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.
Give Me Something To Remember You By
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you are far away from me
Just a little something, meaning love cannot die
No matter where you chance to be
So I'll pray for you, night and day for you
It will see me through like a charm 'til you return
So give me something I can remember you by
So I'll pray for you, every single day for you
It will see me through like a charm until you return
Give me something, something to remember you by
When you are far away from me
In Benny Carter's song Give Me Something To Remember You By, the singer is in love with someone who is leaving and they want something to hold on to until they come back. The lyrics are pleading with the person to give them anything they can use to remember them while apart. This is shown in "give me something to remember you by when you are far away from me," which highlights the feeling of distance and separation. The use of the phrase ‘love cannot die’ is interesting, highlighting the idea of eternal love, a love that will survive time and distance.
The singer’s love is so strong that they will pray for their love every night and day until they return, suggesting that praying for someone is a potent act of love that can act as a lucky charm to comfort the singer until their beloved returns. The repetition of the phrase, ‘give me something to remember you by’ emphasizes the importance of this request. The song portrays the nostalgia that comes with separation, the longing to hold onto something physical and to feel a sense of closeness.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, give me something to remember you by
Requesting a memento or a memory that will keep them connected even when apart
When you are far away from me
When distance makes it impossible to be together
Just a little something, meaning love cannot die
A token of affection that signifies the permanence of their love
No matter where you chance to be
Even if circumstances or fate separates them, their love will endure
So I'll pray for you, night and day for you
Promising to engage in constant spiritual communion for the well-being of the other person
It will see me through like a charm 'til you return
Believing that prayer will serve as a shield or a charm that will protect them until they can be reunited
So give me something I can remember you by
Reaffirming the need for a tangible reminder or keepsake to sustain their love in absence
So I'll pray for you, every single day for you
Repeating the promise to maintain constant spiritual communion and intercession
It will see me through like a charm until you return
Relying on the power of prayer to act as a protective agent until they can be physically reunited
Give me something, something to remember you by
Restating the need for a tangible object or memory that represents their bond in separation
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BENNY GOODMAN, EDGAR SAMPSON, CHICK WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind