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Porter Church

Musician · b. 1934 · Bristol, Tennessee
Best known for Banjo

Porter Church is a Tennessee-born banjoist who became a fixture of the Washington, D.C. bluegrass scene in the 1960s and 70s — banjoist on Red Allen and the Kentuckians' landmark 1965–1966 County Records albums and a brief Bill Monroe Blue Grass Boy in 1960.

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  • Born in 1934 in Bristol, Tennessee; raised on a tobacco farm in nearby Virginia.
  • Came from a musical family; his brother Jim, a clawhammer player, gave him his first banjo while working in West Virginia coal mines.
  • Moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1953 in search of musical work and became a fixture of the DC bluegrass scene in the 1960s and 70s.
  • Played banjo (and briefly guitar/lead vocals) with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys for under a year in 1960.
  • Recorded two landmark mid-1960s albums with Red Allen and the Kentuckians: "Bluegrass Country" (County 704) and "Red Allen and the Kentuckians" (County 710, 1966).
  • Played with the Stonemans, Charlie Monroe, Ralph Mayo's Southern Mountain Boys, and groups including Bill Emerson, Frank Wakefield, and Scott Stoneman.
  • Also recorded three cuts on "Springtime In The Mountain" (County 749, 1975).
  • His son Kevin Church followed in his footsteps and played for years with The Country Gentlemen.

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