cos you are prettier than pretty.

How can I hold a lovely.

lovely then you.

I'm sure if I had searched the whole world through, I still have arms, but no one to cling to.

How can I dare to ever compare the stars eyes with your eyes.

When I hold the prize of this great universe.

Broad down to your size.

Nothing to do but keep my eyes forever on you.

My heart agrees.

No one can come up to a lovely are lovely.

Then you.

How can I dare to ever compare the stars with your eyes.

When I hold the prize of this great universe.

Broad down to your size.

Nothing to do but keep my eyes forever on you.

My heart agrees.

No one.

Can come.

Up to a lovelier lovely than you a lovely, a lovely within you a lovely, lovely.

Then you.

Thank you.

So my next and final song is called I Haven't Tried You.

It's also a song I wrote and composed and it.

Goes like one, two.

One, two, three.

I tried L.A Chicago to.

I tried New York, Las Vegas to woo.

I may rise to the top and that would be fine.

While I'm climbing to the top.

I might see friends of mine.

I have tried many things.

And they all were cool.

But there's one thing I haven't tried.

I haven't tried you.

I tried rosé, I tried Zinfandel to.

I tried champagne, tequila to blue.

I may rise to the top, and that would be fine.

And while I'm climbing to the top, I might see friends of mine.

I have tried many things and they all will come.

But there's one thing I haven't tried.

I haven't tried you.

I haven't tried you.

I want to try you.

I got to try you.

Thank you.

I think we are amazing.

So how can our audience support you?

Well, I'm going to be performing at, the Catalina Jazz Club coming up soon, and you can look, look me up, look, Google me or whatever.

And and I have, you know, I'm on all the streaming services, Spotify and blah, blah.

So I'll buy your music, go to your website and then come here.

You in person.

Yes.

Aaron Akins music.com.

Love it.

Love you so much.

And love you.

Thank you so much.

I want to hear keyboards.

Thank you.

So before we close it out why don't you start it and kick us out of here.

Oh my god.

Be.

And thank you for joining us on everybody with Angela Williamson.

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Hi, I'm Angela Williamson, host of Everybody with Angela Williamson.

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