David Porter shares his story: Songwriting great wants to give 'real picture' of his life

Memphis songwriter and producer David Porter will return to the site of his greatest triumphs on Aug. 25, to celebrate the release of a new album of his old songs at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

“An Evening with David Porter” will take place from 6-9 p.m. inside the Stax Museum’s Studio A. The programming will include a public conversation between Porter and WDIA broadcaster Bev Johnson, as well as an album signing session afterward. The event was originally scheduled for July 21 but was postponed to due to severe weather in the Mid-South. Admission to the Aug. 25 event is free, and tickets can be reserved at Eventbrite.

A native of South Memphis and a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Porter is best known for his Stax-era work, his partnership with Isaac Hayes and a series of classic songs for the likes of Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, The Emotions, The Soul Children, Carla Thomas and Sam & Dave. In more recent times, Porter’s old work has been sampled in hits by Mariah Carey, Will Smith, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and Wu-Tang Clan, among others.

Last fall, Porter announced a project called “Chapter 1…Back in the Day,” featuring some of his unreleased songs performed by a group of veteran musicians and young singers. The record was originally released via an exclusive deal with Vinyl Me, Please and has just been made widely available.

“This was material I had written decades ago, 40-plus years ago, and never recorded,” Porter said. “It made sense to create a focus around some of those songs and also to work with some of the musicians who helped create the Memphis sound, as well as some up-and-coming talents.”

“Chapter 1…Back in the Day” features 10 previously unrecorded songs from Porter’s catalog as interpreted by young singers Brandon Wattz, Candise Marshall and Marcus Scott. The tracks feature musical backing from Stax and Hi Records sessions aces Lester Snell (keyboard, electric organ), Willie Hall (drums, percussion), Winston Stewart (keyboard, keyboard strings) and Michael Toles (guitar).

Porter added that there will be further entries in the “Back in the Day” series, confirming that he’s completed "Chapter 2" and nearly finished with "Chapter 3." “We’ll be strategically releasing this product over time,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement about this material.”

David Porter to reflect on time at Stax

Porter’s appearance the Stax Museum will be the first major event he’s done there since he presented a showcase as part of the 2011 "Stax to the Max" outdoor concert festival, which filled the streets around Soulsville.

Porter said he was eager to return to the museum, built on the site of Stax’s original studio, to discuss his personal history and that of the label. “I want to give this audience a real picture of my life, the beginning days of Stax — what Stax was before it was Stax — and what happened with me along the path,” he said.

Porter has been reflecting on his time at Stax a good bit lately. He recently discussed his work with the soul label during an appearance on the Questlove Supreme podcast. Porter also confirmed that he was interviewed extensively for the forthcoming multi-part Stax Records documentary being made for HBO.

“That ended up being an amazing experience for me,” Porter said. “I did about 5 or 6 hours of filming in Memphis. The documentary is tremendously in-depth, it’s going to be multi-nights, not just one day.”

The docuseries was tentatively slated to air this fall, but Porter noted that, “they’ve not scheduled the actual date, because they’re making big preparations, and are planning a big thrust for it. So it would not surprise me if it was rolled over to the first period of next year.”

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Made in Memphis Music Entertainment

While he’s been busy looking back, Porter is also looking forward, as he continues to oversee the development of his Made in Memphis Music Entertainment (MIME) company and its various businesses. Those include a MIME Publishing division, the sync company Heavy Hitters Music, indie music distributors Beatroot Music and Beatroot Africa, and the 4U Recording studios in Memphis and Atlanta.

Porter is particularly proud of the success of Beatroot, which has become one of the industry’s top independent music distribution companies.

“We’re one of the biggest and the largest African American company,” Porter said. “We have a tremendous amount of product and talent that we distribute and collect for. It’s become a major league company. And in the next few months we expect to make further major announcements with that division.”

In addition to MIME music — “a publishing entity that administers a great many successful artists in Memphis,” Porter noted — MIME also owns Heavy Hitters Music based in Glendale, California, which has been active in getting film and television licensing syncs and placements.

In addition to MIME’s Union Avenue recording studio, 4U, several years ago the company bought and refurbished a second studio in Atlanta. Both studios have attracted A-list talent, with the Memphis studio having produced a series of gold and platinum records from the likes of Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla and others. “A great many people have been in our studio to record so it’s been a good feeling for me,” Porter said.

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Porter said the Stax event will be good reminder to younger generations of Memphians that they can create their own opportunities and succeed here, just as he did.

“We don’t have enough quality messaging about that in our city,” Porter said. “We have a lot of kids that need to know that they could come and do what I’ve done or what others have like me have done and have success with it. To hear that is important.”

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: David Porter, Stax Records songwriting great, on music, career, more