Billy Porter Makes A Timely Political Statement On His New Cover Of ‘For What It’s Worth’

Years before he became a major celebrity through his roles in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots and the FX television series Pose, Billy Porter was an emerging R&B singer. In 1997, he put out his major label debut record Untitled, a joyous work of pop and soul that showcased his extraordinary vocal range. Though the album didn’t burn up on the charts at the time of its release, it was a harbinger of things to come for the artist.

“I just pounded the pavement: get out and make it happen,” he recalls now of that formative period in his career. “I moved to New York on December 27, 1990. I was doing rehearsals for the original [Broadway] cast of Miss Saigon. From the minute I hit the pavement, I was trying to get a record deal.”

Fast forward to the present, and Porter is making a return to mainstream music—this time in a timely and political way. On Friday, the singer, actor and fashion icon unveiled his cover version of Buffalo Springfield’s 1966 counter-cultural rock classic “For What It’s Worth,” now available on Apple Music and Spotify. Porter’s updated and anthemic rendition infuses soul, gospel and hip-hop influences while still conveying the song’s call-to-arms message.

“I’ve always been a political person,” he explains. “As an artist, I want my work to reflect what’s going on in the world. Musically I’ve been looking for that voice. I’ve been in search of that voice and how to capture that and put it out into the world. In the spirit of crossing back over to mainstream music, I wanted to be political from the start, so people know what they’re getting. Even though everything is not political, sometimes it’s gonna be political. If you don’t like my politics you don’t have to worry about it, because I’m telling you upfront.” (laughs)

Porter—who grew up listening to the original Buffalo Springfield version—thought about how he would approach the song in the context of today’s news cycle that often tends to dwell too much on the negative rather than the positive. “I found so often that I’m watching a news program that they’re telling me all the [stuff] that I already know that’s wrong, but not offering any solutions, not offering ways out. We need ways out, we need a plan. We need a change. That’s political change.”

The new version of “For What It’s Worth” has the endorsement of Stephen Stills, the song’s writer, who said in a press statement: “I am both proud and delighted that Billy Porter is covering my song: ‘For What It’s Worth.” For many years no one tried to ‘make it theirs’ as covers are supposed to do. That an artist of Billy’s caliber has chosen to add his flourish to my song from so many years ago is totally in keeping with what I intended.” Of Stills’ support, Porter says: “That’s really amazing. Really truly amazing.”

Porter’s cover is a standalone single, released ahead of some new music he is currently working on. “I’m moving into the disco house ‘70s dance music space,” he says. “My goal is to pick up where Sylvester [the influential disco singer best known for the hit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”] left off. When he died, that was the last time I had really seen a queer man of color be able to succeed in the mainstream space of the music industry.”

Porter’s previous recorded work showcases his ability to cross over into other genres, whether it’s dance music on his 2019 single “Love Yourself,” or his last full-length album, 2017’s The Soul of Richard Rodgers, which incorporated contemporary R&B and hip-hop influences into the work of the famed Broadway composer. “It’s Broadway meets me,” Porter says of that record. “My background is gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, hip-hop, all of that. The Richard Rodgers album for me was the bridge because I was being myself moving into the mainstream recording artist space again. I knew I wanted to bring my audience along from Broadway. A lot of my fans from Broadway are not necessarily fans of hip-hop or fans of gospel. What I did was I took the music that they knew and filtered it through my creative lens, so that you are getting the songs that you know—but they’re coming out the way that I would interpret them.”

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Porter was raised on gospel and R&B influences such as Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin. “I always think how grateful and blessed I feel to have always been a multi-hyphenate. I grew up in the Pentecostal church where I learned to sing, I was introduced to theater in the sixth grade. Art saved my life. It wasn’t just one thing. When the music industry dismissed me because they weren’t ready for a black queer man in the ’90s R&B music space, I had other places to go to continue to practice my art. Now I get to come back and re-enter the music industry as myself.”

Much has happened to Porter since 1997 with the release of the Untitled album, culminating in recent years with a Tony Award for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots and an Emmy Award for playing Pray Tell in the acclaimed Pose (The third season of the FX series was set to begin production until the coronavirus pandemic halted it).

“I am so grateful that I have lived long enough to see the day where my story is told in this major way,” Porter says of portraying Pray Tell, the emcee of the underground ballroom scene during late 1980s New York City. “When I got into the business, there was no archetype that looked like me, there were no jobs for people like me. It takes my breath away. Sometimes I’ll just sit down and watch an episode to remind myself I’m okay.” (laughs)

“I lost a lot of people during the AIDS epidemic,” he continues. “I’m part of the generation of artists who can be out, loud and proud and authentic. My generation and the generation before me paved the way to make it happen. And it’s not lost on me. Not only am I part of the group of people that kicked those doors down, but I get to walk through them. It’s not lost on me that that doesn’t always happen, and I’m very grateful for that.”

Amid the pandemic, Porter is using the time to work on his creative endeavors. Aside from music, he is writing a memoir and a children’s picture book as well as developing a pilot for a television series and working on a musical. “I’m using it to get work done,” he says. “I wake up every morning. [I’m] taking care of my sanity, trying to take care of myself. It’s been a very difficult time emotionally and spiritually in every way.”

Meanwhile, with his new rendition of “For What It’s Worth” now out into the world during a time of crisis and a crucial election year, Porter hopes it conveys a message. “It’s time for change for good. It’s time to get on the streets and make it happen. We have to be physically active.”