Nat the Cat
From 1953 to 1963, Nathaniel Lowery clocked two different ends of the workday schedule. During the day he helped his father in the Champion Fibre mailroom while at night he spun records as “Nat the Cat” at WWIT, Canton’s local radio station.
Every weekday from 5 to 6 p.m., Nat played songs from artists like The Platters, Jackie Wilson, Elvis, and The Temptations—music that folks from across the racial divide enjoyed despite the tensions of the era. He kicked off every show with the same rhyming banter: “For the next 55 we’ll fill in the jive to keep you mommy-oes and daddy-oes alive, so let’s cut the chatter and dig some of those cool Platters.” Nat also hosted a 90-minute Saturday program and an hour-long Sunday gospel music program. Listeners would call in requests from Asheville and as far as East Tennessee.
Nat the Cat entertained listeners from 1953 up until the station was sold ten years later. He died in 2008 at the age of 80.
Photograph courtesy of Canton Historical Museum
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