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.
I Ain
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me to save my tears
Well I'm so mad about him
I can't live without him
Never treats me sweet and gentle
The way he should
I've got it bad
My poor heart is so sentimental
Not made of wood
I've got it so bad
And that ain't good
But when the fish are jumpin'
And Friday rolls around
My man an' I, we gin some
We pray some, and sin some
He don't love me like I love him
The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good
Yes I've got it bad
And that ain't good
The lyrics of Benny Carter's "I Ain't Got It Bad" describe a woman's unrequited love for a man who does not treat her properly. Although others suggest she should move on and not waste her tears on him, she cannot help but feel deeply attached to him. Her "poor heart" is "so sentimental," indicating that she is extremely emotional and that her feelings for this man run deep. Despite his lack of affection, the woman holds onto a hope that their relationship will improve, as evidenced by their habitual "praying" and "sinning" together.
The song's focus on romantic rejection and the pain of unrequited love is a common theme in jazz music. It speaks to the enduring human experience of unfulfilled yearning and the struggle to reconcile with the reality of a situation. The lyrics suggest that while others may believe that the woman's feelings are misplaced, her love for this man is powerful and difficult to turn away from.
Line by Line Meaning
Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears
Although well-meaning individuals advise me to keep my emotions in check.
Well I'm so mad about him I can't live without him
I am angry and obsessed with him, to the point where I cannot fathom living without him.
Never treats me sweet and gentle The way he should
He fails to treat me with the affection and care that I deserve.
I've got it bad And that ain't good
I am suffering greatly because of this love, and the situation is not ideal.
My poor heart is so sentimental Not made of wood
My emotions are intense and deeply ingrained, I cannot simply shrug this off.
I've got it so bad And that ain't good
Once again, my present state of longing and suffering is far from desirable.
But when the fish are jumpin' And Friday rolls around My man an' I, we gin some We pray some, and sin some
Despite our problems, we find solace in each other, especially on weekends when we drink, pray, and do some questionable things.
He don't love me like I love him The way he should
He fails to reciprocate my strong feelings for him and treat me in the manner that I think is appropriate.
I've got it bad And that ain't good
Once again, my present state of longing and suffering is far from desirable.
Yes I've got it bad And that ain't good
To drive the point further, I once again assert the undesirable nature of my current emotional state.
Lyrics © GUY WEBSTER/WEBSTER MUSIC , Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EDWYN STEPHEN COLLINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Phil Dipper
This is a song you must here. The movie it came from was great as well and ahead of its time.
Phil Dipper
You must listen to this song! You won't regret it. Classic JAZZ at it's best!!!!!!!
K92FM 92.1
I must agree. Ahead of it's time. I think this was done in 1966. The movie scene was memorable.