Goodman was regarded by some as a demanding taskmaster, by others an arrogant and eccentric martinet. Many musicians spoke of The Ray, Goodman's trademark glare that he bestowed on a musician who failed to perform to his demanding standards. Anita O'Day and Helen Forrest spoke bitterly of their experiences singing with Goodman. "The twenty or so months I spent with Benny felt like twenty years," said Forrest. "When I look back, they seem like a life sentence." He could also be incredibly self-absorbed; it is reported that when eating an egg onto which a ketchup bottle cap had fallen, Goodman simply ate around it. At the same time, there are reports that he privately funded several college educations and was sometimes very generous, though always secretly. When a friend asked him why one time, he reportedly said, "Well, if they knew about it, everyone would come to me with their hand out."
Some suggest that Elvis Presley had the same success with rock and roll that Goodman achieved with jazz and swing. Without Goodman there would not have been a swing era. It is true that many of Goodman's arrangements had been played for years before by Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. While Goodman publicly acknowledged his debt to Henderson, many young white swing fans had never heard Henderson's band. While most consider Goodman a jazz innovator, others maintain his main strength was his perfectionism and drive. Goodman was a non - pariel virtuoso clarinetist and -along with only Artie Shaw, amongst the most technically proficient jazz clarinetists of all time.
Goodman is also responsible for a significant step in racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by the Jim Crow laws. Benny Goodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with him ] in the Autumn of 1936. He then added Lionel Hampton on vibes in December, 1936, and in the early Summer of 1939 he augmented the famous "quartette" with pioneering jazz guitarist Charlie Christian to his band and small ensembles, who played with him until his untimely death from tuberculosis less than three years later. To give an understanding of American history at this time, Goodman's integration of popular music happened ten years before Jackie Robinson entered Major League Baseball. "[Goodman's] popularity was such that he could remain financially viable without touring the South, where he would have been subject to arrest for violating Jim Crow laws." By the mid- Summer of 1941, Benny had hired the incomparably rhythmic and show-man drummer, legendary "Big Sid" Catlett, the (later) famous John Simmons on bass, and still possessed the incomparable Charlie Christian on electric guitar -plus Cootie Williams was in the middle of his one-year contract... This amounted to virtually one-quarter of the orchestra of black heritage, but of course -following Jimmy Munday and Fletcher Henderson (who also joined the band as pianist for 6 months in July, 1939) it was really an orchestrated white extension of black big band jazz -only, curiously -better.
This Can't Be Love
Benny Goodman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Because I feel so well
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs
This can't be love
I get no dizzy spells
My head is not in the skies
My heart does not stand still
This is too sweet to be love
This can't be love
Because I feel so well
I love to look in your eyes
I love to look in your eyes
This can't be love
Because I feel so well
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs
This can't be love
I get no dizzy spells
My head is not in the skies
My heart does not stand still
Just hear it beat
This is too sweet to be love
This can't be love
Because I feel so well
I love to look in your eyes
I love to look in your eyes
In Benny Goodman's song "This Can't Be Love," the lyrics express the disbelief and confusion about being in love, because the singer feels so good and doesn't experience any negative emotions like sobs, sorrows, or sighs. The lyrics also include the description of the physical sensations the singer feels without getting dizzy or feeling like their head is in the clouds. The singer's heart is beating normally, but they find themselves amazed that they are in love because they feel too good.
It seems that the singer is having some doubts about the nature of the emotions they are experiencing. The sweetness felt is too perfect to be love, and there's a sense of skepticism and confusion about the situation. This song showcases the way that love can be confusing and challenge our expectations about it. By using negative experiences as an anchor, the singer further questions the goodness of their current relationship, making it a complex expression of emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
This can't be love
I do not believe this feeling can be love
Because I feel so well
I am in a state of extreme happiness
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs
I do not experience any negative emotions
I get no dizzy spells
I do not feel lightheaded or disoriented
My head is not in the skies
I am not feeling overly romantic or dreamy
My heart does not stand still
My heart is beating strongly with excitement
Just hear it beat
My heart is audible and evident in my excitement
This is too sweet to be love
The intensity of this feeling is too great to be love
I love to look in your eyes
I enjoy gazing into your eyes deeply
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gyeongjeong9682
This can't be love, because I feel so well
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs
This can't be love
I get no dizzy spells
My head is not in the skies
My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat
This is too sweet to be love
This can't be love, because I feel so well
But still I love to look in your eyes
@dudley5533
Love this production with the wonderful vocal by Martha. The musical was terrific, it was made into a film also.
@luisvivanco6897
I remember when I first heard this song, it was in january 1974, I was almost sixteen. I went to one of Puerto Ordaz best record stores, in a commercial center where there was a Cinema Hall, in the midst of town. It was an album of two LP records, it cost me about 40 bolivares (about nine dollars at that time). It was my whole month allowance. But the whole month has given me almost half a century of enjoyment.
@marciajacobs1105
💗Thank you for preserving the best of the past!
@diegoss3563
Muchas gracias, me encanta Benny Goodman !
@gyeongjeong9682
This can't be love, because I feel so well
No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs
This can't be love
I get no dizzy spells
My head is not in the skies
My heart does not stand still, just hear it beat
This is too sweet to be love
This can't be love, because I feel so well
But still I love to look in your eyes
@khussein6409
beautiful!!!
@richarddowney1972
My mom and dad this 78 back in 1939. The year I was born !
@thetennissinologist
Tennis Hall of Fame player Alice Marble performed this song at the Sert Room of the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan back in December 1938. She won Wimbledon in 1939.
@scotnick59
"This can't be love because I feel SWELL" is what it sounds like
@clivsoph
Matrix BS 025901-1; recorded Oct 13, 1938, Chicago.