Nearly 75 years after its debut, a classic Nat King Cole track is finally getting a music video. “Unforgettable,” which Cole recorded on August 17, 1951 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, has officially debuted a new animated video. The new music video comes in time not just for the track’s landmark 75th anniversary, but in time for Black Music Month as well.
Widely considered one of Cole’s signature recordings, the original string-accompanied piano ballad captures a master at the height of his powers. Now, the classic will be paired with an animated video from French-American animator and illustrator Nevil Bernard, who has previously created clips for other iconic artists like The Rolling Stones, Nina Simone, and Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck. The new “Unforgettable” clip is inspired by the Japanese art form of ikebana, or floral arranging. The animation moves through the four seasons as flowers bud and bloom and evergreen trees dominate. Throughout it all is a hand-drawn impression of Cole’s unmistakable silhouette, highlighting the elements of change and how Cole’s music has transcended through time. Bernard’s animation gives fans a new interpretation of a classic track while also preserving what they’ve always loved about it.
Written by Irving Gordon and arranged by Nelson Riddle, “Unforgettable” was released in October of 1951 and eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2000. Cole’s daughter Natalie also famously recorded the song as a duet with her father’s recording.
This is just one of Cole’s classic tracks to have recently received a new music video. Last year, his song “Orange Colored Sky” also got a watercolor-style visualizer. Before that, his tracks “I Don’t Want To See Tomorrow” and “When I Fall In Love” also received new visuals. Some of Cole’s best-known music has also been given special reissues over the past year, with his famous song “L-O-V-E” getting a reissue as the International L-O-V-E EP, which features Cole singing the track in Spanish, Japanese, Italian, French, and German as well as the original English.
