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.
What
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leading a life apart
When love flew in through my window wide
And quickened my hum-drum heart
Love flew in through my window
I was so happy then
But after love had stayed a little while
Love flew out again
What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?
I saw you there one wonderful day
You took my heart and threw my heart away
That's why I ask the Lawd up in Heaven above
What is this thing called love?
You gave me days of sunshine
You gave me nights of cheer
You made my life an enchanted dream
'Til somebody else came near
Somebody else came near you
I felt the winter's chill
And now I sit and wonder night and day
Why I love you still
In Benny Carter's song "What", the singer describes how love changed their life from boring and monotonous to something exciting and fulfilling. They metaphorically explain how love "flew in through [their] window wide and quickened [their] hum-drum heart." Love made them happy and gave them days of sunshine and nights of cheer. However, eventually, love flew out again, leaving the singer wondering what this mysterious thing called love is and why it can have such a hold on someone’s heart even after the other person has left.
The singer expresses confusion and frustration over love, asking who can solve its mystery and why it can make a fool of them. They describe how they saw the person who ended up breaking their heart and realizing how much they were in love with them. This person then left them, making they wonder why they still love them even when it is causing them heartache. The song is a classic example of a love song that captures both the joy and pain of falling in love, showing how it can change someone's life for better or for worse.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a hum-drum person
I was an ordinary and unremarkable person
Leading a life apart
Living a solitary and uneventful life
When love flew in through my window wide
When love unexpectedly entered my life and stirred my soul
And quickened my hum-drum heart
And enlivened my previously unexciting heart
Love flew in through my window
Love entered into my life
I was so happy then
I felt overjoyed at the time
But after love had stayed a little while
But eventually, love departed after a brief period
Love flew out again
Love departed just as quickly as it had arrived
What is this thing called love?
What is this elusive emotion known as love?
This funny thing called love?
This perplexing and unpredictable emotion called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Who has the ability to decipher love's enigma?
Why should it make a fool of me?
Why does it have to make me look foolish?
I saw you there one wonderful day
I caught a glimpse of you one beautiful day
You took my heart and threw my heart away
You captured my heart and then discarded it
That's why I ask the Lawd up in Heaven above
That's why I seek guidance from the Lord in Heaven above
What is this thing called love?
What is this mysterious yet powerful force called love?
You gave me days of sunshine
You brought light and happiness into my life
You gave me nights of cheer
You provided joy and merriment in my evenings
You made my life an enchanted dream
You made my life resemble a magical and enchanting fairy tale
'Til somebody else came near
Until someone else entered the picture
Somebody else came near you
Another person drew closer to you
I felt the winter's chill
I felt the coldness and emptiness that came with your departure
And now I sit and wonder night and day
And now I ponder and contemplate incessantly
Why I love you still
Why do I still love you despite everything?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@raffitorossian6994
Benny cCarter is a giant, virtuoso saxophonist. Thanks for uploading
@qwj68boots
Let's face it, this worldwide institution with its heroes as well as heroines is so grossly overlooked in this bloody country, the usa, it makes me ashamed to be a native here.
Benny Carter, Ben Webster and Colemen Hawkins should be as well known as led zeppelin, the beatles and rolling stones. And the Who!
FACTS.
@davidflaneau2810
We know, and Benny knew, and Ben and the Bean. And that's good enough fer nou.
@frankster713
Just wow !!!
@fabermunozgomez5012
Carter is greater with his style which is as ballads
@MarkyDoesLanguages
QUEUE THE BEBOP
@TylerJMartino
Gold. Genius. So talented.