"Nature Boy" is a 1948 pop ballad by eden ahbez, who wrote both the music and the lyrics. Ahbez composed it in a cave near Palm Springs. The song is partly autobiographical and pays tribute to his mentor Bill Pester, who introduced him to Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophies. Its words relate to the Nature Boys of 1940s Los Angeles, a proto-hippie subculture of which Ahbez was a member.
Nat King Cole recorded it on August 22, 1947 at Capitol Studios with an orchestra conducted by Frank De Vol. In D minor, it follows an A-B form with ii-V-I harmony and a chromatic descent. Capitol released it as a single on March 29, 1948, during the AFM recording ban; it reached number one on the Billboard pop chart, sold a million copies in 1948 and was Billboard's top record of the year. Cole used its success to leave the King Cole Trio for a solo career.
Cover versions by Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan were successful, and later interpreters include Tony Bennett and David Bowie (Moulin Rouge!, 2001). The song also appears in films such as The Boy with Green Hair (1948), Untamed Heart (1993) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
