As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington's star trumpeter. Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone.
Carter began playing professionally at 15. He first recorded in 1928 and formed his first big band the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson in 1930 and 1931, then briefly led McKinney's Cotton Pickers before returning to lead his own band in 1932. The few recordings his band made between 1933 and 1934 are considered by most jazz scholars to be milestones in early swing arranging. They were sophisticated and very complex arrangements, and a number of them became swing standards which were performed by other bands ("Blue Lou" is a great example of this.) He also arranged for Henderson and Duke Ellington during these years and wrote two hits, "Blues in My Heart" and "When Lights are Low." By the early 1930s he and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto players of the day. Carter also quickly became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Also, in 1933, Carter took part in an amazing series of sessions that featured the British band leader Spike Hughes, who came to New York specifically to organize a series of recordings featuring the best Black musicians available. These 14 sides were only issued in England at that time, though they are available on CD and worthwhile looking for. (The musicians were mainly made up from member of Carter's band and from Luis Russell's.)
In 1935 he moved to Europe, where he became staff arranger for the British Broadcasting Corporation dance orchestra and made several records. He returned to the United States in 1938 and led a big band and sextet before moving to Los Angeles in 1943 to write for movie studios. Carter continued writing and performing into his 90s. He arranged for Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Sarah Vaughan, among many others.
His biggest hit was "Cow Cow Boogie", a song he co-wrote with Don Raye and Gene DePaul, which was a hit for Ella Mae Morse in 1942.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Carter was one of the first black men to compose music for films. He was an inspiration and a mentor for Quincy Jones when Jones began writing for television and films in the 1960s. Also in the 1940s, Carter's successful legal battles in order to obtain housing in then-exclusive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area made him a pioneer in an entirely different area.
He also appears uncredited in the 1952 film, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, as a sax player.
Carter was admired for his ability to write saxophone solis, which are sections of music that the entire section plays as one unit in the manner of a solo.
Carter was a member of the music advisory panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also a member of the Black Film Makers' Hall of Fame and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. Carter was also a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1996 and received honorary doctorates from Princeton, Harvard, Rutgers, and the New England Conservatory.
He died, aged 95, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles of what is thought to have been bronchitis.
Ain
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All by myself
No one to walk with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
I know for certain
I'm through with flirtin'
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
The lyrics of Benny Carter's Ain't Misbehavin' tell the story of a person who finds happiness in solitude, claiming to not have anyone to talk or walk with. However, the person declares their love for someone who they are certain about and who they have stopped flirting with. The lyrics compare the persona to Jack Horner, the nursery rhyme character who sat in a corner eating a Christmas pie, but the persona does not care because their love's kisses are worth waiting for. The lyrics also reveal that the persona does not like to stay out late and prefers to be at home listening to the radio. The persona affirms that they are not misbehaving and are instead saving their love for their significant other.
The song's primary message is that one does not need the company of others to be happy, especially if they have someone they love. The lyrics are a declaration of loyalty and commitment to a particular love interest. Further, by emphasizing the persona's loneliness, the lyrics suggest that being alone is not equivalent to being lonely. Remarkably, despite the song's apparent upbeat demeanor and comical undertones, the underlying message and the sentiments expressed in the lyrics are surprisingly poignant.
Line by Line Meaning
No one to talk with
I have nobody to speak with or share my thoughts and feelings.
All by myself
I am alone with no one else around.
No one to walk with
I have nobody to take a walk or journey with me.
But I'm happy on the shelf
Despite my lack of companionship, I am content to remain on my own.
Ain't misbehavin'
I am not acting wrongly or doing anything that could cause harm or shame.
I'm savin' my love for you
I am keeping my romantic feelings and emotions solely for you, because you are the one I care about.
I know for certain
I have complete and unwavering confidence in my understanding or knowledge of something.
The one I love
The person that I feel a deep, romantic attachment and affection for.
I'm through with flirtin'
I have no interest in casually flirting or engaging in romantic banter with anyone else.
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
All I can focus on and care about is you, my one true love.
Like Jack Horner
I am akin to Jack Horner, the nursery rhyme character who sat in a corner eating a pie, as I am alone and focused on my own pursuits.
In the corner
I am situated in a corner or isolated area, again like Jack Horner.
Don't go nowhere
I have nowhere else to be, nothing else to do or focus on beyond my love for you.
What do I care?
I do not care about anything else beyond my love for you.
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
The physical affections and intimacy that we share are precious and valuable to me, and I will wait for them as long as I need to.
Believe me
My words are genuine and sincere, and I want you to trust and have faith in my feelings.
I don't stay out late
I do not stay out late or engage in any activities that could distract from my love for you.
Don't care to go
I have no interest in going anywhere or doing anything beyond what is necessary to maintain my relationship with you.
I'm home about eight
I return home at a reasonable hour in the evening, without staying out too late and potentially causing any issues or disruptions.
Just me and my radio
I am alone with just my personal radio as entertainment, again highlighting my solitary status.
Ain't misbehavin'
I am still not acting wrongly or causing any harm or trouble, despite my solitary nature and love for you.
I'm savin' my love for you
Once again, I am keeping my love and affections solely for you, without any wandering thoughts or desires for anyone else.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Harry Brooks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Douglas Moura
0:00 Intro
0:43 Theme
1:23 Scott Hamilton's (tenor saxophone) solo
2:50 Joe Wilder's (trumpet and flugelhorn) solo
3:55 Ed Bickert (guitar) solo
4:58 Benny Carter (alto saxophone) solo
6:21 John Clayton's (bass) solo
7:24 Gene Harris' (piano) solo
8:48 Interlude
9:30 Theme
Douglas Moura
0:00 Intro
0:43 Theme
1:23 Scott Hamilton's (tenor saxophone) solo
2:50 Joe Wilder's (trumpet and flugelhorn) solo
3:55 Ed Bickert (guitar) solo
4:58 Benny Carter (alto saxophone) solo
6:21 John Clayton's (bass) solo
7:24 Gene Harris' (piano) solo
8:48 Interlude
9:30 Theme
Dan Raats
Thanks for the index. It's very helpful.
Bob Reich
I am 81 and I really love this music and the arrangement.
Diane Elder
@Paul Mirzakhanian You are one smart boy!
Nicki
Wow, that swings so hard!!! Gene Harris of course but the bass is awesome too!
Tom Kelly
You can tell right off that it is Gene Harris on piano nobody plays like him !
mike durell
@woro boro- Gene has a much better feel than O P >
woro boro
He had me fooled there for a moment at first, I was pretty sure the person playing the piano was Oscar Peterson .but then luckily I read the description
James Corbett Music
Was just about to post. Straight away, that’s gene Harris
Victoria Volpe
una de las mejores cosas que me enseñó Julio Cortázar, apreciar monstruos.