George Porter Jr

funk · jazz-funk

George Porter Jr is a funk bassist and vocalist from New Orleans, born in the city in December 1947 and still based there. He grew up alongside the drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste and took up bass under the influence of the local player Benjamin "Poppi" Francis. In 1965 he joined a band led by the keyboardist Art Neville; by 1967 that group had become the Meters, with Neville, Porter, Modeliste and guitarist Leo Nocentelli, and it is now regarded as one of the founding units of funk. The quartet recorded eight studio albums between 1969 and 1977 and doubled as the house band for Allen Toussaint's productions, playing on records by Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer and LaBelle; sessions Porter played on include Right Place, Wrong Time, Lady Marmalade, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley and Southern Nights. The band's 1969 instrumental hit reached number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the R&B chart, and the Meters opened for the Rolling Stones in 1975 and 1976. Porter has led the Runnin' Pardners since 1990, a band that has released nine studio albums and now includes drummer Terrence Houston, keyboardist Michael Lemmler and guitarist Chris Adkins. He also played in the Funky Meters, formed in 1994 with Art Neville, Brian Stoltz and Russell Batiste Jr., in the offshoot Porter Batiste Stoltz, and in a trio with drummer Johnny Vidacovich. His solo records include It's Life in 2007 and Christmas in New Orleans: A Tribute to My Mother in 2010. As a sideman he has worked with David Byrne, Jimmy Buffett, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Paul McCartney, the Soul Rebels and Dead & Company. He has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and OffBeat magazine gave him its lifetime achievement award in music in 2011 and has repeatedly voted him the city's best bass player.

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