Earlier this week, I was listening 'At the Corner of Broadway & Soul' and loving it, as I do whenever I hit play. Porter is an amazingly gifted vocalist, and I am constantly blown away by him. Whether he is singing music from Broadway musicals, or some great R&B, he always delivers. The first time I remember hearing his voice was when I heard "Love Is On The Way", best known as a theme song from 'The First Wives Club'. I also loved that he was part of the recording of "That's What Friends Are For" for The Friend's Project, along side David Raleigh, Sir Ari Gold, and Alan Cumming. The single raised money for the Ali Forney Center, whose mission is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. But when "Feel It To Heal It" started playing, I knew it had to be played on Sunday morning! It was written by Billy with Gary Haase, and is certainly uplifting.
There was another song on that album that is just perfect for this post, and I am happy to let you hear it. Porter sang the song written by Gospel maestro Kirk Franklin, "Why We Sing". It is beautiful and joyous, just what one wants from music on a Sunday morning.
Both songs can be found on the album 'At The Corner of Broadway & Soul', available on iTunes and Amazon. But I would like to add one more video for this morning. In 2010, Billy, Ari, David and Alan recorded the song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, amazingly talented songwriters. While it was originally sung by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack to the movie 'Night Shift', it was best known when sung by Dionne Warwick and Friends, featuring Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. The song raised fund and awareness for AMFAR, American Foundation for AIDS Research. That cover was released in 1985. Twenty-five years later, it was recorded by the new group of friends, to raise money for the worthy cause. And as the Ali Forney Center suffered greatly during Hurricane Sandy, I thought now would be a great time to hear it once again. Here is "That's What Friends Are For", the 2010 version.
You can purchase the single on iTunes or Amazon. You can also donate directly to the Ali Forney Center at their official website.
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