Del Porter | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Delmar Smith Porter |
| Born | April 13, 1902 Newberg, Oregon, United States |
| Died | October 4, 1977 (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Big band jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Band leader, jazz musician[1] |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1924–1977 |
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.[2]
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.[3] "Sweet potato" is a nickname for an ocarina.