Gregory Porter: How the jazz superstar rose to fame

Discover how the multi-Grammy Award-winning superstars rose to the upper echelons of the music world

Author: Emma DoddsPublished 11th Jun 2021
Last updated 22nd Jun 2021

You may know the name Gregory Porter, but how much do you know about the man behind the hat?

Having released his most recent album All Rise in August 2020, Gregory was also due to go on tour with his new record - until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, of course, leaving him to reschedule just like pretty much every single other musician.

After a shoulder injury wiped out his promising American football career, Gregory followed his mother's advice to become a musician - and the rest is history. Read up on his rise to fame, the albums he's released and other interesting facts about Gregory Porter right here...

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Gregory Porter: Basic facts

Gregory Porter is an American singer-songwriter, existing in the jazz sphere but also crossing over to blues and soul. Born in Sacramento, California to Ruth and Rufus, Gregory is one of seven children and the family lived in Bakersfield, further down the coast.

Gregory Porter's early career and life

Gregory's mother Ruth was an important influence on him throughout his childhood and early adult life. A minister, Ruth encouraged Gregory's musicality and spirituality. Shortly before she sadly passed away, when Gregory was just 21-years-old, she told him, "Sing, baby, sing!"

However, before he considered being a musician, Gregory had received a scholarship to play American football at San Diego State University - but a shoulder injury put paid to that; "I still have the scars. If your shoulder doesn’t stay in the socket when you run then you can’t play football," he told The Independent in 2014.

2004 was a big year for Gregory; he moved to Brooklyn with his brother Lloyd, working at his restaurant as a chef - but also as a performer. He then sang at various other venues, before landing a residency at St. Nick's Pub, a legendary jazz and blues club.

The singer has previously spoken out about his father's absence from his life, something that heavily featured in his 2004 semi-autobiographical musical, Nat King Cole & Me, that helped to launch his career - also allowing him to pay tribute to the musician that had such a big impact on his life. He told the Jazz Times in 2012, "Everybody had some issues with their father, even if he was in the house. He may have been emotionally absent. My father was just straight-up absent."

After signing to the Motéma label in 2010 for his debut album Water, Gregory signed to Blue Note Records for his third release 'Liquid Spirit' in 2013.

Other career highlights include performing at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in May 2015, singing 'As Time Goes By', as well as a stint on the world-renowned Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2016.

Gregory Porter performing at Glastonbury Festival in 2016

Gregory still lives in Bakersfield, residing with his wife Victoria - a Russian artist - and son Demyan.

He told GQ in 2020, "Look, I don’t want this to sound like the beginning of a romantic drama or anything, but that first time we toured? That very first night? I met my wife, Victoria. I thought, 'Wow, jazz. If I can get girls like this...' She loved jazz, which helped."

Gregory and Victoria at the Grammy Awards 2014

Albums and discography

Although Gregory had been working as a musician since at least the early 2000's, he didn't release his first album until 2010.

'Water'

Releasing his debut album Water through the Motéma Music label in May 2010, Gregory became an instant household name among Jazz aficionados, featuring original hits such as 'Illusion', 'Magic Cup' and '1960 What?', as well as covers of 'Skylark', 'But Beautiful' and an incredibly powerful, totally unaccompanied version of 'Feeling Good'.

'Be Good'

Gregory's follow-up album Be Good was released in February 2012, again through Motéma Music. This record was made up of mostly original songs by Gregory, including the title track 'Be Good (Lion's Song)' and 'On My Way to Harlem' - however, it also featured a couple of covers: 'Work Song' by Nat Adderley and 'God Bless the Child' by Billie Holiday. The record charted in the Netherlands, France and Belgium, bringing Gregory more international success.

'Liquid Spirit'

Gregory's third album was released just 18 months after his second in September 2013 - and it was this record that really solidified his stature as one of the modern Jazz greats. Liquid Spirit was Gregory's first release through the inimitable Blue Note Records, featuring singles 'Musical Genocide', 'No Love Dying', 'Hey Laura' and 'Water Under Bridges', as well as the title track and a cover of 'The 'In' Crowd' by Billy Page.

The special edition version also features a covers of 'When You Wish Upon A Star', 'Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)' with Julie London, 'Puttin' On The Ritz' and 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' with Jamie Cullum.

Not only did the record break into the Top 10 in countries around the world like the UK, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, it also peaked at Number 2 on the US Top Jazz Albums and was certified Platinum here in the UK. But the biggest achievement came a year later at the 2014 Grammy Awards, enabling Gregory to take home the award for 'Best Jazz Vocal Album'.

2013 was also the same year in which Gregory Porter was awarded his first Jazz FM Awards, for 'Live Show of the Year'. He was then awarded 'International Jazz Artist of the Year' at the 2015 ceremony, followed by a remarkable third win at the 2016 awards, unsurprisingly for the 'Impact Award'.

'Take Me to the Alley'

'Take Me to the Alley' is Gregory's fourth album, released almost three years after its predecessor in May 2016, again through Blue Note Records. Featuring the single 'Don't Lose Your Steam', the album also featured 'In Heaven', written by Gregory's cousin Darlene Andrews, as well as 'Holding On' - a collaboration with electronic music duo Disclosure which served to dip Gregory's toes into the mainstream.

The record peaked at Number 5 in the UK, again breaking into the Top 10 in Germany and Denmark, as well as Belgium and New Zealand - and he once again took home the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2017 awards.

'Nat King Cole & Me'

Nat King Cole was a major influence on Gregory's music, but also his life in general. After writing a song aged five for his mum, she noted how similar he sounded to the Jazz legend, prompting him to listen to her collection of his records - so it's no surprise that for his fifth album, Gregory chose to undertake a tribute album to Nat King Cole, released via Blue Note Records and Decca Records.

Gregory commented at the time of its release in October 2017 that the record had been 25 years in the making - which is surely a reference to Gregory's show of the same name from 2004. However, Gregory was given the final push to make the album after sharing the idea with Nat's daughter, Natalie Cole, after one of her concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, and receiving her approval.

Speaking out about how difficult it was to pick from Nat King Cole's back catalogue, Gregory added that he'd struggled to contain his emotions while recording the album, "Literally this was just a dream come true, it felt so good."

He ended up including covers of 'Smile', 'L-O-V-E', 'The Christmas Song' and his personal favourite, 'Nature Boy', which he explained had always influenced him, "The ending line is important as a life message for me, I love singing that line to people – 'the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return'." It peaked at Number 3 in the UK and topped the US Top Jazz Albums chart.

'All Rise'

Gregory's sixth, and most recent album, All Rise was released in August 2020, having been postponed from April due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Reflecting on the record in an interview with Jazz FM, he mused, "It's the message of walking into this life and having some fear and self-doubt, and the point where you grab onto something that you know is real, the silent and real things, the truth... Once you can wrap onto the truth, then this fearlessness comes."

Tracks on the album include 'Dad Gone Thing', which is heartbreakingly about his non-existent relationship with his father, 'If Love Is Overrated' and 'Mister Holland', which saw Gregory open up about racial prejudice he's faced in his own life, further explaining, "Ultimately 'Mister Holland' is a song about equality. It's about the desire for mutual respect and the desire for a young man to be treated like an average teenager. A song of thank you for being treated normal. The implied unspoken experience is the subtle protest of this song."

Unsurprisingly, the title left many fans scratching their heads over the identity - just who is Mister Holland? Thankfully, Gregory put this to be in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, "I graciously use the name of one of your countrymen, Jools Holland, they're just two great names. It was just poetry right when I started to write the song.

"I probably started writing it when I was at Jools's house, he invited me in and treated me sweet and kind and normal and we listened to blues records, so there are references to my visit to see him in the music," but gave firm assurances that it wasn't autobiographical about Jools or his daughter - just that he liked the names.

Gregory Porter's tour

Gregory had booked in a tour to promote his album All Rise, originally scheduled to begin in May 2020 - but he quickly postponed it after the COVID-19 outbreak to October 2021 for a run at the Royal Albert Hall followed by a UK tour in Spring 2022, where he will play Leeds, Manchester, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Cardiff, Brighton and Glasgow.