GRAMMY®-nominated songwriter, singer, and producer David Porter — known for penning songs for artists such as James Brown, Celine Dion, Drake, Eminem, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Redding, ZZ Top, and more — will make a special appearance at GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi for an installment of their An Evening With series.
The program will be moderated by Gebre Waddell. Gebre Waddell is an American entrepreneur, author, and audio engineer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the CEO and co-founder of Sound Credit, a pioneering technology platform for the music industry, and serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy.
Sponsored by Mississippi Arts Commission and Visit Mississippi, the event will take place on Thursday, Februry 13 at 7 pm in the Sanders Soundstage. A reception will take place before the event at 6 pm featuring a cash bar and light hors d’oeuvres.
“We are thrilled to welcome one of the most esteemed and accomplished songwriters of our generation, David Porter, to our Museum for a special evening of conversation,” said Emily Havens, Executive Director of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. “From his longtime association with the legendary Stax Records, to the songs he’s written and composed for many award-winning artists, David has made such an immeasurable impact on American music. We look forward to having him here to share the many highlights of his prolific career.”
Tickets to An Evening With David Porter are $20 for GRAMMY Museum Mississippi members and $25 for non-members. Tickets are currently on sale at grammymuseumms.org.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, David Porter was the first staff songwriter at Stax Records. In his A&R capacity for the label, Porter signed acts including The Emotions, Homer Banks and The Soul Children, and he was also responsible for bringing in Isaac Hayes as a songwriting partner. As house songwriters for Stax, Porter and Hayes wrote some of Sam & Dave’s biggest hits, including “Soul Man,” which won the GRAMMY® for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording in 1968, “I Thank You,” “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” The pair also penned songs for Carla Thomas (“B-A-B-Y”) and Johnnie Taylor (“I Got to Love Somebody’s Baby” and “I Had a Dream”). Porter also recorded his own music for Stax, with the 1965 single “Can’t You See When I Want To,” which became a Top 30 R&B hit.
In 2005, Porter was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2015, Rolling Stone listed him among the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Porter has more than 1,700 songwriter and composer credits for artists such as James Brown, Patsy Cline, Celine Dion, Drake, Eminem, Eurythmics, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Redding, Wu-Tang Clan, and ZZ Top. His songs have also been sampled in Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover,” Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?” Porter is also the founder of Consortium MMT, a nonprofit organization that seeks to develop the music industry in Memphis.
Gebre Waddell is an American entrepreneur, author, and audio engineer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the CEO and co-founder of Sound Credit, a pioneering technology platform for the music industry, and serves as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy. Waddell authored Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques (McGraw-Hill) and worked on two GRAMMY-nominated albums, with audio credits for artists such as Lil Wayne, Public Enemy, and The Bar-Kays. He also played a key role in drafting Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, the first state legislation in the United States to regulate artificial intelligence and publicity rights.
