"Doctor" Phil Porter is not a widely known name outside of ragtime playing circles, but was long known to the people of Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia where he presided for decades in the Chi Phi fraternity house. He did not work long as a professional musician, had many compositions but virtually nothing in print, yet he still provided one of those rare direct glimpses into the original ragtime era long after it had ended. Here is as much his story as we could collect from scant sources. Many references spell his name as Philip, but he signed as Phillip so that is the spelling of record.

Phillip Porter was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, to John Green Porter and Sarah Elizabeth (Lewis) Porter in 1888, the first of ultimately five children born to Lizzie. On draft records he claimed 1887, but birth and other records confirm the correct year. As Phillip was listed as a mulatto on some occasions, there is a slight possibility that his father was also mulatto or light-skinned. Lizzie was born in Virginia in January 1863, so was very possibly born a slave during the last year that status was legally accepted within the United States. At one point, Phillip listed his birth place as Hillsboro, Virginia, about 115 miles north of Charlottesville in rural Loudoun County. As his birth record indicates Albemarle County, and the births of his two brothers were not registered in Albemarle, he may have lived there as a toddler. As of the 1900 enumeration the family was living in Charlottesville, Virginia, having likely moved back there in the mid-1890s. John was last listed in the 1895 Charlottesville directory. In 1900 Lizzie was shown as widowed and working as a washer woman. She was also listed as a laundress in the 1898 through 1910 city directories, living at 318 12th Street for most of those years. In addition to Phillip she was supporting his younger brothers Horace H. (12/1891) and William (12/1892). The date or cause of death for John Porter is as of yet unknown.

Growing up in Charlottesville Porter learned both piano and trombone. As implied in a later interview in February 1953 edition of The Record Changer magazine, Phil evidently tried to make a go of it as a professional ragtime pianist, likely between 1904 and 1910. He claimed to have learned it largely from traveling minstrel shows (a group that might include vaudeville troupes and Chautauqua performers) as they passed through central Virginia. Other than the University, Charlottesville was not as bustling a place as some other parts of the area, so there is some possibility that he ventured to either Richmond or Alexandria, Virginia, or even into the District of Columbia to play or listen to ragtime. Wherever he heard it, Phil managed to absorb the indigenous folk style of ragtime of the heartland. Working as a soloist or in bands, it sank in fairly well and stayed with him most of his life.

Phil described his own early Cakewalk and Ragtime band as being comprised of trumpet, trombone, banjo, piano, drums and, unusual for that time, soprano saxophone. As he remembered, "We couldn't get a clarinet." Phil said that the clarinet played straight harmony to the trumpet's lead, occasionally taking breaks, and that the trombone was the "clown" of the band, playing long slides and breaks as well. When writer Bill Martin once played a recording of Heebie Jeebies by Louis Armstrong for Phil, he remarked that the trombone playing of Edward "Kid" Ory on that track was very much the way most ragtime band trombonists performed. Usually seated at the piano with his band, when they marched in parades he took to the trombone instead. He remembered his band's cakewalk performances of The Washington Post march and Under the Double Eagle in particular.

While Phil was said to have been a prolific composer, virtually all of his original works likely survive in manuscripts and recordings, or are the stuff of memories by now. On one of his surviving recordings he plays his Cincinnati Rag which starts out with elements of Jay Roberts' The Entertainer's Rag and a clear nod to Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag before it veers off into more original territory. There are elements of the trombone slide in his performance as well. Not having been to Cincinatti, Ohio, he chose the title because of the rhythmic accent of the syllables in the name. Phil also wrote a number of songs, one of which also survives on a recording, and claims to have written a ragtime opera about a visit of a group American Negroes to Africa, the land of their earliest heritage.

Porter's style, as described in Martin's article in Record Changer, and as heard on the surviving recordings, was "a completely uncorrupted survival of what is probably a pre-Joplin approach to syncopated music. That is his manner and attack." Martin and Porter also both made the distinction between the "hot" approach that grew largely out of New Orleans [and Chicago], and the ragtime approach from the Midwest, which was much older and "always there." Porter himself described his style as a strong but regular left-hand beat, making the most of cross-rhythms through treble accents and rapid staccato, "the cakewalk way." "The ragtime players put in more left hand variation in the rhythm. We did it with the right hand when I learned, and I kept it that way." Indeed, his 1951 recording of W.C. Handy's Memphis Blues bears this out, with a lot of right hand rhythm and a fairly steady left hand beat.

As per his 1953 interview, Porter's short-lived career as a professional pianist was pretty much over by 1910. He appears in the census in Charlottesville at 21 still at home with his mother and siblings, but his status of single can be called into question. Curiously, Lizzie's last name is still Porter and she still shows up as widowed, but has two more children, daughters Mary Magdalene (7/1901) and Janie (1903). Initial research failed to turn up any birth, marriage or death certificate that would explain this. Phil was listed working as a janitor at the University of Virginia, the school founded by Thomas Jefferson. It was a job he would hold most of his life. In the 1916 Charlottesville directory, Lizzie appears as a domestic. Her last listing is in 1919 at the same address, with William, Horace and Mary still residing with their mother.

Phil would be married to his lifetime partner Josephine (Jackson) Porter perhaps some time just before or after the 1910 enumeration was taken. Their first child, Mary E., showed a birth date of September 20, 1909, which is part of the source of the confusion. As that census had been taken in April, and Phil later indicated that he was married at 20 and that Mary was 10 years old in January 1920, the time line is a little fuzzy on the progression of events. By the time the Charlottesville directory came out later in 1910, he was living at 944 Lee. On his 1917 draft record, Porter again listed himself as a janitor for UVA, living at 309 10th Street NW, less than a mile from the University. The 1916 city directory suggests that he was working for the UVA Chemical Lab at that time. The 1920 census showed the Porter family living at the same address, indicating that he owned the home. Additions to the large family included Irene A. in 1913, Ruth P. in 1915, Phillip A. Porter Jr. in 1917, Charles H. in December 1919, William in 1921, Josephine, named for her mother, in 1925, and Ronald Lowell on July 3, 1932. The 1920 Census further whittled down his job as working specifically for a fraternity at the University.

That fraternity was Chi Phi, which dated back to 1824 at Princeton University in New Jersey. When Phil was working for them as, per the 1953 interview, their "houseman," it was still an all-white organization. Just the same, during his tenure caring for the fraternity house and property, he was held in high regard by the students in residence. According to Martin, Porter was "careful to pick out certain members of the Chi Phi, whose piano playing he liked, and to train them in his style. Working in the afternoons, he carefully taught a dozen young men his tunes and his beat, and they and he [were] very happy with the results." Given that he worked for the fraternity for over 40 years, that statement alone indicates that there was a great deal of dedication and success that was of benefit to all parties.

There is no record of Phil playing in public from the 1920s to 1940s, but it is likely he played at some University events as well as occasional social gatherings or special celebrations in Charlottesville. The 1930 enumeration showed that the expanding family had moved to a larger home up the street at 341 10th Street NW, and he was a janitor for a club, which was likely Chi Phi.

The only currently known copy (as of 2009) of
"Doctor" Phil Porter's playing on disc.

By now, his role, as per his remembrances, must also have expanded to friend and mentor to the students as well. Porter was listed in city directories from 1930 to 1945, as well as his 1942 draft record, specifically as working for Chi Phi. In the 1940 Census he was listed as a janitor in a students' fraternity house, and a grandson had joined the household, although whose child it was is not indicated. There are also some mentions in newspapers showing that he was an involved parent, with his children involved both in church activities and with the local [likely segregated] Boy Scout troop.

The 1950 enumkeration showed Phil with a veritable full house, including children and grandchildren. He was still working as the fraternity houseman, as per the 1950 record. Nearing his retirement in the early 1950s, Phil was offered the chance to make some recordings of his unique ragtime style. The dates are hard to pin down, and there were multiple occasions. The Martin article suggests 1949, but one of the Audiodisc dubs of three tracks specifically shows April, 1951. Judging by the recording quality, there is a slight chance they were recorded to acetates before being dubbed to the 33 1/3 RPM discs, but more likely were done on an early 1949 or 1950 model Ampex magnetic tape recorded. The 1949 date is vague, so 1951 is most likely correct. They were reportedly done at WINA, one of the only two Charlottesville AM radio stations in operation at that time.

The Martin article states that there were 12 cuts done. One can hear the comments of either engineers or bystanders in the studio at the beginning of the tracks, including one moment at the beginning of Memphis Blues where the presiding technician yells for everyone to be quiet, cueing Phil to start. Martin wrote: "The engineers who did the recording had never heard him before, but they were so delighted that they kept him overtime, cutting versions for their own collections. Perhaps some day these records can be issued; they make an important document. They are also mighty fine music." The sole known remaining disc as of 2009 was given to the Chi Phi fraternity in 2005 by alumni member Forman S. Johnston, and framed along with Martin's article, appropriately hung in the fraternity house. One unanswered question from the article was where the title "Doctor" came from, as it could have been applied during the ragtime era much as Professor often was, or perhaps bestowed upon him by Chi Phi in later years.

There was another set of recordings done around the same time by Birch Smith, but on an old upright in a larger room, likely the Chi Phi fraternity house. This tape, provided to the author from Dick Mushlitz by way of Carl Sonny Leyland, includes 14 unique tracks and three retakes. At one point when the recordists were making sure he was happy with what he was laying down, Phil comments that he was just doing what they asked. "I don't follow this type of stuff. I don't have the time." He also apologizes somewhat for his singing, noting that it was not his strong point. These tracks are more likely representative of Phil in a relaxed environment letting loose with songs that were popular "back in the day." The biggest issue is the use of too much sustain pedal in a very live room, but otherwise his interpretations of pieces like The Washington Post and Under the Bamboo Tree are more potentially stylistically representative of the average working pianist during the ragtime era.

One of the final bits of business in Martin's article noted that as 1953 Porter was retiring from his four decades of service with Chi Phi. His life beyond this is hard to trace. Phil Porter died in 1958 just three days short of his 70th birthday, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Charlottesville along with some of his siblings. There are efforts underway to learn more about both Porter and his remaining recordings as of 2021. He did, however, present a lovely theory of music for posterity: "They say that in heaven, there is perfect music. And everybody who plays down here tries to imitate what they are playing all the time up there. The best musicians and the best bands are the ones that come closest to playing the heavenly music." Porter was never a household name outside of Charlottesville, but often the measure of such a person is the effect they had on all those that they touched during their lifetime with a smile or a joy. From what we know of Phil Porter, it may even be immeasurable.

The author was privileged to be able to access the one known remaining recording and restore, as best as possible, the three tracks on that disc. They are in MP3 format and should play on virtually any computer. These are full fidelity renditions of the wave files of the restored tracks, which were recorded in relatively low fidelity in an AM radio station using early 1950s technology on a single microphone. The tracks still provide an accurate glimpse into the sound of Phil Porter, who was obviously delighted to be able to leave them for posterity. All three are presented here for free as part of the agreement of the restoration. They are for personal listening only and encoded so that they can be played, but not included on any production CDs as doing so would be an infringement of the agreement with Chi Phi of UVA who was very generous in their loan of the material. More may be posted at a later date.