February 8, 1934

Art Porter Sr. was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Eugene Porter Sr., a stonemason, and Lillie Mae Porter, who gave Porter his first music lessons. He played in church at age eight and gave his first recital at age twelve. By the age of fourteen, he conducted a half-hour classical music radio program from KLRA-AM in Little Rock. Porter became a popular and respected musician of jazz, classical, and spiritual music and entertained several heads of state. He also performed at two of Bill Clinton’s inaugurations as governor and one of his presidential inaugurations. Porter’s musical legacy was passed on to Art Porter Jr., whose career, expressed in four albums, ended with his accidental death on November 23, 1996.