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Gregory Porter Biography- Wife, Children and Family Life Facts You Must Know
Gregory Porter is a tall, stocky, bearded, middle-aged American jazz singer, songwriter and actress, hailed by critics as a modern day great. Without a shoulder injury that ended his dream of becoming a professional football player and his mother’s encouragement, he might never have become a professional singer.
Porter was almost 40 when he made his first album, but his rise in the industry has been amazing. His first, Water (2010) and the title track for his second album, Be Good (2012) were nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 53rd and 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2014 his third album Liquid Spirit earned him a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album and became a UK crossover hit. He was followed by another Grammy in 2017 for Take Me to the Alley, which became the first jazz album to make the UK Top Five of the decade.
Gregory Porter Biography
The sonorous jazz singer was born on November 4, 1971 in Sacramento and grew up in Bakersfield, California. He attended Highland High School where he played soccer and graduated in 1989. Porter transferred to San Diego State University (SDSU) after receiving a full athletic scholarship to play as a football lineman for the Aztecs. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury in his teens, which hampered his career in American college football.
Porter began singing in church when he was a child, but never considered pursuing a career until he conversed with his mother Ruth on her deathbed in her early twenties. After ending his football career, Gregory Porter decided to become an urban planner, but his mother knew he would wow the world with his deep, rich voice. When she was dying of breast cancer Porter tried to reassure her that everything would be fine and when she nodded and said ok she asked him not to forget the music as it’s the best thing he does. She died two days later.
Overwhelmed by the pain of losing his mother and no longer an athlete, he stopped singing for almost a year. He later moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant ward of the Brooklyn borough of New York to take inspiration from his brother Lloyd just to get up in the morning. He worked as a chef at his brother’s now-defunct restaurant, Bread-Stuy, and over time he began to find his voice.
Deciding on a musical career, he first performed in the restaurant, cafes, bars and other neighborhood venues such as Sista’s Place and Solomon’s Porch. He then moved to Harlem where he performed at St. Nick’s Pub where he maintained a weekly residency. It was from this residency that Porter’s later touring band developed.
Gregory Porter released his debut album, Water, in 2010 on the Motéma label alongside Membrane Entertainment Group and in 2012 his second album Being Good was released. He later began singing with Blue Note Records (under Universal Music Group) in May 2013 and released his third album, Liquid Spirit in Europe on September 2 of the same year and in the US on September 17.
Liquid Spirit reached the top 10 in the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. It enjoyed a commercial success rarely achieved by albums in the jazz genre, selling more than 100,000 copies in the UK.
In August 2014, Porter released the single The “In” Crowd and followed that up with the release of his fourth album, Take Me in the Alley on May 6, 2016.
He has appeared in various shows and concerts including the annual Glastonbury Festival 2016 BBC Children in Distress Show and BBC One The Graham Norton Show.
Porter candidly admits that while he pursued a musical career as a chef, he never dreamed of the kind of fame that came his way.
His wife, children and family life
The jazz singer is married to a Russian named Victoria and they have two children, Demyan and Josie. The couple met in a club in Moscow in 2005 while Gregory was performing in Russia and they remained friends for a number of years.
During the period of their friendship, Victoria visited New York (where Gregory lived at the time). She had just broken up with her partner and Porter had been alone for some time but he was only acting as her tour guide.
She returned home afterwards and visited again. On this second visit, they both decided to take their friendship to another level.
Gregory Porter is the son of Ruth and RufusPorter. He grew up in poverty with his seven siblings. His mother – a nurse and preacher – had a great influence on his life and encouraged him to sing in church as a child.
His father was largely absent from his life. According to Greg, he only dated the man for a few days of his life and it didn’t last long. For reasons best known to him, he (Rufus) just didn’t seem all that interested in being there.
During his father’s funeral, Gregory learned that his father was a great singer.
Facts you need to know
1. He’s easily recognizable not only because of his huge size and 6ft 3in height, but also because of his signature baker boy cap on a black balaclava. Gregory has worn his signature balaclava since the beginning of his professional career because of a facial scar he received when he was about seven or eight years old. However, he insists that his appearance has never been a limitation for him. Speaking of his balaclava, he said it has become his fashion and style.
2. Five of his favorite things are his Leica T digital camera, his vintage watch, the suit that was made for the Grammys when he received his first nomination, his beautiful blue cup and saucer that he bought in Oslo, and his Nat King Cole Nature Boy record.
3. He gets his inspiration from people – people who are dejected, heartbroken or at the bottom of society and if there were no music Gregory would have liked to have been a modern day dancer.
4. The song More Than One Woman on Take Me In The Alley was written about his mother, while Al was love was king for his son.
5. He released his debut album aged 39 and was one of only two artists in 2016 to simultaneously release two UK Top 20 studio albums (Liquid Spirit and Take Me to the Alley).
