Any self-respecting soulie who's been around the block will know the name
David Porter. Possibly overshadowed by his writing partner Isaac Hayes, but an
integral part of the southern soul movement in the 60s/70s, think "Soul
Man" and "Hold On I'm Coming" which he co-wrote with Hayes for Sam &
Dave for starters, and most of their material in fact.
He was born and bred and worked in Memphis, TN, the home of the
legendary Stax Records where he would write for artists such as Otis
Redding, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Don Covay, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus
Thomas, Sam & Dave, Mable John, Judy Clay, Eddie Floyd, The Bar-Kays, The Soul Children, The Emotions and probably just about every artist on the roster as well as Homer Banks
and Wilson Pickett and many many more.
He is listed as one of the top
100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time
by Rolling Stone magazine in 2015 (positioned at 75 along with Isaac Hayes) and in 2005 was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He released a couple of singles in the early 60s, his first in 1961 on
Eagle followed by three under pseudonyms. The first as Kenny Cain on Hi in
1962 and then a couple on Savoy as Little David in 1963. In 1965 he
released his only single for the Stax main label and it wasn't until 1970
that he followed it up with five singles and four albums on Stax subsidiary
Enterprise between 1970-73.
In recent years he released "The Classics" (2019) which consists of his version of songs written for Sam & Dave
along with a commentary for the history of each song - well worth a listen
just for those! Note that the songs themselves are all instrumental
versions. Coincidentally, "Soul Sister Brown Sugar" was one of the very first soul records and US imports I ever bought which
has been flipped in more recent times for "Come On In" (also a Hayes & Porter composition).
On 23 Sep 2022 he released "Chapter 1: Back In The Day" consisting of songs he wrote decades ago and recorded with many of his Stax mates but remained unreleased. They have been re-recorded with
vocals shared amongst new artists Brandon Wattz, Candise Marshall and Marcus Scott.
Porter is approaching his 81st birthday in a month's time. He graduated from Booker T High School with Maurice White of Earth, Wind
& Fire who died in 2016 and this album has been dedicated to
him.
Both releases are on Made In Memphis Entertainment which I am guessing
is his own label.
Click on cover image for details of featured vocalists.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
| Rating: | 8.2 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Classic Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | Digital |
| Label: | Made In Memphis Entertainment |
| Cat No: | None |
| Date: | 23/09/2022 |
| Price: | £7.99 |
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I'm a little torn because the title of the front cover is confusing when David Porter doesn't sing there. You have to read the back cover to see the performers. That said the whole is not bad with a few songs that stand out like "365 Days To Never" or "Waiting" but we are far from the Stax sound.
ReplyDeleteYves