Wyatt Ray, NFL prospect, reflects on the legacy of his grandfather Nat King Cole

Wyatt Ray’s grandfather sang for presidents, broke color barriers and made Capitol Records a music industry giant. His aunt won Grammys.

And while Nat King Cole has been dead for more than 50 years and Natalie Cole died in 2015, Ray still feels a deep emotional bond with them.

“Sometimes, if I really listen to the lyrics, yeah I definitely feel that some of the things he’s saying apply directly to my life,” said Ray, a defensive end/outside linebacker who is projected as a late-round pick in the NFL Draft in April. “Sometimes to just hear his voice, turn the music on and kind of close my eyes and relax, there’s a spiritual connection there.”

When his aunt died on New Year’s Eve 2015, Ray stood in her home in Los Angeles and thought about all the things he wished he’d asked her about the journey to greatness.

“He said, ‘I just want to be great like (her),'” said Ray’s mother, Casey Ray, who was only 3 years old when her father succumbed to lung cancer. St. Patrick’s Day will mark his 100th birthday and his music has been undergoing a revival of late. “The Christmas Song” was downloaded more than ever in 2018, and numerous tributes to Cole will be released this year.

Ray chuckles when asked if he thinks his grandfather’s hit, “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” is a message directed at him.

“Yeah, anytime I get up in the morning and you get up like it’s just another day … sometimes you have to straighten up and go to work,” Ray said.

The path to being unforgettable is not easy.

Ray’s late-round projection is inauspicious, but he believes that greatness is part of his very soul, passed down through his family in the form of some wonderful genetic mutation.

“I definitely feel that way,” Ray said. “There’s something in me that wants to be great.”

As Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said when told of Ray’s lineage, “He’s royalty.”

Cole endured indignities throughout his career, including threats upon him and his family after moving to Los Angeles.

His life is now the subject of a play, “Lights Out,” starring actor Dulé Hill at The Geffen Playhouse Theater in Los Angeles.

“There is so much more to the man than his songs,” said Hill, who recently finished his run playing Cole at the Geffen. “What is it like to have your dog poisoned just because you want a place for your family? What is it like to have a bullet through your window just because you want a safe place for your family, a wonderful place for your family? What is it like going to your homeowners associations and have them talk about undesirables moving into their neighborhood and they’re talking about you? Mr. Cole was so elegant, the way he say and did this and that … but it cost him to do that.”

Cole recorded a string of hits during his career, including “Smile,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Unforgettable.” He was also the first black man to host his own television show and became so popular that Robert F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and California Governor Pat Brown were among a who’s who of entertainers and dignitaries who served as his pallbearers after he died of lung cancer in 1965, at age 46.

Natalie Cole’s career took off in the 1970s, hitting high points with the hit “This Will Be” and the famed interactive duet with her father’s video recording of “Unforgettable.” She died on New Year’s Eve in 2015 of congestive heart failure.

While the stories of his grandfather and aunt are plentiful, Ray has usually tried to downplay the relationship.

“It’s not something I like to talk about much. What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, I’m the grandson of Nat King Cole,’” Ray said. “I love that I have those people in my family and I want to live up to that, but I want to make a name for myself.”

Ray has that chance now as the NFL Draft approaches in April. Ray sat down with FanSided to discuss his grandfather and aunt’s legacy and the impact it has had on his life.