David Porter (born November 21, 1941) is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Porter was a 2005 inductee into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

, with catalog sales exceeding 400 million units. In 2015, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' listed him among the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He is best known for songwriting, having written

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (born 1935) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", "The ...

's " Soul Man" (1968 Grammy winner), and "

Hold On, I'm Comin' ''Hold On, I'm Comin is the 1966 debut album by Atlantic Records soul duo Sam & Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B Albums chart and number 45 on the ''Billboa ...

". His songs have been sampled in Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover" (1993 Grammy winner), and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

's " Gettin' Jiggy wit It" (1999 Grammy winner). He is also the founder of the Memphis-based Consortium MMT, a nonprofit organization seeking to develop the music industry in Memphis. Porter has over 1700 songwriter and composer credits for a range of artists, including Aretha Franklin, James Brown,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

, Tom Jones,

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

, Bonnie Raitt,

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

, Eminem,

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

and Eurythmics.

Biography

Early life

Porter was the ninth of 12 children born to James and Corean Porter in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, his second oldest brother was COGIC Bishop W. L. Porter (1925–2009). Porter's career began in music after singing in church, school, Memphis venues and competitions, often with close friend and classmate Maurice White, who later founded

Earth, Wind and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

. Porter graduated from Booker T. Washington High in 1961 and later attended LeMoyne College. While still a high-school student working at a grocery across from

Satellite Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

, he went over to find if the label would consider recording soul music. After meetings with Chips Moman, Porter became active at Satellite as a songwriter. With this role, Porter arranged for his friends and classmates to record for the Satellite label, including

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

, William Bell, and Andrew Love. Soon after, Satellite rebranded as Stax Records and redefined their focus to become a soul music label.

Stax career

Porter was the first staff songwriter at

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

and developed his skills in A&R and songwriting. In Porter's A&R capacity, he signed acts including

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Homer Banks Homer Banks (August 2, 1941 – April 3, 2003) was an African American songwriter, singer and record producer. Although best known by many for his songwriting for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s, some of his own releases from the 1960s are co ...

, The Soul Children and was a catalyst for bringing in Isaac Hayes as a writing partner. As house composers for

, Porter and Hayes penned most of

's hits, including " Soul Man", " I Thank You", " When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" and "

". They also wrote material for

Carla Thomas Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. Thomas is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (1 ...

("B-A-B-Y"),

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor ...

("I Got to Love Somebody's Baby" and "I Had a Dream"), and The Soul Children. Starting in the late 1960s, Hayes became increasingly focused on his own recording career, eventually leading to the end of the songwriting partnership. The Hayes-Porter duo composed 200 songs during their collaboration. Porter then began recording his own albums for Stax. He did a single for Stax itself in 1965, "Can't See You When I Want To", a remake of which became a Top 30 R&B hit for Porter. He cut several albums for Stax in the early 1970s, including a concept LP, ''Victim of the Joke?'' which includes an upbeat cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' "

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

". Also, he released on other labels under the pseudonyms Little David and Kenny Cain. Porter began working with songwriting partner Ronnie Williams, and later went on to engineer the brief relaunch of the Stax label in 1978, after the bankrupt label's assets were acquired by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its invest ...

. He and Hayes received Pioneer Awards from the

Rhythm and Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with en ...

in 1999.

Songwriters Hall of Fame

On June 9, 2005, Porter was inducted into the

alongside

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

, Steve Cropper,

Robert B. Sherman Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any ...

Richard M. Sherman Richard Morton Sherman (born June 12, 1928) is an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, "the Sherman Brot ...

, John Fogerty, and his longtime writing partner Isaac Hayes.

The Consortium MMT

In 2012, Porter founded The Consortium MMT, a 501(c) non-profit with the goal of developing a viable music industry in Memphis through structured teaching, experience and mentorship. Porter was awarded the 2013 Governor's Arts Award for his achievements including the founding and success of The Consortium MMT venture.Arnold, Tim
"Heart and Soul: Memphis Gets Its Mojo Back"
''HuffPost'', December 6, 2017.

Awards, honors and positions

Awards and honors

*Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee *''Rolling Stone'' 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time *Mr. David Porter Street honorary in Memphis, Tennessee *Grammy Awards and Nominations (various, over a 50-year span) *RIAA Certified One-Million Sales Award, Soul Man by Sam & Dave *Broadcast Music, Inc., Citation of Achievement 1969, Soul Man *Broadcast Music, Inc., Citation of Achievement, Dreamlover 1st Award *Broadcast Music, Inc., Citation of Achievement, Dreamlover 2nd Award *Broadcast Music, Inc., Citation of Achievement, Gettin' Jiggy Wit It *Broadcast Music, Inc., Pop Award *Rhythm and Blues "Pioneer Award" Winner, 1999 *The University of Memphis "Distinguished Achievement Award" In the Creative and Performing Arts, 1992 *The University of Memphis Board of Trustees Award, 2008 *The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Award of Appreciation *2013 Governor's Arts Award (awarded on basis of arts achievements and work with the Consortium MMT)

Boards, commissions and entrepreneurship

*Chapter President and National Trustee, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences *Chairman, Memphis/Shelby County Film, Tape and Music Commission *Member of the Board, Youth Villages *Trustee, University of Memphis Board of Visitors *Member of the Board, State of Tennessee Film/Music Commission *Member of the Board, TPC annual PGA golf event benefiting St. Jude Hospital *Member of the Board, Orpheum Theatre (Memphis) *Member of the Board, Memphis State Music Advisory Board *Director, Bank of Bartlett *Owner, Da Blues (blues club) at Memphis International Airport *Owner, IPR Records *Owner, Robosac Music, LLC (music publishing company) *Investor, Xsite (Memphis, Little Rock) *Investor/Partner B.B. Kings Blues Club (Memphis, Los Angeles)

Stax-era discography (1965–74)

Songwriting and production with Isaac Hayes

*1965: "Candy", by the Astors *1965: "You Don't Know Like I Know", by

*1966: "Let Me Be Good to You", by

*1966: "B-A-B-Y", by Carla Thomas *1966: "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)", by Mabel John *1966: "

", by Sam & Dave *1967: " When Something is Wrong with My Baby", by Sam & Dave *1967: " Soul Man", by Sam & Dave *1968: " I Thank You", by Sam & Dave *1969: "So I Can Love You", by

(production only) *1969: "The Sweeter He Is", by The Soul Children *1969: "Soul Sister Brown Sugar", by Sam & Dave

Albums

''All albums issued on

' Enterprise label.'' *1970: ''Gritty, Groovy, & Gettin' It'' *1971: ''...Into a Real Thing'' *1973: ''Victim of the Joke? An Opera'' *1974: ''Sweat & Love''

Singles

''All singles issued on

' Enterprise label unless otherwise noted.'' *1965: "Can't See You When I Want To" b/w "Win You Over" (Stax) *1970: "One Part Love, Two Parts Pain" b/w "Can't See You When I Want To" *1971: "If I Give It Up, I Want It Back t. I b/w "If I Give It Up, I Want It Back t. II *1972: "Ain't That Loving You (for More Reasons Than One)" b/w "Baby I'm-a Want You" (with Isaac Hayes) *1972: "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over" b/w "

Hang On Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached ...

" *1972: "When the Chips Are Down" b/w "I Wanna Be Your Somebody" *1973: "Long as You're the One Somebody in the World" b/w "When You Have to Sneak, You Have to Sneak" *1974: "I Got You and I'm Glad" b/w "Falling Out, Falling In"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, David 1941 births Living people American funk musicians American soul musicians Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Stax Records artists