Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971)[1] is an American singer, songwriter… Read Full Bio ↴Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971)[1] is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014 for Liquid Spirit and in 2017 for Take Me to the Alley.[2]

Gregory Porter was born in Sacramento and was raised in Bakersfield, California, where his mother was a minister. A 1989 graduate of Highland High School, he received a "full-ride" (tuition, books, medical coverage, and living expenses) athletic scholarship as a football lineman to San Diego State University (SDSU Aztecs), but a shoulder injury during his junior year cut short his football career.[3] At the age of 21, Porter lost his mother to cancer, but only after she entreated him from her death bed: "Sing, baby, sing!"

Porter moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 2004, along with his brother Lloyd. He worked as a chef at Lloyd's restaurant Bread-Stuy (now defunct), where he also performed. Porter performed at other neighborhood venues including Sista's Place and Solomon's Porch, and moved on to Harlem club St. Nick's Pub, where he maintained a weekly residency. Out of this residency evolved what would become Porter's touring band.[4]

Porter released two albums on the Motéma label together with Membran Entertainment Group, 2010's Water and 2012's Be Good, before signing with Blue Note Records (under Universal Music Group) on May 17, 2013. His third album, Liquid Spirit, was released on September 2, 2013, in Europe and on September 17, 2013, in the US.[5] The album was produced by Brian Bacchus.[6] The album won the 2014 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.[7]

Liquid Spirit enjoyed commercial success rarely achieved by albums in the jazz genre, reaching the top 10 on the UK album charts. It was certified gold by the BPI, selling over 100,000 units in the UK.[8]

In August 2014 Porter released "The 'In' Crowd" as a single.[9] On May 9, 2015 Porter participated in VE Day 70: A Party to Remember, a televised commemorative concert from Horse Guards Parade in London, singing "As Time Goes By".[10]

His fourth album, Take Me to the Alley, was released on May 6, 2016.[11] In UK's The Guardian it was Alexis Petridis's album of the week.[12]

On June 26, 2016, Porter performed on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2016. Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick said, "The portly middle-aged jazzer may be the oddest pop star on the planet but he is a refreshing testament to the notion that the most important organ for musical appreciation should always be our ears. And Porter has one of the most easy-on-the-ear voices in popular music, a creamy baritone that flows thick and smooth across a rich gateaux of juicy melody. It's a voice that makes you want to lick your lips and dive right in."[13]

In September 2016 Porter performed at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park from Hyde Park, London. He would go on to perform in the annual BBC Children in Need show in November, a night dedicated to Sir Terry Wogan, who hosted it in previous years and was a fan of Porter.[14]

In January 2017 Porter performed the song "Holding On" on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show.[15] In September 2017 he performed as part of the Later... with Jools Holland: Later 25 concert at the Royal Albert Hall.[16]

In October 2017 he performed the song "Mona Lisa" on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show with Jeff Goldblum on piano.[17]

Sweet Home Chicago
Gregory Porter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home
Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home
Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Come on

Baby, don't you wanna go home
Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home
Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Two and two is four, babe
Four into two is eight
Come on now girl, don't you now make me late
And I've got to leave

Baby, don't you wanna go home
Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

One and one is two
Two and two is four
I'm here lonely, I hook and I gotta go
And I cry please

Baby, don't you wanna go home
Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home
Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home
Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go
Come on
Baby, don't you wanna go home

Back from the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gregory Porter's "Sweet Home Chicago" is about a longing for home, specifically the city of Chicago. The song is a plea to a lover to return home with the singer. The first stanza has the singer enticing his lover to come with him back to Chicago from California, a clear indication of displacement felt by the singer. The lyrics, "Back from the land of California/To my sweet home Chicago" communicate a longing for home and a desire to leave a place that does not feel like home.

The second stanza has the singer trying to convince his lover to come back home with him. He tells her how simple it is to get there: "Two and two is four, babe/Four into two is eight." He also implores her not to make him late, adding a sense of urgency to his plea. The chorus is a repetition of the first stanza.

The third and final verse is the singer stating the facts again and making another cry for his love to join him, "I'm here lonely, I hook and I gotta go." The song's simplicity, repetitive chorus, and raw emotion captured through simple lyrics make it a highly relatable song many people who have been away from home.

Line by Line Meaning

Come on
Let's go

Baby, don't you wanna go home
Do you not want to return to the place you call home?

Back from the land of California
Returning from California

To my sweet home Chicago
To the place I consider my home, Chicago

Two and two is four, babe
An expression of a simple math problem

Four into two is eight
An incorrect answer to a math problem

Come on now girl, don't you now make me late
Urging someone to not cause him to be tardy

And I've got to leave
He has to depart from the current location

One and one is two
Another expression of a simple math problem

Two and two is four
Repeating an earlier line

I'm here lonely, I hook and I gotta go
He is alone and ready to depart from this place