0:00:04 > 0:00:06Soho in central London.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11An unusual setting for the start of my series of interviews leading up
0:00:11 > 0:00:13to Advent and Christmas.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20It was here just six short years ago that a man little-known outside the
0:00:20 > 0:00:24jazz world made his first appearance on the British stage.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28# If you're blue and you don't know where to go to
0:00:28 > 0:00:30# Why don't you go where fashion sits
0:00:30 > 0:00:32# Putting on the ritz? #
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Since then, Gregory Porter,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38famous both for his signature black hat and for his golden voice,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41has become a worldwide star...
0:00:41 > 0:00:44# Take me to the alley... #
0:00:44 > 0:00:48..a far cry from his humble beginnings in small-town America...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51# ..Take me to the afflicted ones... #
0:00:51 > 0:00:54..where he was raised by his mother, Ruth, a preacher.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57First and foremost, I am a child of God.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Secondly, I am a child of Ruth,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and you better watch out for her.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04# ..Lost their ways... #
0:01:04 > 0:01:06That's what it feels like when Gregory's singing,
0:01:06 > 0:01:11like my mother's up giving her sermons that she often did.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13# There's some people down the way that's thirsty
0:01:13 > 0:01:15# So let the liquid spirit free... #
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Even though Gregory's mother was a woman of God,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23that didn't stop the Porter family facing terrifying racism.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27They were looking for somebody black to hurt that night,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and they found my brother. They shot him twice.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33- Thank God, survived.- Yeah. Yeah.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35One of eight children,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Gregory Porter was brought up in a single-parent family
0:01:38 > 0:01:43and he didn't sign his first record deal until he was almost 40.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Stardom was a long and sometimes difficult journey.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50# Boy, you hear me calling your name... #
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Gregory spent years struggling to support his family.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58I kept waiting for somebody to come
0:01:58 > 0:02:02and make me, and that wasn't happening.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04We were so broke.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08We didn't have much but whatever he had, he shared it with me.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11# He ruled the land... #
0:02:11 > 0:02:16His life story echoes some of the themes of Advent.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21It's a tale rich in hope, love, joy and peace,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25as he resolves his troubled relationship with his father.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30I went to a therapist. "So, tell me about your father." "Agh!"
0:02:30 > 0:02:32"Tell me about your father." "Agh!"
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And I just couldn't contain my tears.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39# ..To pull their lives from the brink... #
0:02:39 > 0:02:43I want to find out what kept him going through those long years of
0:02:43 > 0:02:46struggle, and whether he lost faith
0:02:46 > 0:02:50not only in himself and his music, but in God as well.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06There is one particular Soho jazz club...
0:03:06 > 0:03:08- Here we are, in Dean Street. - Yes, we are.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12..that has a special place in Gregory's affections.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14This is the showbiz star entrance, is it?
0:03:14 > 0:03:19It was here on 4th July 2011 that a British audience
0:03:19 > 0:03:23first fell in love with that incredible voice.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It's tiny.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- Yeah.- It really is tiny.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32You know, it's relative to where you are in your career.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36There's some places that if there was 15 people there,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- it would be packed.- Then you play this
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and then play the Royal Albert Hall
0:03:40 > 0:03:43with...I don't know how many thousands of people are in there.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Yeah. I bring the Royal Albert Hall here.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50I want the Royal Albert Hall to be as intimate as this space.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53On that first night, can you remember anything from the set list?
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Yeah.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00# I've been searching all the corners of my room
0:04:00 > 0:04:05# Sweeping dust and memories beneath the carpet
0:04:05 > 0:04:09# That we purchased somewhere on some cool retreat
0:04:09 > 0:04:12# Somewhere in Africa
0:04:12 > 0:04:14# Somewhere... #
0:04:14 > 0:04:18I could almost feel your chest vibrating as you sang.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19- Yeah.- That's incredible.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23- Let's go and talk about other things.- Wonderful. Yeah.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26SLOW JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Gregory Porter was born in Sacramento, California,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35in November 1971.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42When he was seven, his family moved to the small town of Bakersfield,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45100 miles north of Los Angeles.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49The Porters eventually settled in this house on Christmas Tree Lane.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Tell me about life growing up in Bakersfield.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Growing up in Bakersfield was...
0:04:57 > 0:04:58many things.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03It was a very small town, comfortable, familiar,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08but at the same time there were racist elements that existed
0:05:08 > 0:05:12but my mother, she was so beautiful.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17She was like a fireman...fire woman for our family.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Any time there'd be some issue or somebody would put something on us,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24she would be right there to just... put that fire out
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and let us know that we were her children,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31children of God, and worthy of respect,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33and should always demand it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41So, your mum has eight children,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44five boys, three girls
0:05:44 > 0:05:48and a husband who was AWOL quite a lot.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51That's a way to put it!
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Yes.- Without leave.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Did you ever know where he was, what he was doing?
0:05:55 > 0:06:00Erm, he was in Los Angeles and...
0:06:02 > 0:06:04..and didn't raise me.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07In the absence of his father,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10it was Gregory's mother Ruth who was the keystone of the family.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Gregory might say that he was number one special, and you might hear
0:06:16 > 0:06:20another one say, "I felt like I was the special one,"
0:06:20 > 0:06:22but, definitely,
0:06:22 > 0:06:28she gave you a personal heart connection to her love.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32And Gregory's mother didn't just share that love amongst
0:06:32 > 0:06:34her eight children.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38She also became a spiritual rock for the whole community.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42When you walked into her home, she made you feel like you were family.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46And the greatest thing I could say about Ruth
0:06:46 > 0:06:50is that she instilled that love for music,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53she instilled that love of God in their heart,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and what a pillar she was
0:06:55 > 0:06:58to this community of Bakersfield, California.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02- Your mother was a preacher as well, wasn't she? A pastor.- Yeah.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07And so, most Sundays you would spend hours at church singing...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09There's Sunday school,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13regular service, and then somewhere there's a three o'clock service
0:07:13 > 0:07:16and there's the evening service. So that's church all day long.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21# Some black morning
0:07:21 > 0:07:25# When this life is over... #
0:07:25 > 0:07:30Being steeped in the rituals of the Church allowed Gregory to
0:07:30 > 0:07:32tap into a rich musical heritage.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36The African-American traditions of gospel music are one of
0:07:36 > 0:07:40the biggest unsung influences on Western music.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Everybody knows, oh, the blues has an influence
0:07:43 > 0:07:45and early rhythm and blues has an influence,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and jazz, but gospel is actually one of the most important ones,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51which doesn't get spoken about so often.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53I have hung out with a lot of musicians
0:07:53 > 0:07:55that have come through church
0:07:55 > 0:07:58and they're nearly always the best musicians in the room.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It's an incredible training ground for musicianship.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Music was a massive part of family life at home too.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12We had a lovely high-fidelity stereo
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and we'd listen to the records quite a bit -
0:08:15 > 0:08:18country music, gospel music, of course.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20We listened to everything.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24It's probably why Gregory is such a good songwriter now.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25We started young, you know?
0:08:25 > 0:08:31# Roll out those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer... #
0:08:31 > 0:08:37One of Gregory's favourites was the legendary Nat King Cole.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40# ..Lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer
0:08:40 > 0:08:41# You'll wish that summer... #
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Nat's music was in the house...
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- From little?- ..so Nat was, like, my guy. From about five or six,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49I was listening to Nat's music.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54Me too. Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer was the album we played.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Yeah.- That's the one album...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00That's like, "Wow, sausages and weenies?!"
0:09:00 > 0:09:02That's a hell of a lyric.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It's a great song.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- Yeah. It's a fun song.- So you were growing up with that,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09not knowing that you were absorbing this?
0:09:09 > 0:09:11I knew I was absorbing it,
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I just didn't know where it would come in handy.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23But Gregory's mother Ruth had more on her mind than just music.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Driven by a deep spiritual conviction,
0:09:26 > 0:09:31she decided to set up her own church in a rundown area of town.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34In my childhood, it was called "the road".
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It's Lakeview Avenue in Bakersfield,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39California, and there was a lot of alcoholism,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42a lot of drugs, even prostitution on this street,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and this is where my mother set up shop. She was like,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48"I want to go to the alley, I want to go where it's bad.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52"I want to go where I can make some effect."
0:09:54 > 0:09:57So we had a little storefront church on Lakeview Avenue.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59What is a storefront church?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02It's a church. It wasn't purpose built.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04It wasn't built as a church.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I think our church maybe was a cafe at one point,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and we just cleared the building out
0:10:10 > 0:10:14and put some chairs and built the pulpit and...you know?
0:10:16 > 0:10:17And we made a church.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22And she used to pull the PA system out onto the street
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and I would sing to the drug addicted,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28to prostitutes, street people.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32That was my first audience.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34A tough audience or an easy one?
0:10:34 > 0:10:36It was a tough audience!
0:10:36 > 0:10:39You know, they know the blues.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41- So you have to come with something. - Mm-hm.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45You have to get their attention. They know good music.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Those days are more than just a musical boot camp.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53They were a chance for Gregory to learn first hand from his mother
0:10:53 > 0:10:56the power of faith in action.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01I've read somewhere that you would even be in the car with her
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and she'd see someone and stop the car and help people there and then.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Absolutely. My mother would see somebody who was in trouble,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11probably had overdosed or done something,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and many times we'd stop the car. There was one time she stopped.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19This woman had...was in a park,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23she had taken off all her clothes and she was just screaming.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Myself, my sister and my brothers were in the car,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28she stops the car. "Get out!"
0:11:29 > 0:11:31And just... We were her team.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35"Take the towel out of the back of the trunk, go put some water on it,"
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and she stayed with this woman for hours,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and she was just rubbing her head.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Rubbing her head
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and telling her it was going to be all right,
0:11:48 > 0:11:54and she stays with this woman until the effect of the drugs calm down.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56At the time, I was like,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00"Why does my mother have to be this kind of woman?"
0:12:00 > 0:12:02But now, I promise you,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04she was teaching without saying a word,
0:12:04 > 0:12:09and so when I sing a song like Take Me To The Alley...
0:12:14 > 0:12:16When I sing a song like Take Me To The Alley...
0:12:18 > 0:12:22# Take me to the alley... #
0:12:22 > 0:12:25This action that happened in the park...
0:12:25 > 0:12:28# ..Take me to the afflicted ones... #
0:12:28 > 0:12:31..this covering of this woman, this wiping of her face...
0:12:31 > 0:12:34# ..Take me to the lonely ones... #
0:12:34 > 0:12:36..patting her head for hours.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42# ..Have somehow lost their ways... #
0:12:42 > 0:12:45..that experience is what wrote that lyric.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48# ..Let them hear me say... #
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I wrote the lyric but she did the action,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and put that inside of me.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57# Oh, I am your friend... #
0:12:57 > 0:13:02And so, the idea of taking something from my life
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and an experience of selflessness
0:13:05 > 0:13:10and giving and being thoughtful,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Christ-like, in a way,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16if the record and if the song is successful,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18then my mother is still alive
0:13:18 > 0:13:23- and she is successful. Do you understand what I'm saying?- I do.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27# ..Let them hear me say
0:13:27 > 0:13:34# Oh-oh, I am your friend
0:13:35 > 0:13:42# Come to my table
0:13:42 > 0:13:48# Rest here in my garden... #
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Ruth's deep spirituality had a profound impact on Gregory
0:13:52 > 0:13:54and the rest of the family.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59# ..Sister, you will have a pardon... #
0:13:59 > 0:14:01One of your brothers is still in Bakersfield.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04- Yes.- And he is a pastor,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07with his church named after your mother, Ruth.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Yes. It's called the House of Ruth.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13It's a small operation, and he's doing the same thing.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17He's going and finding those people that are in trouble,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22maybe addicted, maybe...you know, and I give him some support.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26# Rest here in my garden... #
0:14:26 > 0:14:30But he's doing his thing. He's doing what my mother used to do.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34We've got to keep loving them, we've got to keep encouraging people,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36we've got to keep lifting them up, building them up.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38That's what this ministry is about.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42We've got to love people, no matter what their condition is,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44their nationality, race, whatever. We're going to love 'em.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48People told me, coming in this area, there was too many prostitutes,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51too many drugs, too many gang members.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54We've been here two years and when you look around now,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57the prostitutes are gone, the gang members are gone,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59we've got the drugs off the corner.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04There's still a few homeless people sleeping in front of the church,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08but they know it's safe. They know they can lay in front of my church,
0:15:08 > 0:15:09I'm not going to run 'em off.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12These are the things that my mother instilled in us as a child,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15that you don't put them down, you don't judge them.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17You love them and you understand them.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19# ..Take me to the alley... #
0:15:19 > 0:15:22But in the Bakersfield of the early 1980s,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25understanding was sometimes in short supply.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30The town was divided along racial lines...
0:15:30 > 0:15:35# ..Take me to the lonely ones... #
0:15:35 > 0:15:38..and living in a predominantly white area
0:15:38 > 0:15:40put the Porter family on the front line,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44whilst confirming their faith in God.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46You were victims of racist abuse.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I think people were throwing bottles of urine into the house
0:15:49 > 0:15:53through the windows, you had a burning cross on the front lawn.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Those things are frightening.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Yeah, yeah.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59How did she handle that?
0:16:01 > 0:16:03One night one of those, you know,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06bottles of urine came through the window,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and myself and my brother's bed was near the window,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and the glass came down on us.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And I remember, I'm still kind of... I remember it happening,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19but I was still kind of sleepy.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And I remember the flashlight of the police, police were there,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25they came in, and I remember just going to another place
0:16:25 > 0:16:30and going to sleep, and somebody putting a blanket over me.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33My mother was always, you know, she was like,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37"Oh, the demons came and threw something through the window,"
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- you know?- Make it OK. - She would make it OK.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45She would make our baloney sandwich and send us off to school and...
0:16:45 > 0:16:48You know, we had been called names so many times.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53She was always getting in our face in a good way and, you know,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57letting us know, "Son, you are beautiful.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01"Your blackness is beautiful, your hair is beautiful."
0:17:01 > 0:17:05And it's fortified with, "You're a child of God."
0:17:05 > 0:17:08And that's like, you know, "You've got to back up off me,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10"I'm a child of God," you know?
0:17:10 > 0:17:14None of that really sticks, because I'm a child of God.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- Wow.- And... - That's a powerful inoculation.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20It's a powerful, powerful thing.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Not only... OK, first and foremost, I'm a child of God.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Secondly, I'm a child of Ruth,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and you better watch out for her.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- I know that one of your brothers was shot on his way home.- Mm-hm.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Thank God, survived.- Yeah.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Your mother must have found that SO painful.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41Yeah. Yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Um...
0:17:43 > 0:17:48The court case, they found out it was these young guys,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52young racists. They were in some group,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54but it wasn't an official group,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58but they were looking for somebody black to hurt that night,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02and they found my brother. They shot him twice,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and he ran to a house.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Blood all over him. The people just let him in,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14they got a towel, you know, just did what my mother would do.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20When I think of Sister Ruth, I think of her love, her compassion.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22She instilled, first, Christ,
0:18:22 > 0:18:27then she instilled that love, and she was an awesome mother.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29And you know what?
0:18:29 > 0:18:33That's the start that I think all children need to become great.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38On graduating from high school in 1989,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Gregory moved away from Bakersfield.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44A talented American footballer,
0:18:44 > 0:18:49he won an athletics scholarship to study at San Diego State University.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54But just a few months later, disaster struck.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- I injured my shoulder. - Which one?- My right shoulder.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I can still feel it. Click, click, click, click, click.
0:19:02 > 0:19:09And I wasn't able to play and, for me, it was an interesting time.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12It was difficult. I was very sad about it.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15I called my mother. And she said, "OK, can you move your shoulder?"
0:19:15 > 0:19:18And I was like, "Not really, not right now,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21"but they say I'll be able to move it at some point.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24"Maybe I need surgery." This is, you know, devastating.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26She's like... I'm crying.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30And she was like, "OK, son, this scholarship, what happens to that?"
0:19:30 > 0:19:33"Yeah, I keep my scholarship. That carries on."
0:19:33 > 0:19:35"OK.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37"Son, everything is OK.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40"The scholarship is still in place.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42"Your shoulder will heal.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46"You won't be able to play football, but you're going to be all right,"
0:19:46 > 0:19:48and hangs up the phone.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50And I was like, "Huh?"
0:19:50 > 0:19:54I need more than... She's like...wonderful.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57And then so I start this transition
0:19:57 > 0:20:00of the change of your self-identity.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I went to my first love, which was music.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06I started to engage myself in music.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Gregory started sneaking into music lectures,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16leading to a chance meeting with the man who was to give him fresh hope
0:20:16 > 0:20:18and a new direction.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20First time I met Gregory,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I was substituting at the University of California, San Diego,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and I just took this class
0:20:26 > 0:20:29and someone was singing horn parts
0:20:29 > 0:20:32more brilliantly than the horns were playing them.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34HE SKATS
0:20:34 > 0:20:37You know, I was just another trombone or trumpet.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42He heard the tone of my voice and he was like, "Oh, wait a minute."
0:20:42 > 0:20:46I was convinced that I was in the presence of a star.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Aside from being a capable musician,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53he seemed to have the charisma and intellect to make everything happen,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and that's what moved me, more than just his singing.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01- The whole package.- And he arranged for me to sing that at jam sessions
0:21:01 > 0:21:06and that's how I jumped into my first times performing.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Whilst Gregory was still at college,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14his father Rufus became seriously ill.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Now seemed the perfect moment to try to make peace.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24He had become ill
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and he was in his hospital bed, and it looked bad.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31It looked like he wouldn't live much longer and so I just...you know,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34you want to have those life conversations,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39and so I wanted to give him an easy question that he could answer
0:21:39 > 0:21:42and it would dissolve all of that pain,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46and I would forgive him for all of the back stuff.
0:21:46 > 0:21:52I just wanted... I wanted to say to him, "One plus one is what?"
0:21:52 > 0:21:56I wanted him to say two.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01So I came to him and I said... I sang for him.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05- I sang Amazing Grace for him. - Around the bed?- Yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And I sang it to him.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11# Amazing grace... #
0:22:11 > 0:22:13He said, "That's really good.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18# ..How sweet the sound... #
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I told him, "I think I want to be a singer."
0:22:21 > 0:22:29# ..That saved a wretch like me... #
0:22:29 > 0:22:32He said, "Well, I don't know.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36"There's a lot of good singers out there.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38"I don't know. I don't know.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41"I don't know if you'd want to do that."
0:22:41 > 0:22:46It's like, you know, when you throw a child a soft ball really slow,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48"Surely you're going to hit that?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51"Oh, you missed it."
0:22:51 > 0:22:53And that's what happened.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57And he passed,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59you know, shortly after that,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02but I learned so many things about him.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06At his funeral, people got up and said he was a great singer,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09a great carpenter, you know, he wrote poems and,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13you know, basically he was the life of the party.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Why was he absent and not the life of the family?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I don't know. I don't know exactly.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24# ..My fears relieved... #
0:23:24 > 0:23:27His father's absence throughout his childhood
0:23:27 > 0:23:30troubled Gregory for many years.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35I was 30 and I had a pain in my chest that I thought was something
0:23:35 > 0:23:40physically wrong, a valve had gone wrong, I had a pain in my chest,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44went to the doctor. "Nothing, it's all clear, everything's fine here."
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Somebody suggested I go to a therapist.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I went to a therapist.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52"How's your relationship with your girlfriend?" "Wonderful."
0:23:52 > 0:23:54"Your relationship with your mother?"
0:23:54 > 0:23:59"Love her, love my mother, she's just the sweetest."
0:23:59 > 0:24:02"So, tell me about your father?" "Agh!"
0:24:02 > 0:24:04"Tell me about your father." "Agh!"
0:24:04 > 0:24:08And I just couldn't contain my tears.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11I thought the therapist was going to say,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13"OK, we're going to make a programme,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15"so we'll talk about these things, work through..."
0:24:15 > 0:24:18The therapist said, "You need to work that out."
0:24:18 > 0:24:21And I did work it out, in music.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Gregory's career was to take an unexpected turn in 1998,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32following a studio recording session at which the renowned jazz singer
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Eloise Laws had happened to hear him sing.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41I thought, my God, I'd never heard anything
0:24:41 > 0:24:47so raw, so pure, unadulterated,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51and this person had no material things
0:24:51 > 0:24:52but his talent.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56He walked in that room with nothing but talent.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58And so I told him to audition for the show,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03They brought him in for the audition,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05and he'd never done theatre.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07He blew their minds.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And next thing I knew, a few days later,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13when I showed up for the rehearsal,
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Gregory Porter had the role.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- # One and one is two - Yeah
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- # Two and two is four - All right
0:25:19 > 0:25:22# I'm all packed up, girl You know I've gotta go
0:25:22 > 0:25:27# Come on, baby Don't you wanna go? #
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Following a successful national tour,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34the decision was made to transfer the production to Broadway.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38They were like, "OK, this show's good enough for Broadway,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41"Let me see who's good enough to stay in the cast."
0:25:41 > 0:25:44# ..Baby, don't you wanna go? #
0:25:44 > 0:25:48And the cast was strong, so the whole cast stayed, you know,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51and I was one of them, and that was the start of me, you know,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54being in front of a couple of thousand people at a time.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57And your name, Gregory Porter, starts...
0:25:57 > 0:26:02My name, Gregory Porter, and just connecting with people with music,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04night after night, you know?
0:26:04 > 0:26:08So, who then found you and said, "Yeah, recording artist"?
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I kept waiting for, like,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15a Quincy Jones type to... or, you know...
0:26:15 > 0:26:20- Discover you?- I kept waiting for somebody to come and make me.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- Ah!- And that wasn't happening.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30It would have been easy for Gregory's faith to waver.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34But if there was one thing a child of Ruth wasn't going to do,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36it was give up.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40You know, I knew there was something special about Gregory.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43My mother would say that. She was like, you know,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46"One day, you're going to get the golden slipper,"
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and I didn't understand that, as a kid, but she was like,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51"There's something special about him."
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Her faith was huge that, if you believe it, you can receive it,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58that you can't be afraid of what's around the corner,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01but I know that you have to keep your faith in the Lord,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04and that he's going to open up the doors for you to have it.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Such was Ruth's belief in Gregory that even in her final hours,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12she was still giving him the strength to pursue his dreams.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15I knew she knew she was dying.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I knew she was dying. We didn't talk about it.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21She stopped that conversation.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23She was like, "Gregory, turn the oxygen up."
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The oxygen was already on maximum.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29So I act like I turned it up, I just twisted my hand and I said,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33"Is it better now?" She said, "Yeah, oh, yeah, it's much better."
0:27:33 > 0:27:36I didn't give her any more air, it was already on maximum.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39She's like, "Wait a minute, don't forget about this.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44"The risky thing that can cause you great poverty,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46"don't forget about music.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48"Don't forget about music.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51"Don't forget about your music, son."
0:27:51 > 0:27:53And it's...
0:27:53 > 0:27:56She said, "It's the best thing you do."
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- That was one plus one makes two. - Yes!- Bang on it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02- Wasn't it?- Bang on it, bang on it.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08# What'll I do when you...? #
0:28:08 > 0:28:14Having successfully performed other artists' music,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Gregory decided to write a musical of his own,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21drawing on the work of his childhood idol, Nat King Cole,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23for inspiration.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28I used to listen to Nat's music, and when he would sing a song
0:28:28 > 0:28:31of love lost and love longing,
0:28:31 > 0:28:38I adapted it to the understanding of love lost that I understood,
0:28:38 > 0:28:44which was the loss of love, you know, from my father.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46A song like What'll I Do?...
0:28:46 > 0:28:49# What'll I do when you are far away
0:28:49 > 0:28:51# And I am blue, what'll I do?
0:28:51 > 0:28:53# What'll I do with just a photograph
0:28:53 > 0:28:56# To tell all my troubles to? #
0:28:56 > 0:28:59You know? That's the way I would think of the song.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04# Smile though your heart is breaking... #
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Nat "King" Cole & Me, a musical healing,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12was a mix of original songs penned by Gregory, and covers.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16He sang the music of Nat Cole so beautifully.
0:29:16 > 0:29:22We were so, so...just enthralled.
0:29:22 > 0:29:28- # ..If you smile through your fears and sorrows...- #
0:29:28 > 0:29:31The 2004 musical was Gregory's attempt
0:29:31 > 0:29:35to finally resolve his troubled relationship with his father.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40It makes sense, because this was one of his big influences in his life.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43He goes back to his roots and he writes about that,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45and that's what people love.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48They like the real deal, and he is the real deal.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53These were songs that were connected to me emotionally, and I could sing
0:29:53 > 0:29:56them with great emotion once I stepped to the microphone,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00and I've realised from theatre that I do best
0:30:00 > 0:30:03when I'm connected to the subject matter emotionally.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Did you get your father's character on stage
0:30:06 > 0:30:10being able to give you the one plus one equals two?
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Absolutely.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16And so I wrote an apology
0:30:16 > 0:30:21from my father. I wrote an "I love you" from my father.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24I said it straight, but I did it after he was dead.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28- Yeah.- Opening night, 800 people in the audience.
0:30:28 > 0:30:29It was real.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31It was real!
0:30:31 > 0:30:35That was my father saying, "I'm sorry."
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Pschaw! Just the weight,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41it was just this cleansing, cathartic thing.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46# Mona Lisa
0:30:46 > 0:30:52# Mona Lisa men have named you
0:30:52 > 0:30:59# You're so like the lady with the mystic smile... #
0:30:59 > 0:31:03When he sings, you're hearing his experience, his life.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06# ..Is it only cos you're lonely? #
0:31:06 > 0:31:09And his love of humanity.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12That feel, mixed with the technique,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14is a thing that really connects with people.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16So, instead of coming from here, it's coming from here
0:31:16 > 0:31:19and it's going to the people's hearts and connecting with them,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22because they hear in his voice a sincerity and a love
0:31:22 > 0:31:24that you can kind of, you know...
0:31:24 > 0:31:28and amazing pipes that deliver this that, you know,
0:31:28 > 0:31:29you just don't see any more.
0:31:29 > 0:31:36# ..Or just a cold and lonely
0:31:36 > 0:31:41# Lovely work of art? #
0:31:41 > 0:31:45It's easy to kind of stop at the voice because his voice is majestic,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49but when you consider his work as a composer and as a lyricist,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52then maybe that's where he gets even more impressive.
0:31:52 > 0:31:58So, when you're writing, I mean, is it in your head? In your ears?
0:31:58 > 0:32:02In...? I don't know. Where does it come from?
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Can you hear the melody? Do the words come first?
0:32:05 > 0:32:10- What happens?- For me, the words and melody come together.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Yes, I have the idea, like, something will happen.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Our Love was written in London
0:32:20 > 0:32:23when I was walking around the Tower of London.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28This magnificent fortress, and love being protected by these gates,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31and these ramparts, this fortress.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34# Vultures are flying round
0:32:34 > 0:32:39# The ramparts of the towers of our love... #
0:32:39 > 0:32:41As I'm walking around...
0:32:41 > 0:32:45# ..Forces of hate have stormed the gates... #
0:32:45 > 0:32:50The initial inspiration came from me and my lady walking down the street
0:32:50 > 0:32:52and somebody saying, "Well, that's a weird couple."
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Why?
0:32:54 > 0:32:57I'm tall, she's shorter.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59I'm black, she's white.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Russian. They said it, and kept on walking.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04But that stirred something in me.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09# ..Forces of hate have stormed the gates
0:33:09 > 0:33:12# Around the castle of our love
0:33:12 > 0:33:16# Forces of hate have stormed the gates
0:33:16 > 0:33:19# Around the castles of our love
0:33:21 > 0:33:24# Don't it sound sweet?
0:33:25 > 0:33:28# Our love... #
0:33:28 > 0:33:32You met her when you were out gigging around Europe
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and the world and...Russia, did you meet?
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Yeah. Russia was the first place where I got any energy.
0:33:39 > 0:33:44So, one of my first gigs in Moscow, we met,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48and she spoke ten words
0:33:48 > 0:33:49and...
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Of English.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54And that's all she knew.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04I was just invited for some random gig in a jazz club in Moscow.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I didn't know what I'm going to see, who I'm going to meet.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11I was amazed,
0:34:11 > 0:34:18just probably like every person who ever heard him singing on the stage.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Shocked, amazed and intrigued.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25So, this picture of our first date that we went to the restaurant
0:34:25 > 0:34:27after Gregory's performance.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29He was like an alien for me.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Looked different, sounded different,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34talked different, acted different.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38Everything different, like he just arrived from Mars.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41I didn't speak English.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46So I just knew maybe ten words that I would try to say.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50So I couldn't even say anything, so I was just looking and smiling.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Kind of kept in touch, lightly, for years,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59like four years.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03Literally, it was really just a friendship.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09She was coming to New York to sightsee, so I was her tour guide.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11I looked at her and I was like, "Hmm."
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And she looked at me and was like, "Hmm."
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- So then we started a long-distance...- Romance?- Yeah.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Yeah. A romance.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27In 2010, Victoria left Russia
0:35:27 > 0:35:30and made the 5,000-mile journey to be with Gregory,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33who was now living in New York.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38When I moved to New York, I gave up my work and my life in Moscow.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40It was not easy to settle down.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46We were still a little bit of strangers to each other,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49so it was a big risk to come.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52You know, this is what was new for both of us.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55My parents were worrying too, where am I going?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Who am I staying with?
0:35:57 > 0:35:58Is it a good person?
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Do you trust him?
0:36:00 > 0:36:03My father kept asking me, "What's happening?
0:36:03 > 0:36:06"What's happening? Are you staying or are you coming back?
0:36:06 > 0:36:09"Are you there or are you here?"
0:36:09 > 0:36:13The couple were living in a small rented apartment in Brooklyn.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18Gregory spent his nights honing his vocal skills in small jazz clubs
0:36:18 > 0:36:20across the city.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23The gospel understanding that I had, you know,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25singing in church with my mother,
0:36:25 > 0:36:31the kind of country gospel blues that I'd learned in Bakersfield,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33very Southern style,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37that needed to go through the synthesis
0:36:37 > 0:36:42of doing gigs and jam sessions in Brooklyn and Harlem, New York.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- It had to go through that...- Yes.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47- ..in order to figure out who I was...- Yes.- ..musically.
0:36:47 > 0:36:54He sang for six hours for a couple of hundred dollars.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58And, yeah, we were trying to survive on this.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00We were so broke.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02We couldn't afford to go to the restaurant,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04we couldn't afford nothing.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08We didn't have much, but whatever he had, he shared it with me.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11He was buying me clothes, food, whatever.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14He was taking care of me from the beginning. From day one.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18# Mama, don't you worry 'bout your daughter
0:37:18 > 0:37:22# Cos you're leaving her in real good hands
0:37:22 > 0:37:26# I'm a real good man
0:37:26 > 0:37:32# And the picture of this man is slowing coming into view... #
0:37:32 > 0:37:35- Beautiful song, Real Good Hands. - Yeah.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38About a boy asking his future parents-in-law
0:37:38 > 0:37:42- to marry their daughter.- Yeah. - Is that what that was written about?
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Absolutely, yeah. People think of the song as...
0:37:45 > 0:37:49You know, it kind of has a Southern feel and, you know,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53they think I went and knocked on this man's door...
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and the mother and father are just there.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01It didn't happen that way. He beat me to it.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04I was going to do it, I was going to go and talk to him,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06but he beat me to it. He called me,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and he was speaking Russian,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13so it was through a translation, and he was very tough on me.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17He was like, basically, what every father...
0:38:17 > 0:38:19"What are your intentions with my daughter?"
0:38:19 > 0:38:24I was translating through this Skype conversation.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29They were like talking to each other through me and,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31"Yeah, yeah, we're going to marry," and I was like,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34"I guess it's a proposal,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37"happening right now, through me as interpreter!"
0:38:37 > 0:38:40My dad was like, "Oh, OK, all right.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43"OK, good. I'm happy to hear that, yes."
0:38:43 > 0:38:48It stewed in me, and then I sat down and wrote Real Good Hands.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51# Papa, don't you fret and don't forget
0:38:51 > 0:38:54# That one day you was in my shoes
0:38:54 > 0:38:57# Papa, don't you fret and don't forget
0:38:57 > 0:39:01# One day, like me, you was shaking in your shoes
0:39:01 > 0:39:05# Look at you Somehow you paid your dues
0:39:05 > 0:39:08# You're the picture of the man
0:39:08 > 0:39:10# That I some day hope to be
0:39:10 > 0:39:13# Won't you listen, listen to me? #
0:39:13 > 0:39:17In my mind, I was assuring her parents with this song.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19- That she would be safe. - Yeah, real good hands,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22I'm a real good man, kind of thing.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Whether I am or not, I don't know, but that's...
0:39:25 > 0:39:27That's what the song says.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31And the song must have done the trick, because it wasn't long before
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Gregory and Victoria tied the knot.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37This is our wedding pictures.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39THEY LAUGH
0:39:39 > 0:39:42We had everything. Clearly, we had balloons, bubbles...
0:39:42 > 0:39:46Bubbles. We happened to have everything we were supposed to have.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48- Yeah.- We are cute.
0:39:50 > 0:39:56# ..Water pouring down the sidewalks
0:39:56 > 0:40:01# Cleaning windows clear to see... #
0:40:01 > 0:40:06Things had started coming together in Gregory's professional life too,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10with the release in 2010 of his debut album Water.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17It was received with great critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination.
0:40:17 > 0:40:24- This was your first big opening of the curtains...- Yeah.- ..in life.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Yeah.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30And the night of the Grammys, were you there? Were you waiting?
0:40:30 > 0:40:31Yeah, I didn't think I would win,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34but I thought, hey, well, maybe I could.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I was there with my brother, we had suits made for us.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40And we were like, you know, "We're going to the Grammys!"
0:40:40 > 0:40:42It was very special.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45Yeah, so I didn't win, but it didn't matter.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46I mean, it was...
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Well, the next night, I hear your brother was driving you
0:40:50 > 0:40:53back off somewhere to some open-mic night.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56- Yeah. That's what we did. - That's great!- In his mind...
0:40:56 > 0:40:58My brother's such a funny guy.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01My brother's like, "OK, we didn't get it, let's go back to work,"
0:41:01 > 0:41:03you know, back to where I started.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07I was asking to get up on stage just to sing.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Gregory might not have ended up with a Grammy,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15but he was about to pick up something even more precious
0:41:15 > 0:41:19with the birth in October 2012 of his son Demyan.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Gregory was the first one who was holding the baby.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25He was there with me,
0:41:25 > 0:41:27and I had a C-section because they didn't let me have
0:41:27 > 0:41:32this giant baby - 9lb 5oz!
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Gregory was next to me, he was covered,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42everything, only his eyes were open.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47So when the doctor gave him a baby,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50I saw the tear coming out of his eye
0:41:50 > 0:41:55and it was the sweetest moment to remember,
0:41:55 > 0:41:58because he was holding his son for the first time,
0:41:58 > 0:42:02and all I could see was just his eyes and he was crying,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04so it was the sweetest moment.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06# Un-re-route the river
0:42:06 > 0:42:08# Let the dammed water be
0:42:08 > 0:42:11# There's some people down the way that's thirsty
0:42:11 > 0:42:13# So let the liquid spirit free. #
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Life was about to get even sweeter, as Gregory's third album,
0:42:16 > 0:42:222013's Liquid Spirit, finally secured him that coveted Grammy.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26# ..Dry land, clap your hands Come on, clap your hands... #
0:42:26 > 0:42:30The names of your albums - Water, Liquid Spirit -
0:42:30 > 0:42:33they're connected very much to your mother, aren't they?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Yeah, she... She often had...
0:42:36 > 0:42:42sermons about water, the cleansing effect, the renewal.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46She believed that everybody could be renewed.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51And that is connected to here faith and so, my song Water,
0:42:51 > 0:42:56is a poetic musical manifestation
0:42:56 > 0:43:00of her sermons. Just her idea.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Liquid Spirit is the same thing.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09Again, using the water metaphor, the love metaphor.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14I like the idea that my mother's sermons,
0:43:14 > 0:43:18the ideas of faith are finding their way, still there.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20The message is still there,
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and it's still getting into the ear of people,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26but, you know,
0:43:26 > 0:43:31I'm not a person who enjoys beating anybody over the head
0:43:31 > 0:43:37with peace and love and the idea of mutual respect.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40I like for it to come to them in the right way.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44# ..Getting ready for the wave... #
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Gregory's fame and popularity
0:43:46 > 0:43:50hit even greater heights with the release of his fourth album,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Take Me To The Alley...
0:43:52 > 0:43:55# ..After it comes, it might come with a steady flow... #
0:43:55 > 0:43:58..which earlier this year won him a second Grammy.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01# ..Take a cup when your spirit's low... #
0:44:01 > 0:44:05He can sing something really simple and make it connected
0:44:05 > 0:44:08with the listener and connected with your heart,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and that's really the hardest thing to do.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13# ..Get down, take a drink... #
0:44:13 > 0:44:16It's a once-in-a-generation voice.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20He worked hard at it with many years of small clubs,
0:44:20 > 0:44:23small audiences, no audiences.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26He's lived and he's using his life experience
0:44:26 > 0:44:29to actually say something.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33Now, of course, success brings its own issues.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36You're working hard, you're away from home,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38you're on the road constantly.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41- How much of the year are you away, do you think?- I'm...
0:44:42 > 0:44:46- The better part of 300 days... - Wow.- ..a year. But they travel.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Sometimes they travel.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52My son has been to 15 countries, they travel a lot.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55- How old is he?- He's four, he's about to be five.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Is he? So he still able to travel, cos school isn't quite so...
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Yeah, it's not so serious yet.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07But even, you know, if this thing lasts, if I'm still travelling...
0:45:07 > 0:45:11I think it might. I'm not sure, but I think it will!
0:45:11 > 0:45:13We'll travel together, maybe he'll do, you know,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17some schooling on the road, or in Europe, I don't know.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18I don't know.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23Maybe it'll be incorporated into our lives, this more...
0:45:23 > 0:45:25this travel thing, I don't know.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Is he looking like he's a musician?
0:45:28 > 0:45:32He is very into the drums, he loves singing,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36he loves... His three favourite singers are me,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41and not necessarily in that order.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44- So sometimes it's me.- Mm-hm.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Did you score two times?
0:45:46 > 0:45:48- Mm-hm.- Yeah?
0:45:48 > 0:45:50Were they long shots?
0:45:50 > 0:45:52100 times.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54GREGORY LAUGHS
0:45:54 > 0:45:58I saw just two, but maybe he did something more I didn't see.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Demyan, he's musical and athletic and funny, just like his dad.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05They can run around the house
0:46:05 > 0:46:09after each other, and it's just lovely to watch them playing.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Did you catch the rebound,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14or did somebody pass it to you first and then you started dribbling?
0:46:14 > 0:46:16And you shot?
0:46:18 > 0:46:19Cool, man.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23You must think to yourself, the amount of time you're away,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26- you're the absent father this time. - Yeah.- Horrible.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Yeah, I think about it.
0:46:29 > 0:46:30But...
0:46:31 > 0:46:34So, I make it my business to Skype
0:46:34 > 0:46:38and have conversations
0:46:38 > 0:46:42and to call when it's homework time. He has his little homework,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46which is really colouring pumpkins and tracing L's and B's and P's,
0:46:46 > 0:46:50and you know, I put the phone up close so I can be there
0:46:50 > 0:46:52and so we do that a lot.
0:46:55 > 0:46:56Awesome.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57Hey, don't go far.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05He has a routine of going round the pool...
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Yo!
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Sometimes, when Gregory is not around,
0:47:13 > 0:47:14I'm filming on the phone
0:47:14 > 0:47:19or he's sometimes calling on the Skype to see him playing.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23He's trying to be there, even if he can't be physically there,
0:47:23 > 0:47:27so he's still there through the internet, you know, somehow,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29so he's try to encourage him
0:47:29 > 0:47:33and say, "Yeah, I saw you, I'm proud of you, keep going."
0:47:33 > 0:47:36He's been constantly working.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39He's never stopping, that's the hardest part of it.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41But he's working for us.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46And I'm sending him messages in the music.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51Take Me To The Alley, I wrote a song for him, Don't Lose Your Steam,
0:47:51 > 0:47:56which is essentially the retelling of...
0:47:56 > 0:48:00As I think about it now, it's the retelling of pick yourself up,
0:48:00 > 0:48:03dust yourself off and start all over again.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05# Boy, you hear me calling your name
0:48:05 > 0:48:08# The bridge is your time Your engine rolls hot
0:48:08 > 0:48:09# If bridges fall down
0:48:09 > 0:48:12# Don't lose your head of steam
0:48:14 > 0:48:15# Young man... #
0:48:15 > 0:48:17I'm saying to my son,
0:48:17 > 0:48:21if the bottom falls out and the walls fall down,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24don't lose your head of dreams and don't lose your head of steam.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27# ..Get me to the other side... #
0:48:27 > 0:48:29So I'm speaking to him and...
0:48:29 > 0:48:32And that's your mother speaking to you.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34It's my mother speaking to me and...
0:48:34 > 0:48:37right, legacy, giving him something that was given to me.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41- Yeah, yeah.- Yeah, I'm present and trying to be there.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46# L is for the way you look at me
0:48:46 > 0:48:50# O is for the only one I see
0:48:50 > 0:48:54# V is very, very extraordinary
0:48:54 > 0:48:59# E is even more than anyone that you adore... #
0:48:59 > 0:49:02The latest album, again, Nat King Cole.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04It is all covers?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Officially, yes, it is all covers.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09I've actually covered one of my own songs.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13When Love Was King,
0:49:13 > 0:49:17it's a song that's in a way so important to me
0:49:17 > 0:49:20and so much of who I am
0:49:20 > 0:49:21and what I believe
0:49:21 > 0:49:23that I wanted to do it again.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27# When love was king
0:49:28 > 0:49:31# Do you remember
0:49:31 > 0:49:33# When love was king? #
0:49:33 > 0:49:39I wanted people to rehear that message of equality...
0:49:39 > 0:49:42# He rules the land... #
0:49:42 > 0:49:44..and mutual respect.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46# ..With his fist unfurled... #
0:49:46 > 0:49:49..and to be thoughtful and loving.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53# ..And open arms for the world... #
0:49:53 > 0:49:56He ruled the land with his fist unfurled,
0:49:56 > 0:50:01with open arms for the world. I want politicians to hear that.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04# ..He had respect
0:50:04 > 0:50:08# For every man
0:50:08 > 0:50:15# Regardless of his skin or clan
0:50:16 > 0:50:22# Beside him stood his mighty queen... #
0:50:22 > 0:50:26Beside him stood his mighty queen, an equal force, wise and keen.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28These are things I think.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30I think that. I feel that.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33And when you were making this record,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37did you feel the resonance of your childhood and the music you heard
0:50:37 > 0:50:39in your house and your mother speaking to you?
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Was there some spiritual experience as you recorded it?
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Absolutely. I was... My sister was there, I flew her in,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50because I knew it was going to be that.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52- Yeah.- And I knew it was going to feel my mother,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56I knew I was going to feel the house that we grew up in.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59I knew I was going to feel that energy,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01and I wanted her to be there as well.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03So when I sing the music of Nat King Cole,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06the energy of my father is there, you know,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09I came to Nat's music in the absence of my father.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12My mother is there - that was one of her favourite singers.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18There is an underlying theme that tells, again, my life story
0:51:18 > 0:51:21and there's some foundational information
0:51:21 > 0:51:23that's in the songs as well.
0:51:23 > 0:51:30# ..To those who toil without a gain... #
0:51:31 > 0:51:36And right at the very heart of both Gregory's personal
0:51:36 > 0:51:39and professional life is his connection to God.
0:51:39 > 0:51:46# ..So seek some place to call your own... #
0:51:46 > 0:51:50He has always kept his spirituality
0:51:50 > 0:51:52close to his music,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55and I don't think he really separates them.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58He just kept that spirit of kind of service
0:51:58 > 0:52:01and the power of the African-American gospel
0:52:01 > 0:52:02inside of his music.
0:52:02 > 0:52:10# ..When love was king... #
0:52:10 > 0:52:14His belief in God, it's a part of him.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18Not questionable, it's not something that you wonder about.
0:52:18 > 0:52:19It's just there.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22# ..Though my past has left me bruised
0:52:22 > 0:52:28# I ain't hiding from the truth... #
0:52:28 > 0:52:34If my mother could see Gregory now, she would say, "I told you so.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37"You will sing for kings and queens," she told him.
0:52:37 > 0:52:44I know that my mother would be smiling and also influencing him,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48guiding his footsteps, still getting her messages across.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51That's what it feels like when Gregory is singing,
0:52:51 > 0:52:56like my mother is up, giving her sermons that she often did.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00# ..Holding on
0:53:00 > 0:53:04# Love is holding on
0:53:04 > 0:53:08# Holding on
0:53:08 > 0:53:17# Hold... #
0:53:17 > 0:53:21So, now it's nearly Christmas and you...
0:53:21 > 0:53:25- Will you be going home for Christmas?- Yes.- Who comes?
0:53:25 > 0:53:26What happens on Christmas Day?
0:53:26 > 0:53:30Well, if it happens like it's happened the last couple of years,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33the first year was maybe 35, 40 people
0:53:33 > 0:53:36came to the house and we all had dinner.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39And last year, I expected 20-something,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43and it ended up being 100, about 115, 120 people.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46- No!- Yeah.- Is your wife in the kitchen, thinking,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49"I can't do any more roast potatoes"?
0:53:49 > 0:53:52It was amazing. People were coming and coming and coming and coming
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and coming and coming and coming.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58We wanted to have something little for everyone, gifts,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02you know, even just a piece of chocolate, or something,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05so people kept coming, and I kept wrapping.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08But it was great. You know, it was 20 people in the kitchen, there's,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11you know, 30 people in the living room.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15There's... You know, all of the little kids,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18and nieces and nephews are in the basement.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23I don't know if it will be 120 people this year, but we will see.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Let's hope not, for your wife's sake.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27Yeah. But I cooked, I cooked for everybody.
0:54:27 > 0:54:32I made, you know, lamb, steak, turkeys, chickens. It was great.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35It was amazing, because Gregory was cooking dinner,
0:54:35 > 0:54:37that's what he wanted to do.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40And when he was done, we finally had a chance to eat.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Everything was gone after 20 minutes.
0:54:43 > 0:54:44Everything.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50Of course, church on Christmas Day, do you do that?
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Yeah. We do.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55In a way, also, we do...
0:54:55 > 0:54:58You know, there's the thing that happens at the house as well that,
0:54:58 > 0:55:02you know, we all gather and join hands,
0:55:02 > 0:55:06and it can break out into something, you know?
0:55:06 > 0:55:08We're just thankful.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11When the family's together, we are thankful
0:55:11 > 0:55:16for our mother, and really connecting us and making us and...
0:55:16 > 0:55:19There we go, and making us.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20Making us a family.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22And...
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Yeah, it's really just a thankful time
0:55:25 > 0:55:27and an opportunity to share love.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29That's what Christmas is.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32It's not about that fat guy in the red suit.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36- He's cool. That's a cool story. - He's cool.- It's cute.- Yeah.
0:55:36 > 0:55:41But it's about love, and the reason for the season, which is Jesus,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45- so it's great.- Well, thank you for sharing the love with us.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48- Pleasure.- Gregory Porter, so nice to meet you.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53# Rest here in my garden
0:55:55 > 0:56:01# Rest here in my garden... #
0:56:03 > 0:56:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:06 > 0:56:11Well, that's it. Gregory Porter has left the building and...
0:56:11 > 0:56:16this room feels kind of bigger without him in it, you know?
0:56:16 > 0:56:19A big man with a huge personality.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21I wanted to find out at the beginning of this programme
0:56:21 > 0:56:25where his faith lay after struggling for so many years
0:56:25 > 0:56:27to find his success,
0:56:27 > 0:56:31and his faith has been rock solid all the way, hasn't it?
0:56:31 > 0:56:34All the way. Obviously, his mother instilled it into him
0:56:34 > 0:56:37and all his brothers and sisters,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40and through Gregory's music and his lyrics,
0:56:40 > 0:56:44he's now delivering his sermon, if you like, to us,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46the audience.
0:56:46 > 0:56:52Maybe standing on stage is his storefront church for us.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57Next week, Advent begins, and I'll be talking to Paralympian
0:56:57 > 0:57:00and reigning long jump world champion Stef Reid
0:57:00 > 0:57:04about how her faith helped her to over come a devastating accident
0:57:04 > 0:57:07to become one of British athletics' brightest stars,
0:57:07 > 0:57:09and a fashion model.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11I remember being in that ambulance
0:57:11 > 0:57:14and just really praying for the first time,
0:57:14 > 0:57:16"God, please save my life.
0:57:16 > 0:57:22"I have no hope at all right now except beyond what you can give."
0:57:24 > 0:57:35# Through many dangers, toils and snares
0:57:35 > 0:57:46# I have already come... #