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.
Gee
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a girl that's good and true
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
Bought you a fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
A big Cadillac car
It's love that makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
What makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a guy that's good and true
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
Fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
A big Cadillac car
And everything
There's nothing in the world that I wouldn't do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
What makes me treat you the way I do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
There's nothing in the world
Too good for a girl that's good and true
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
Fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
Big Cadillac car
And everything
It's love that makes me treat you the way that I do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
The lyrics to Benny Carter's song "Gee" are a declaration of love and gratitude towards the singer's partner. Throughout the song, the singer asks their partner whether they appreciate the way they are treated, to which they respond with the repeated phrase "Gee, baby ain't I good to you." The singer lists the extravagant gifts they have given their partner, including a fur coat for Christmas, a diamond ring, and a big Cadillac car, all of which they claim were motivated by love.
However, the singer reiterates that it is not just material possessions that make them a good partner, but their love and devotion towards their partner. The song suggests that the singer's expressions of love are genuine, and that they truly believe they are being a good partner by providing for and loving their significant other. Overall, the song expresses a sense of appreciation and love towards one's partner and the lengths one is willing to go to show that love.
Line by Line Meaning
What makes me treat you the way I do
I'm curious why I act towards you the way I do
Gee, baby ain't I good to you
Wow, I treat you well
There's nothing in the world
Absolutely nothing
Too good for a girl that's good and true
That's how great you are
Bought you a fur coat for Christmas
I got you a luxurious gift for the holiday
A diamond ring
I gave you something precious and beautiful
A big Cadillac car
I got you a fancy automobile
And everything
All the other nice things I have given you
It's love that makes me treat you the way I do
My strong affection for you is why I behave kindly
There's nothing in the world that I wouldn't do
I care for you so much that I would go to any lengths to make you happy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Andy Razaf, Don Redman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind