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.
Just Friends
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just friends, but not like before
To think of what we've been and not to kiss again
Seems like pretending it isn't the ending
Two friends drifting apart
Two friends, but one broken heart
We loved, we laughed, we cried, and suddenly love died
The lyrics of Benny Carter and Oscar Peterson's song "Just Friends" lament the end of a romantic relationship and the transition to a platonic friendship. The first line, "Just friends, lovers no more," sets the tone for the rest of the song, which speaks to the awkwardness and sadness of trying to maintain a friendship after a breakup. The singer reflects on the memories of their past romantic connection, acknowledging that it's difficult to resist the temptation to kiss again or hold on to the feeling of love. However, the singer also suggests that denying the end of the relationship and trying to sustain something that has already ended can feel like pretending.
The second stanza of the song emphasizes the disparity between the two friends, with one holding onto feelings of sadness and heartbreak while the other has moved on. The final line, "suddenly love died," encapsulates the sense of loss and confusion that often accompanies the end of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Just friends, lovers no more
Although we used to be lovers, we are now merely friends.
Just friends, but not like before
We are still friends, but our relationship has changed.
To think of what we've been and not to kiss again
Remembering our past as lovers, but not being able to share a kiss again.
Seems like pretending it isn't the ending
It feels like we're pretending that our relationship hasn't ended.
Two friends drifting apart
Our relationship as friends is slowly coming to an end.
Two friends, but one broken heart
Although we are still friends, one of us is hurting from the end of our romantic relationship.
We loved, we laughed, we cried, and suddenly love died
We had a deep emotional connection, but our love for each other suddenly ended.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOHN KLENNER, SAM M. LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sgendr010000
Best version ever. Everyone's perfect. I listened to that song the first time in the plane 10 years ago and today still find it wonderful after all these years. Thanks Oscar and friends !
@michaelchapman4955
One of the best jazz standards 'ever... the late Med Flory & Supersax take on "Just Friends" a must hear if you haven't...... They were based in LA but appeared All over the map & planet..... 'got goose-flesh whenever I caught em in a jazz dive'......
@DaveSolazzo
i love this! i has this record as a kid and i saw oscar with this same band (minus benny carter) at the blue note in nyc in october of 1986, about a month before this record was recorded. i was 13 years old at the time and had the best seat in the house. i could have reached out and touched the keys as oscar was playing them. i still remember that night like it happened yesterday!
@hisongpark
Great music from giants!
@anthonyjackson9460
PERFECTION!!!! `nuff said.!
@mariewynn1655
Wowwww! You are right Anthony Perfect! Love this one!!
@petedigons998
I've listened to every jazz piece imaginable in my years, and even play a little myself. But I have to say that in my opinion, that guitar solo ranks as one of the greatest, tastiest, bebop guitar solos in jazz history. Every note is perfection and in it's ideal place. I remember first hearing this on the radio in Oakland, 89' when I was living on Aileen Street and I was so blown away by this solo I started laughing myself to tears. I list have replayed it a thousand times. Truly inspiring.
@afpseb4582
My first international flight as a teenager beyond the clouds
@gordonwellard1415
Wow...have to go and lie down now after hearing this...
@richardcastle1267
very cool...