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.
Ruby
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not always what you seem
And though my heart may break when I awake
Let it be so
I only know, Ruby, it's you
They say, Ruby you're like a song
You don't know right from wrong
But from the start, who stole my heart?
Ruby, it's you
I hear your voice and I must come to you
I have no choice what else can I do?
They say, Ruby you're like a flame
Into my life you came
And though I should beware
Still I don't care you thrill me so
The song 'Ruby' by Benny Carter is a love song that describes the singer's feelings for Ruby. The song begins by describing Ruby as a dream, someone who is not always what she seems to be. However, the singer is willing to go through the heartbreak because he knows that it's Ruby who makes his heart flutter the most. The words "Let it be so, I only know, Ruby, it's you" clearly indicate that the singer believes that Ruby is the one for him and nothing else matters.
The second verse of the song starts with a metaphor that Ruby is like a song who doesn't know right from wrong. The singer sees the pain in Ruby's eyes, and he realizes that Ruby loves him. However, she has a challenge differentiating between what's right and wrong. Even so, "who stole my heart? Ruby, it's you," again underlines the fact that it's Ruby's charm and personality that has the singer captivated. The singer further says that he cannot control himself around Ruby and always finds himself drawn to her.
Overall, the song is a declaration of love and admiration for Ruby. The singer is willing to risk everything, including his heart, for her. The intense emotions described in the song are representative of a classic love story, and the lyrics are beautifully written.
Line by Line Meaning
They say, Ruby you're like a dream
People describe you, Ruby, as a dream, but not always a reality.
Not always what you seem
They know that you are not transparent, that is why you are not always what they see.
And though my heart may break when I awake
Despite the risk of getting hurt, I won't resist you or my feelings for you.
Let it be so
I will let it happen, whatever may happen.
I only know, Ruby, it's you
I don't care about anything else but that it's you, Ruby.
They say, Ruby you're like a song
People describe you as a song that does not make sense or is trying too hard.
You don't know right from wrong
They think that you are often too naive to distinguish between good and bad.
And in your eyes I see heart aches for me
I notice a longing in your eyes that is only directed towards me.
But from the start, who stole my heart?
I fell for you from the beginning, Ruby. Who else could have stolen my heart?
Ruby, it's you
I cannot deny that it's you, Ruby, who makes me feel this way.
I hear your voice and I must come to you
When I hear you speak, I cannot resist being near you.
I have no choice what else can I do?
I am helpless and cannot choose but to come to you.
They say, Ruby you're like a flame
People describe you as a flame with intense energy and passion.
Into my life you came
You came into my life by surprise and I cannot ignore that.
And though I should beware
Even though I should be careful and cautious about you,
Still I don't care you thrill me so
I choose to ignore that and submit to the thrill of being with you, Ruby.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HEINZ ROEMHELD, MITCHELL PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind