Betty Carter (1929–1998) was a prominent U.S. jazz singer, renowned for her… Read Full Bio ↴Betty Carter (1929–1998) was a prominent U.S. jazz singer, renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style. Carter expanded the role of the vocalist in jazz, to a full, improvising member of the band. Although her voice was not as admired by the public as such vocalists as Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald, many consider her to have exercised mastery of the human voice previously unheard in jazz. Carmen McRae once claimed that "there's really only one jazz singer - only one: Betty Carter."

Carter was born Lillie Mae Jones on 16th May 1929 in Flint, Michigan and grew up in Detroit, where her father led a church choir. She studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory. She won a talent contest and became a regular on the local club circuit, singing and playing piano. When she was sixteen, she sang with Charlie Parker. She later performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis and toured with Lionel Hampton (from whom she received the nickname "Betty Bebop"), when she perfected her scat singing of bebop.

Her career was eclipsed somewhat during the 1960s and 1970s, though a series of duets with Ray Charles in 1961, including the R&B-chart-topping "Baby, It's Cold Outside", brought her a measure of popular recognition. She recorded for various labels during this period, including Peacock, ABC-Paramount, and Atco, but was rarely satisfied with the resulting product. An episode in which a record company A&R man tried to abscond with a set of her master recordings led her to establish her own record label, Bet-Car, in 1970. Some of her most outstanding recordings were first issued on Bet-Car, including the double album The Audience with Betty Carter (1980). She was well-received at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1977 and 1978. In 1987 Carter signed with Verve Records. She won a Grammy in 1988 for her album Look What I Got! and sang in a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in that year.

She died on 26th September 1998.

Old Devil Moon
Betty Carter Lyrics

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I look at you and suddenly
Something in your eyes I see
Soon begins bewitching me
It's that old devil moon
That you stole from the skies
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

You and you glance make this romance

Too hot to handle
Stars in the night
Blazing their light
Can't hold a candle
To your razzle-dazzle

You've got me flyin' high and wide
On a magic carpet ride
Full of butterflies inside
Wanna cry, wanna croon
Wanna laugh like a loon
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

Just when I think
I'm free as a dove
Old devil moon

Deep in your eyes
Blinds me with love

Overall Meaning

The song "Old Devil Moon" by Betty Carter and Ray Bryant is a passionate ode to the intense, irresistible power of love. The lyrics describe the experience of falling under the spell of someone's gaze, as the "old devil moon" in their eyes bewitches the singer and sets their sould ablaze. The intense emotions of the moment are likened to a blazing star, burning too brightly for the singer to resist, and the object of their desire is described as having a "razzle-dazzle" allure that captivates them completely.

The lyrics also touch on the experience of being overwhelmed by love, as the singer describes feeling like they are flying on a "magic carpet ride" full of butterflies and intense emotions. The complexity of the singer's feelings is also highlighted, as they describe wanting to cry, croon and laugh all at once, under the power of the old devil moon in their lover's eyes. The final stanza of the song sums up the message perfectly, describing how even when the singer thinks they are free from the spell, the old devil moon returns to blind them with love once again.

Old Devil MoonBetty Carter Lyrics

Old Devil Moon
Betty Carter Lyrics