Early life Born in
Los Angeles,
California, Porter graduated from
Leuzinger High School in
Lawndale, California, in 1966. He was playing in LA in a garage band called Six Penny Opera when he got the call to come up and play with the Doobie Bros.
The Doobie Brothers He rose to fame as a member of the Doobie Brothers, replacing bassist Dave Shogren on their second album
Toulouse Street in 1972. His vocals were mostly restricted to the background in the studio, although he wrote and sang "For Someone Special" (a tribute to ill bandleader
Tom Johnston) on the album ''
Takin' It To The Streets (1976) and the creatively syncopated "Need A Lady" on the album Livin' On The Fault Line'' (1977). In concert, Porter usually performed lead vocals on one or two songs. Porter left the Doobies in 1980, citing frustration with the hectic and constant touring schedule. His replacement was session man
Willie Weeks, later famous for his collaboration with
Michael Jackson and other
Quincy Jones protégés. After guesting onstage with his former bandmates briefly during the 1982 farewell tour, he rejoined the Doobies in 1987. Porter played on
Cycles (1989), whose title was taken from an unused song he wrote, and
Brotherhood (1991). Neither album featured a Porter composition or lead vocal, and his bass is often buried in the mix. After five years of touring in support of
Cycles and
Brotherhood, Porter finally quit the Doobies for good in 1992. He was reportedly still frustrated with constant touring and the band's preference for recording familiar-sounding material instead of his own, more diverse compositions. Porter released a self-produced solo album,
Playing to an Empty House, in 1995. It is a mix of rock, progressive, and jazz spotlighting Porter on all of the instruments and vocals. The album features jazz solos and little or no bass guitar, focusing instead on lead guitar and sequenced keyboards. More recently, Porter played bass with singer-songwriter Keith Greeninger from Santa Cruz, California, Beatles
tribute band White Album Ensemble, Stormin' Norman and the Cyclones, and
Moby Grape during its occasional reunions. In 2020, Porter was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doobie Brothers.
Playing technique Porter's most notable contributions to the Doobie Brothers' sound were his busy and punchy bass lines; his distinctive tone permeates all of the band's classic compositions and hits. His early technique, with rich chordal attack, was based mostly on his picking style, favoring the guitar pick over
fingerstyle playing. The hit title track from ''
Takin' It to the Streets'', which prominently features Porter's thundering, picked notes, is a prime example of this technique. More recently, even performing the old repertoire with the Doobies, Porter has been playing new, custom-made instruments almost exclusively finger style.
Equipment Often pictured with
Alembic or
Gibson basses during the seventies (usually with a Thunderbird or Ripper bass and earlier with an EB-0L), Porter played
Fender instruments, most notably the
Fender Jazz Bass, along with
BC Rich Eagles and Mockingbirds (Minute by Minute video) and Rickenbackers. == Albums ==