George Porter Jr
The Meters, The Funky Meters, Runnin' Pardners & The Porter Trio
"I love the XL Nickel bass strings because they sound great and they can take a beating."
Products George Porter Jr Uses
About George Porter Jr
New Orleans music royalty George Porter Jr. is best known as bassist from The Meters, founded in 1965. Known as one of the progenitors of funk, The Meters carved their own place in history with syncopated polyrhythms and grooves inherited from New Orleans' deep African musical roots. The Meters' greatest commercial single reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. They have been seen on the ballot for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and were granted an official Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.
At the outset of his young career, Porter developed his signature style in sessions in his hometown New Orleans, with early Crescent City musical pioneers. While Porter developed his pedigree, The Meters were gaining notoriety, soon becoming the house band for Allen Toussaint's recording label, backing classic records from Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, and Earl King, while later supplying the musical foundation for classic hit albums and singles from modern artists Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, as well as Patty Labelle's No. 1 hit "Lady Marmalade."
George and The Meters toured with the Rolling Stones in '75. Porter's rhythmic work with drummer Modeliste became the building block behind samples used by the most relevant hip-hop artists of the 80's & 90's, including A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, N.W.A., and Queen Latifah.
In the live music world, George has shared the stage as a band member or special guest with the likes of David Byrne, Dead & Company, Jimmy Buffet, Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Scofield, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart , Steve Kimmock and Eric Krasno, to name a few.
George Porter Jr continues to lead his current projects, The Runnin' Pardners and George Porter Jr. Trio, with both incarnations still playing often locally and touring prolifically, garnering respect as major attractions within the jam band and festival scene. George and his Runnin' Pardners released their highly acclaimed studio album "Crying For Hope" in March 2021.