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.
When Your Lover Has Gone
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That comes with each new love affair
The dreams that we cherish, so often might perish
And leaves you with castles in air
When you're alone, who cares for starlit skies
When you're alone, the magic moonlight dies
At break of dawn, there is no sunrise
What lonely hours, the evening shadows bring
What lonely hours, with memories lingering
Like faded flowers, life can't mean anything
When your lover has gone
The song "Lover in 2-3" by Benny Carter (as) paints a picture of the pain and loneliness that comes along with a failed love affair. The lyrics suggest that despite all the scheming, planning, and dreaming that goes into a new relationship, things may not always work out as planned. The dreamlike vision that we hold in our hearts when we fall in love can quickly fade away, leaving us with nothing but empty castles in the air. The song speaks of the sadness and loneliness that takes over when a lover leaves, leaving one feeling isolated and alone.
As the song progresses, the lyrics delve deeper into the heartache and loneliness that come with a lost love. The starlit skies and magic moonlight no longer hold any meaning when you're alone. Dawn brings no light or solace, and the memories of love linger on like faded flowers. The pain feels all-encompassing, and life loses all meaning without the presence of the lover.
Overall, "Lover in 2-3" is a poignant and emotional song that speaks to the heartache that comes with a failed love affair.
Line by Line Meaning
What good is the scheming, the planning and dreaming
That comes with each new love affair
What is the use of making plans and having dreams when starting a new relationship?
The dreams that we cherish, so often might perish
And leaves you with castles in air
The dreams that we hold so dearly frequently do not come true, and only leave us with unrealistic expectations.
When you're alone, who cares for starlit skies
When one is alone, the beauty of the starry sky goes unappreciated.
When you're alone, the magic moonlight dies
The enchantment of moonlight fades away when someone is by themselves.
At break of dawn, there is no sunrise
The beginning of each day is not met with its usual splendor and brightness when someone is heartbroken.
When your lover has gone
The feeling of emptiness and sorrow that arises when a lover leaves.
What lonely hours, the evening shadows bring
The long hours of loneliness brought on by the darkness of the night.
What lonely hours, with memories lingering
The lonely moments when one cannot forget the memories of love that remain.
Like faded flowers, life can't mean anything
Just as flowers fade, life loses its beauty and significance when a lover departs.
When your lover has gone
The refrain reminds the listener of the sense of loss and emotional pain when a lover has left.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EINAR AARON SWAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind