Porter Grainger

Porter Grainger (born Porter Granger, October 22, 1891, Bowling Green, Kentucky; died October 30, 1948, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an African American pianist, songwriter, composer, playwright, music publisher, and Broadway performer. The family surname at the time of his birth did not contain an "i," and while the precise moment of the spelling change is unclear, Grainger had already adopted the altered form by the time he registered for the World War I draft, at which point he was residing in Chicago. By 1916 he had begun his professional career in that city, and in the spring of 1920 he relocated to New York City, settling in Harlem by 1924.

Grainger built a substantial reputation as an accompanist rather than as a solo performer, working alongside blues singers including Fannie May Goosby, Viola McCoy, Clara Smith, and Victoria Spivey. Between 1924 and 1928 he collaborated with Bessie Smith, recording more than a dozen sides for Columbia Records. The 1928 stage production Mississippi Days, which also featured Smith, represented one of the prominent moments of his career. He additionally served as accompanist to Mamie Smith, appearing with her regularly in stage shows and performing alongside her in the 1929 film short Jailhouse Blues.

As a songwriter, Grainger composed for a number of female blues singers, among them Gladys Bryant, Dolly Ross, Ada Brown, and his wife, Ethel Finnie. Two of his compositions became enduring blues standards: "Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do," co-authored with Everett Robbins, and "Dying Crapshooter's Blues," written in 1927. "Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do" was subsequently recorded by Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Fats Waller, Jimmy Witherspoon, and the Ink Spots, among others. "Dying Crapshooter's Blues" was performed by Martha Copeland, Viola McCoy, and Rosa Henderson before entering the broader folk-blues repertoire. Among his other compositions were "What's the Matter Now" (1921), "Heart Breakin' Joe" (1923), "Prescription for the Blues" (1924), "Honey" (1924, co-written with Bob Ricketts), "Fortune Teller Blues" (1926), "Wylie Avenue Blues" (1927, co-written with Joe Davis), "Soul and Body" (1927), "Good Time Mama" (1927), "Fat and Greasy" (1936), and "By an Old Southern River" (1943), among additional titles.

As a bandleader, Grainger made eight recordings. Four of those sides were recorded with his ensemble the Get Happy Band and featured Sidney Bechet on soprano saxophone, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton on trombone, and Elmer Snowden on banjo. These recordings also included "(In) Harlem's Araby," a composition Grainger co-wrote with Jo Trent and Thomas "Fats" Waller. In 1926, working with pianist and composer Bob Ricketts, Grainger wrote and published the instructional book How to Play and Sing the Blues Like the Phonograph and Stage Artists.

Grainger's Broadway career included appearances in the revue Hot Rhythm, the musical Lucky Sambo, and the revue Yeah Man, with his Broadway work documented as early as 1925. His last known recording dates to 1932, though he continued to perform and compose into the 1940s. Grainger died on October 30, 1948, at the age of 57, at his home in Pittsburgh, the result of accidentally choking on his dentures. His death certificate was misfiled under the name "Granger Porter." He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. A copyright renewal application for his How to Play and Sing the Blues book was filed in his name in 1954, an action believed to have been carried out by his daughter.