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.
Love Is Here To Stay
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
But our love is here to stay
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay
The lyrics of Benny Carter's song "Love Is Here To Stay" express a deep commitment to a long-lasting love that will endure through time. The first two lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics as the singer declares the certainty of the love they have found. The third line introduces a note of uncertainty as the singer acknowledges the transitory nature of the popular culture of the day – the radio, telephone, and movies – that could fade away with time.
However, the singer continues to affirm the strength of their love by emphasizing its endurance. The repeated refrain of "our love is here to stay" anchors the song, with the phrase gaining added weight and resonance each time it is repeated. The final lines of the song use a metaphor to further underscore the permanence of the love that is being celebrated. The Rockies and Gibraltar are both geological features that have long been seen as symbols of stability and permanence. By proclaiming that their love will outlast even these seemingly unshakeable structures, the song captures the depth of the singer's commitment and devotion.
Overall, "Love Is Here To Stay" is a song that celebrates the power of love to transcend the fleeting changes of the world around us. It offers hope and reassurance to those who have found a love worth holding onto, promising that such a love will endure no matter what.
Line by Line Meaning
It's very clear, our love is here to stay
It's indisputably certain that our love will endure
Not for a year but ever and a day
Our love will last not just for a short while but forever
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
The entertainment mediums that we engage with may lose their popularity over time
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
They could just be temporary pleasures that we may eventually lose interest in
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Despite uncertainties in life, our love stands strong
Together we're going a long, long way
We're in this for the long haul and have many happy years ahead
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
Even landmarks as solid as mountains and the Rock of Gibraltar will eventually erode and disappear
They're only made of clay
These monumental structures have simple origins and are subject to change
But our love is here to stay
Despite the transient nature of the world, our love is an unbreakable and permanent bond
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Benn
WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From a mad keen 74yo Aussie fan.