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.
Come On Back
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We broke the ties that bind
I wanted to forget you
And leave the past behind
Still, the magic on the night I met you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
The sky was blue and high above
This eager heart of mine was singing
Lover, where can you be?
You came at last; love had its day
That day is past; you've gone away
This aching heart of mine is singing
Lover, come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do, I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue, the night is cold
The moon is new, but love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover, come back to me
When I remember every little thing
You used to do, I grow lonely
Every road I walk along
I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely
The sky is blue, the night is cold
The moon is new but love is old
And while I'm waiting here
This heart of mine is singing
Lover, come back to me
Benny Carter's "Come On Back" is a heart-wrenching ballad that speaks of a love lost and a longing for it to return. The song starts with the singer reminiscing about the past and how they let go of their love. However, the memories of the night they met continue to stay with them, and they find it difficult to move on. The lyrics then express the heartache of missing someone and the pain of loneliness that comes with it. The singer cannot stop thinking about their lover and the little things they used to do together, reminding them of the love they once shared. The song ends with a plea for the lover to come back.
The lyrics of this song paint a vivid picture of heartbreak, loss, and longing. The singer expresses their emotions through words that are relatable and conscious of the fact that, unfortunately, love isn't always forever. The use of metaphors such as the sky being blue, the night being cold, and love being old add to the emotional depth of the song. The repetitiveness of the lyrics, "Lover, come back to me," emphasizes the desperation and longing in the singer's heart, making the listener feel the same emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away; I let you
I didn't try to stop you when you left
We broke the ties that bind
We ended our relationship
I wanted to forget you
I wished to erase any memory of you
And leave the past behind
I wanted to move on from what we had
Still, the magic on the night I met you
The special feeling I had when I first saw you
Seems to stay forever in my mind
I will never forget the moment we met
The sky was blue and high above
The sky was a clear blue when we met
The moon was new and so was love
It was a new and exciting feeling to fall in love with you
This eager heart of mine was singing
My heart was full of joy and excitement
Lover, where can you be?
I didn't know where you were
You came at last; love had its day
You finally returned, and we were together again
That day is past; you've gone away
But now, that time has passed and you're gone again
This aching heart of mine is singing
My heart is hurting and I feel alone
Lover, come back to me
I want you back in my life
When I remember every little thing
When I think about all the things we used to do together
You used to do, I'm so lonely
I feel a sense of loneliness and sadness
Every road I walk along
No matter where I go
I walk along with you
I feel like you're still with me
No wonder I am lonely
It's not surprising that I feel alone
The sky is blue, the night is cold
The weather reflects the way I feel
The moon is new, but love is old
Although time has passed, my love for you hasn't changed
And while I'm waiting here
As I sit here and wait for you
This heart of mine is singing
My heart is full of longing and desire
Lover, come back to me
I need you back in my life
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind