Gregory Porter's remarkable voice and his unique style have made him a standout figure in the music industry. The singer-songwriter, who was unveiled as the Dressed Crab as he finished second on The Masked Singer, has won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album twice, but it's his distinctive black deerstalker cap, which covers his ears and chin, that often piques curiosity. The 53 year old musician has previously explained why he always dons this accessory during performances. "I've had some surgery on my skin, so this has been my look for a little while and will continue to be for a while longer," he confessed to Jazz Weekly in 2012.
In a 2016 interview with the Telegraph, he revealed that he acquired some facial scars when he was around 'seven or eight' years old, without going into further detail. Speaking to Metro in 2020, he said: "It started off covering some scars from surgery, but it's become my style.". He added: "I was in Denver, and it was cold. I was wearing five layers of clothing, and I wore a hat. It warmed up, and I thought, 'Actually, this is comfortable; this is a look.' I started to sing in a jazz club in Denver, and people were like, 'Oh yeah, that's the guy with the hat.' So it became a thing.".
Tragically, Gregory Porter suffered a heartbreaking loss in May 2020 when his brother, Lloyd Cornelius Porter, died from complications related to COVID-19, reports Birmingham Live. After weeks of hospital treatment, Lloyd's condition worsened dramatically. Before the ventilator was turned off, Gregory sang to his brother. Gregory shared the poignant details of singing to his brother during his final moments with The Irish Times, revealing: "I sang to him. But at the opportunity that I sang to him, I said, 'He's gone.'" He confessed his sense that his brother was no longer present, admitting, "I don't know if he's clinically dead. In the middle of my song I was, like, 'He's not there.'" Recounting the situation in New York during the early pandemic wave, Gregory noted, "He was intubated. He was in that early [wave] that came through New York. They were super careful.".
The impersonal nature of his loss was felt deeply as Gregory described the process, saying, "They were burning the bodies or freezing them. He disappeared. He went in, intubated that day – and he just disappeared.". This wasn't Gregory's first encounter with bereavement; his mother passed away when he was only 21. Recalling her words, Gregory said, "She said to me... two days before she passed, she said, 'Gregory, music is the best thing you do. Don't forget about your music. We talked about kids, buying a house..." He remembered vividly how his mother struggled for air, despite her oxygen machine being turned up to its highest level.
"She said, 'Turn it up.' And I twisted the knob, even though the knob didn't move. She said, 'Ah, that's better.' It was already up on maximum. She knew her time wasn't long.". On a lighter note, Gregory spoke affectionately of his own family life. Gregory Porter's household includes his wife Victoria and their two sons, residing in Bakersfield, California. He fondly discussed his wife's artistic talents and cultural background, mentioning, "My wife is a painter, and so she does a little bit of painting with him [their son].".
