David Porter

David Porter - Hang On Sloopy (Official Visualizer)

Can’t See You When I Want To – Stax 1965)

David Porter wrote the above great track which was played at the Blue Note and Wheel clubs in Manchester. However David Porter is highly regarded and best remembered by soul fans everywhere as half of the Stax song writing team Porter Hayes – with Isaac Hayes.

David Porter was born in Memphis, 21st November 1941 and lived in the McLemore Avenue area where Stax was later to be based inside a local defunct cinema. He started his recording career as ‘Little David’ and as ‘Kenny Cain’. He co-wrote a massive amount of songs for the Stax stable of artists. Eventually he moved back into singing and found a new writing partner: Ronnie Williams.

STAX DISCOGRAPHY

Singles

Stax 163 : Can’t See You When I Want To / Win You Over
Enterprise 9014 : One Part Love, Two Parts Pain / Can’t See You When I Want To
Enterprise 9037 : If I Give It Up, I Want It Back Pt. I / If I Give It Up, I Want It Back Pt. II
Enterprise 9049 : Ain’t That Loving You / I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over
Enterprise 9055 : When The Chips Are Down / I Wanna Be Your Somebody
Enterprise 9071 : Long As You’re The One Somebody In The World / When You Have To Sneak, You Have To Sneak.
Enterprise 9090 : I Got You And I’m Glad / Falling Out, Falling In

Albums

GRITTY, GROOVY AND GETTIN’ IT – Enterprise 1009

I Only Have Eyes For You/Guess who/I’m A-Tellin’ You/Just Be True//The Way You Do The Things You Do/Can’t See You When I Want To, Parts 1 & 2/I Don’t Know Why I Love You.

INTO A REAL THING – Enterprise 1012

Hang On Sloppy/Ooo-Wee Girl//Too Real To Live A Lie/Grocery Man/I Don’t Wanna Cry/Thirty Days.

VICTIM OF THE JOKE? AN OPERA – Enterprise 1019

If I Give It Up I Want It Back/When You Have To Sneak You Have To Sneak/Help/I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over//Storm In The Summertime/Pretty Inside/Human/Airplane Ticket-Bus Ride-Can I Borrow Your Car?

SWEAT AND LOVE – Enterprise 1026

Didn’t Know Love Was So Good/Somebody Owns A Piece Of My Rock/(Seems Like) The One You Can’t Have All By Yourself//Funny Money/I Can’t Live With My Conscience/This Song Has No Title/Long As You’re The One Somebody In The World/Falling Out Falling In.

VARIOUS : Win You Over (Ace CD 102); There’s Something About Your Baby (Ace CD 116).

Stax Time line – from The World’s Oldest Teenager, Rufus Thomas

1957 First Tennessee banker Jim Stewart begins recording country music in his wife’s uncle’s garage in North Memphis. Satellite Records is launched.

1958 Stewart moves his ‘recording studio’ to Brunswick, Tennessee. Stewart’s sister Estelle Axton, then employed by Union Planters, mortgages her home to pay for recording equipment for the company.

1959 Stewart and Axton move to the old Capitol Theater, currently abandoned on McLemore Ave.

1960 WDIA disc jockey Rufus Thomas hustles over to the studio with his daughter, Carla and together they cut Satellite’s first hit, ‘Cause I Love You.’

1961 Local high school r&b band the Mar-Keys cut an instrumental hit ‘Last Night’ that sends Satellite Records soaring. Stewart takes the first two letters from his last name (ST) and adds the first two letters of his sister’s last name (AX) to form the new label name.

David Porter – Wikipedia