Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz… Read Full Bio ↴Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognised as such by other jazz musicians who called him King.

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.

Thou Swell
Benny Carter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Thou swell, thou witty
Thou sweet, thou grand
Wouldst kiss me pretty
Wouldst hold my hand

Both thine eyes are cute too
What they do to me?
Hear me holler I choose

A sweet lollapaloosa in thee

I'd feel so rich
In a hut for two
Two rooms and kitchen
I'm sure would do

Give me just a plot of
Not a lot of land
And thou swell, thou witty
Thou grand

Thou swell, thou witty
Thou sweet, thou grand
Wouldst kiss me pretty
Wouldst hold my hand

Both thine eyes are cute too
What they do to me?
Hear me holler I choose
A sweet lollapaloosa in thee

I'd feel so rich
In a hut for two
Two rooms and kitchen
I'm sure would do

Give me just a plot of
Not a lot of land

And thou swell, thou witty
Thou grand

Overall Meaning

In the song "Thou Swell," Benny Carter sings about the feeling of infatuation. He describes a person he is enamored with as being "witty," "sweet," and "grand," and he longs for this person to kiss him and hold his hand. The lyrics are playful and flirtatious, with the use of terms like "sweet lollapaloosa" and "cute eyes" adding to the overall charm of the song. Carter also paints a picture of a simple life with this person, where they would be content living in a small hut with just two rooms and a kitchen. He believes that all he needs is this person to feel happy and fulfilled.

Overall, "Thou Swell" is a delightful tribute to the feeling of being in love. The lyrics are simple but effective in conveying the emotions associated with infatuation. The playful language and upbeat melody make it a fun song to listen to, while the underlying message of finding happiness in the simple things in life is a comforting one.

Line by Line Meaning

Thou swell, thou witty
You are charming and clever

Thou sweet, thou grand
You are lovely and impressive

Wouldst kiss me pretty
Would you like to kiss me softly?

Wouldst hold my hand
Would you like to hold my hand?

Both thine eyes are cute too
Your eyes are also attractive to me

What they do to me?
Why do they have this effect on me?

Hear me holler I choose
Listen to me shout out that I want

A sweet lollapaloosa in thee
A wonderful time with you

I'd feel so rich
I would feel wealthy

In a hut for two
Even in a small home for only the two of us

Two rooms and kitchen
Only a couple of rooms and a kitchen