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.
That
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That old black magic that you weave so well
Icy fingers up and down my spine
The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine
The same old tingle that I feel inside
When that elevator starts its ride
Down and down I go, 'round and 'round I go
I should stay away, but what can I do?
I hear your name, and I'm aflame
Aflame with such a burning desire
That only your kiss can put out the fire
You are the lover that I've waited for
The mate that fate had me created for
And every time your lips meet mine
Baby, down and down I go
All around I go, in a spin
Loving the spin that I'm in
Under that old black magic called love
The lyrics to Benny Carter's "That Old Black Magic" describes the power and influence a person's love has over the singer. The song is about an unnamed love interest who has this magical, almost spellbinding quality over the singer. Carter uses the metaphor of "black magic" to describe the power of love and how it can induce intense feelings and sensations, such as "icy fingers up and down my spine" and "the same old tingle that I feel inside."
The song's first verse sets the scene and introduces the main theme - the power of love to captivate and enchant. The second verse expands on this idea, comparing the sensation of the singer's love to the feeling of being pulled inexorably downward by the force of a tide. Finally, the third verse expresses the singer's desire and need for the love interest. The song ends on a triumphant note, with the singer reveling in the feelings evoked by the love magic, and acknowledging that they are caught up in it, possibly for good.
Line by Line Meaning
That old black magic has me in its spell
I am under the influence of the mysterious power of your love
That old black magic that you weave so well
The enchanting love that you create mesmerizes me
Icy fingers up and down my spine
An intense feeling of pleasure and excitement runs through my body
The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine
The same captivating gaze that you give me makes me surrender to love
The same old tingle that I feel inside
I still feel the same electrifying sensation that you give me
When that elevator starts its ride
My heart races with excitement when we are close
Down and down I go, 'round and 'round I go
My emotions take me on a dizzying ride that I can't control
Like a leaf that's caught in the tide
I am swept away by the force of your love
I should stay away, but what can I do?
I know I should resist, but I am powerless against the spell of your love
I hear your name, and I'm aflame
The mention of your name ignites a passionate fire within me
Aflame with such a burning desire
I am consumed by a strong longing for your love
That only your kiss can put out the fire
Only your love can satisfy the intense yearning that I feel
You are the lover that I've waited for
You are the one I have been waiting for to experience true love
The mate that fate had me created for
Destiny has brought us together as soulmates
And every time your lips meet mine
The moment our lips touch, a deep connection is created
Baby, down and down I go
I am completely lost in the depths of my feelings for you
All around I go, in a spin
My world seems to spin around you, as if you are the center of my universe
Loving the spin that I'm in
I am overwhelmed with love and joy in this intoxicating feeling
Under that old black magic called love
It is the indescribable power that love holds over us that creates this magic spell
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Greta
Te amo Benny Carter desde mi adolescencia. ¡GRACIAS!.
Henri de Lagardère
0:00 Berkeley Bounce + 5:30 Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You + 13:49 Robbins' Nest + 25:14 Eric's Blues + 32:41 Only Trust Your Heart + 41:38 My Kind of Trouble Is You