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.
Where Are You?
Benny Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I am a fool for beauty
Fooled by a feeling that because I have found you
I could have bound you too
You are too beautiful for one man alone
For one lucky fool to be with
When there are other men
Love does not stand sharing
Not if one cares
Have you been comparing
My every kiss with theirs
If, on the other hand, I'm faithful to you
It's not through a sense of duty
You are too beautiful
And I am a fool for beauty
Love does not stand sharing
Not if one cares
Have you been comparing
My every kiss with theirs
If, on the other hand, I'm faithful to you
It's not through a sense of duty
You are too beautiful
And I am a fool for beauty
The lyrics of Benny Carter and His Orchestra's song "You Are Too Beautiful" convey the singer's deep admiration and infatuation with someone they find incredibly attractive. The opening lines, "You are too beautiful, my dear, to be true," express the singer's awe and disbelief at the sheer beauty of the person they are addressing. They confess that they are a "fool for beauty," suggesting that the person's beauty has a powerful effect on them, leading them to act foolishly.
The singer acknowledges that they were fooled by a feeling that because they have found this person, they could possess and bind them. This suggests a sense of possessiveness as well as a realization that the person's beauty might attract the attention of others. They recognize that the person is too beautiful to be exclusively claimed by one person, saying, "You are too beautiful for one man alone." They acknowledge the fact that there are other men who, like them, have eyes to see and appreciate the person's beauty.
The lyrics also touch upon the idea of fidelity and the singer's devotion to the person. They imply that love is not built on sharing, and it cannot withstand comparison. The singer questions whether the person has been comparing their every kiss with others, highlighting their insecurities regarding their own ability to measure up to the beauty they see in the person. However, they assure the person that their faithfulness is not born out of duty but rather because they truly believe the person is too beautiful and they are willingly foolish for beauty.
Overall, the lyrics of "You Are Too Beautiful" explore themes of admiration, possessiveness, insecurity, and the irrationality of love when faced with extraordinary beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
You are too beautiful, my dear, to be true
You are incredibly stunning, my beloved, almost unreal in your beauty
And I am a fool for beauty
I am easily deceived by the allure of beauty
Fooled by a feeling that because I have found you
Misguided by the notion that just because I have discovered you
I could have bound you too
I could have possessed you exclusively
You are too beautiful for one man alone
Your beauty surpasses what one man can fully appreciate
For one lucky fool to be with
Only one fortunate fool can be in your presence
When there are other men
Considering there are other men
With eyes of their own to see with
Who possess their own visual perception
Love does not stand sharing
Love cannot tolerate being shared
Not if one cares
Especially if one truly cares
Have you been comparing
Have you been measuring me against
My every kiss with theirs
Every kiss I give against the kisses they offer
If, on the other hand, I'm faithful to you
However, if I remain loyal to you
It's not through a sense of duty
It is not out of obligation
You are too beautiful
Your beauty is truly extraordinary
And I am a fool for beauty
And I am easily enchanted by beauty
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
richanton
What an incredible performance by miss Peggy Lee. A great way to end a recording career. I love this! Thanks for posting it.
Noreen Jackson
I always loved Peggy. She was soulful and swung as well.
Vic Glazer
As brilliant as she was....right up to the end, you can hear the tiredness in her voice. What a grand lady!
John Eunson
what can you say about this lady? a consumate professional until the end. the voice is less dynamic but, oh, all the expression, the tenderness....... thank you so much for posting this. it is even mentioned in this months mojo magazine.
Jean-Claude Poitras
What a class act, full of emotion and un certain je ne sais quoi... unique, comme un supplément d" âme.
Jakab Laszlo
There was only one Peggy lee her memory will live forever!