Stax Records staff songwriter wrote "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'"
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David Porter
Inductee
Inducted
Partnership with Isaac Hayes produced a string of memorable hits
Isaac Hayes and David Porter were one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 1960’s. After playing on several sessions for Otis Redding, Hayes was tapped to play keyboards in the Stax house band, and eventually established a partnership with songwriter David Porter.
The Hayes-Porter duo composed song 200 songs, reeling off a string of hits for Stax luminaries like Same & Dave (the brilliant “When Something is Wrong With My Baby,” “Soul Man”, “I Thank You,” and “Hold On, I’m Comin?), Carla Thomas (“B-A-B-Y”) and Johnnie Taylor (“I Got to Love Somebody’s Baby,” “I Had a Dream”).
David Porter went on to engineer the relaunch of the Stax label and is a current member of the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy.
The work of David Porter and Isaac Hayes is celebrated as part of the musical heritage memorialized at Soulsville, the Museum of American Soul Music. Opened in 2003 on the original site of Stax Records in Memphis, the facility honors and documents the activities and achievements at the famous record label, for which David Porter was one of the principal songwriters and producers.
