Del Porter

Del Porter (April 13, 1902, Newberg, Oregon – October 4, 1977, Los Angeles) was an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, and clarinetist who, in the 1930s, performed on Broadway, toured with Glenn Miller, and recorded with Bing Crosby, Dick Powell, and Red Nichols, and in the 1940s, led his own big band.

Porter was a singer with the Foursome, which came to prominence in the 1930 Broadway hit show, Girl Crazy. Porter, the best known member of the quartet, co-founded City Slickers with Spike Jones, about the time his group The Feather Merchants split up. With the Foursome's arranger and Porter's lifelong friend, Raymond M. Johnson, Porter reorganized the quartet around 1946 as the Sweet Potato Tooters. "Sweet potato" is a nickname for an ocarina.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1902 (Newberg), Died October 4, 1977 (Los Angeles)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: clarinet, vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, composer, arranger

Notes: Listed sometimes as D. S. Porter.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-40 of 40 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D7VB-0456 10-in. 2/10/1947 Blowing bubble gum City Slickers ; Spike Jones Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Victor D7VB-2105 10-in. 11/17/1947 Topeka polka Spade Cooley String band composer  
Victor D9VB-0503 10-in. 1/6/1949 Ya wanna buy a bunny? City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; George Rock Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band lyricist  
Victor D9VB-0704 10-in. 8/9/1949 Lucky leather breeches Spade Cooley ; Roy Rogers ; Spade Cooley and his Orchestra String band, with dance calls songwriter  
Columbia W142771 10-in. 9/30/1926 Whose arms are you in tonight? Cole McElroy's Spanish Ball Room Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W146478 10-in. 6/22/1928 The sidewalks of New York Johnnie Sylvester Accordion solo, with male vocal solo vocalist  
Columbia 148727 10-in. 6/21/1929 More than anybody I love you Jim Andrews ; Willie Creager Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo lyricist, composer  
Columbia W152250 10-in. 8/5/1932 Another night alone Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo vocalist  
Columbia W152252 10-in. 8/5/1932 I can't believe it's true Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal quartet vocalist  
Decca DLA 1813 10-in. 7/8/1939 Bidin' my time The Foursome instrumentalist, clarinet  
Decca DLA 1814 10-in. 7/8/1939 Oh, lady be good The Foursome instrumentalist, clarinet  
Decca DLA 2730 10-in. 9/5/1941 He knew all the answers Cindy Walker instrumentalist, clarinet  
Decca DLA 2731 10-in. 9/5/1941 Waltz me around again Willie Cindy Walker instrumentalist, clarinet  
Decca DLA 2732 10-in. 9/5/1941 I want somebody Cindy Walker instrumentalist, clarinet  
Decca DLA 2733 10-in. 9/5/1941 Don't talk to me about men Cindy Walker instrumentalist, clarinet  
(Results 26-40 of 40 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Porter, Del," accessed April 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109597.

Porter, Del. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109597.

"Porter, Del." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109597

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