Lou Carter

Lou Carter
Background information
Birth nameLouis Carter
Born(1918-09-15)September 15, 1918
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedSeptember 25, 2005(2005-09-25) (aged 87)
Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentPiano
LabelsArbors, Chesky

Louis Carter (September 15, 1918 – September 25, 2005) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and songwriter.[1][2][3] He had a long yet low-profile career.

Biography

Carter played in various big bands, especially those led by Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Gray. In 1946, he founded the trio "The Soft Winds" together with Herb Ellis and Johnny Frigo.[4][5] The group recorded on the Majestic and Mercury labels and wrote a number of hits, among them are "I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out" and "Detour Ahead".[6][7] The latter became the jazz standard and was played by such prominent musicians as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald,[8] Irene Kral, Stan Getz, and Woody Herman.

After the trio disbanded in 1950,[9] Carter was a sideman for various bands and worked on two of Buck Clayton's studio albums. A reunion of the Soft Winds occurred during the 1995 Floating Jazz Festival. The double album Then and Now...: The Soft Winds, 1946–1996 was released. The album included previously unreleased radio recordings from 1947 to 1948 and 11 new tracks.[10]

Carter also had a side career as a performer of novelty songs, in the persona of "Louie the Singing Cab Driver." Bronx-accented Louie was a regular on The Perry Como Show in the 1950s, and recorded an album in 1957 titled Louie's Love Songs.[11] Tracks included "If I Had a Nose Full of Nickels" and "The Murials on the Wall."[12] Louie Writes Again followed in 1958, containing songs like "I Don't Talk Very Good" and "Her Toot'brush Was Gone."[13]

A longtime resident of Bloomfield, New Jersey, Carter died at the age of 87 at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

  • How Deep Is Which Ocean? (1960)
  • Louie Writes Again (1958)
  • Louie's Love Songs (1957)

Songs

References

  1. ^ Berg, Chuck (December 1994). "Johhny Frigo". JazzTimes. JazzTimes, Inc.: 16. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  2. ^ Shemin, Craig (1 October 2022). Sam and Friends - The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show. BearManor Media. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  3. ^ Dicaire, David (22 October 2010). Jazz Musicians of the Early Years, to 1945. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7864-8556-7. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. ^ Feather, the late Leonard; Gitler, Ira (1 April 2007). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-988640-1. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  5. ^ "The Soft Winds Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  6. ^ Wong, Herb; Fingerote, Paul Simeon (27 April 2016). Jazz on My Mind: Liner Notes, Anecdotes and Conversations from the 1940s to the 2000s. McFarland. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-4766-2547-8. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  7. ^ Ruppli, Michel; Novitsky, Ed (1993). The Mercury Labels: The 1945-1956 era. ABC-CLIO. p. 746. ISBN 978-0-313-29031-2. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  8. ^ Johnson, J. Wilfred (5 August 2010). Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb. McFarland. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-7864-5039-8. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  9. ^ "THE SOFT WINDS". JazzMusicArchives.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  10. ^ Yanow, Scott. "The Soft Winds - Then and Now: The Soft Winds, 1946-1996 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  11. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Louie's Love Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lou Carter – Louie's Love Songs". Discogs. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "Lou Carter – Louie Writes Again". Discogs. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "Louis Carter", Glen Ridge Voice, October 6, 2005. Accessed July 19,2023, via Newspapers.com. "A Mass for Louis Carter, 87, of Bloomfield was offered Sept. 28 in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Bloomfield, after the funeral from the Biondi Funeral Home of Nutley. Mr. Carter died Sept. 25 in Mountainside Hospital, Glen Ridge.... Born in Newark, he lived in Bloomfield for 41 years."