Robert George Porter (4 June 1941 – 16 December 2021) was an Australian country and pop-rock musician, producer and record label owner. Beginning in 1959, he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

instrumentals or covers of country-style vocals. On the local Sydney music charts, he provided four top ten hits including two No. 1 hits with "Si Senor" and "

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing (then still Peking, in English) during the Boxer Uprising, which took place in China in the summer of 1 ...

". From 1970, Porter ran an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, Sparmac, and produced three LPs for Daddy Cool. Porter received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) at the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by c ...

for "service to the music industry as a producer, writer and performer".

Life and career

Porter was born in 1941 and raised in

Ashfield, New South Wales Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about eight kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. Ashfield's population is highly multicultural with the majority of the area's d ...

, a suburb of Sydney. He reluctantly took

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

lessons from the age of eight – he wanted to play

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

instead. Sydney TV show ''

Bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

'' featured hits from the UK and US played by Australian artists. As Rob E.G., Porter made his TV debut in 1959 performing the

instrumental "

Sleep Walk "Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was record ...

" (originally by

Santo & Johnny Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descent from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) and Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941). They are known best for their instrum ...

); he was soon signed to Rex Records and became a ''Bandstand'' regular. His first single, "

Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancée ...

", a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of the

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

hit, appeared in February 1960. In 1961, after receiving severe spinal injuries in a car accident, he adapted his playing style and continued to record. Top ten hits in Sydney include, instrumentals "Si Senor (I Theenk)" which peaked at No. 1 in May 1962, " Jezabel" at No. 2 in May 1963, and "55 Days at Peking" at No. 1 in July; and the vocal single "When You're Not Near" at No. 7 in August 1964. Although not as popular in Melbourne, these four singles also peaked into the top ten. On the advice of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' manager,

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

, Porter moved to the UK in 1964 where he wrote and recorded singles for

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

but had no chart success. During 1967 he moved to the US and appeared in several television shows: ''

Malibu U ''Malibu U'' is an American variety show that aired in the summer of 1967 on ABC. The series starred Ricky Nelson, and aired on Friday evenings from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Overview In the series, Nelson starred as the "Dean of the Drop-Ins" of a ...

'', ''Popendity'', ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' and '' The Immortal''. In 1969 Porter co-starred in the movie ''

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

''. In 1970, Porter was back in Australia where he purchased a controlling share of

Sparmac. He recorded three of his own singles for Sparmac before focusing on

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and promoting bands and producing records. Porter produced three of

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

rock band Daddy Cool's LPs including their debut 1971 album, ''

Daddy Who? Daddy Cool ''Daddy Who?... Daddy Cool'' is the 1971 debut album by Australian rock band Daddy Cool. Release and promotion Released in July, 1971 it was the first on Robie Porter's Sparmac label. It was also the first Australian-recorded album to make No ...

'', which peaked at No. 1 and became the highest selling Australian album at the time. Other Sparmac artists included

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

and Healing Force. In 1973, Porter started a new label, Wizard, in partnership with

Steve Binder Irwin Sheppard "Steve" Binder (born December 12, 1932) is an American producer and director. He found success behind the camera on television shows showcasing music, when he was only in his early twenties."Elvis the comeback'". ''Record Collector ...

, Daddy Cool and Springfield. The new label also signed

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television Film * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi *''Hush!'', a 2002 film dir ...

Mighty Kong Mighty Kong were an Australian 'supergroup' successor to Daddy Cool, which broke up in August 1972. It was also the fifth (and technically the last) in the line of groups that featured singer-songwriter Ross Wilson and guitarist Ross Hannaford, ...

and

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines AM (born July 20, 1953) is an American-born Australian singer and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalen ...

. Porter and Binder also managed Springfield and introduced him to the US market. Porter co-wrote the song "Shining" with Jill Wagner-Porter, which was recorded by Marcia Hines on her 1976 LP album '' Shining'', and also wrote "Empty" and "A Love Story" on that album. In the 1980s, Porter produced albums for

Air Supply Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, consisting of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). With record sales of 100 million worldwide, they had a suc ...

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Originally a session player in many bands, he has released many award-winning recordings as a solo artist. In June 2010, Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Aus ...

and

the Nauts ''The Nauts'' is the second and final studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or C ...

. He returned to the US to live and worked in television production and as a horse breeder. During 2006, Porter formed another record label, named Musique, with

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

Jane Rutter Jane Rutter (born 2 November 1958) is an Australian flautist. Her repertoire encompasses classical, jazz, and pop music. Career Rutter specializes in the French Flute School. She has lectured at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and formed ...

. He died after suffering from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

on 16 December 2021 at the age of 80. Obituary: Robert George Porter, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 18 December 2021
Retrieved 18 December 2021

Discography

Albums

* ''Playing Hawaiian Guitar'' – Festival (FL31338) (1964) * ''The Voice and the Guitar: The Vocal & Instrumental Hits of'' – Festival (FL31473) (1964) * ''Australia's Great Singing Star'' – MGM (E/SE 4397) (1966) * ''The Heart of the Matter'' – MGM (E/SE-4458) (1966) * ''Sings'' – Festival FL-32041 (1968) * ''The Guitar Sounds of'' – Summit (SRA 250 049) (1970) * ''5,4,3,2,1: The Festival File'' – Festival (L-19003) (1988)

EPs

* ''Rob E.G.'s Big 4'' - Festival (FX-10480) (1962) * ''55 Days at Peking'' - Festival (FX-10734) (December 1963) * ''The Great Instrumentals'' – Festival (FX-10809) (July 1964) * ''Adventures in Paradise'' – Festival (FX-10869) (December 1964) * ''Hawaii Tattoo'' – Festival (FX-10995) (December 1964) * ''Sings Country and Western'' – Festival (FX-10527) (1965)

Singles

(released as Rob E. G.) * "Your Cheatin' Heart"/"Seven Foot Two" – Rex (RS-007) (1960) * "Do You Love Me"/"Whiplash" – Pye (PP-056) (August 1960) * "My First Love"/"Railroadin'" – Pye (PP-056) (December 1960) * "Si Senor (I Theenk)"/"SwanRiver (Twist)" – Festival (FK-210) (1962) * "5-4-3-2-1 Zero"/"Jamacian Farewell" – Festival (FK-274) (1962) * "Jezebel"/"Road to Cimmaron" – Festival (FK-358) (May 1963) * "55 Days at Peking"/"Greenhorn" – Festival (FK-403) (June 1963) * "Soul"/"Cotton Pickin'" – Festival (FK-480) (1963) * "Carmen"/"Senorita" – Festival (FK-533) (March 1964) * "Tim-buc-too"/"Adventures in Paradise" – Festival (FK-634) (May 1964) * "When You're Not Near"/"Aloha Oe" – Festival (FK-677) (July 1964) * "Dear Miss Honey"/"When You're in Love" – Festival (FK-1189) (1966) (released as Robie Porter) * "I've Often Wondered"/"Heartache, Hurry On By" – Festival (FK-1324) (1966) * "Either Way I Lose"/"Born" – Festival (FK-1429) (1966) * "Either Way I Lose"/"Let It Be Me" – MGM (MGM 1313, UK) (1966) * "I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do"/"No One Lives in My World" – Festival (FK-1743) (March 1967) * "That's the Way Love Is"/"Yesterday Years" – Festival (FK-1959) (1967) * "You Could End the World"/"Sure Has Been Good Lovin' You Baby" – Festival (FK-2112)(January 1968) * "Writing's on the Wall"/"If You'd Let Me" – Festival (FK-2318) (April 1968) * "Gemini"/"He Is Not Me" – Sparmac (SPR003) (August 1970) AUS #28 * "Santa Claus (and We Love Him)"/"Funky Version" – Sparmac (SPR006) (1970) * "Try to Find More Love (There Must Be a Reason)"/"Empty" – Sparmac (SPR007) (March 1971) AUS #90

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Robie 1941 births 2021 deaths Australian male musicians Australian record producers Logie Award winners Musicians from Sydney Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia