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| Pork McElhinny Long Way to the Top Biography |
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| George McElhinny became "Pork" when he was three years old, the same year he first started strumming an acoustic guitar. When everybody started calling him Georgie Porgie, his older sister was having trouble pronouncing it, so Georgie Porky was good enough for her. The name turned to Pork and stuck, as did continuing to strum the acoustic guitar. It takes a particular kind of individual to walk through life with such a handle. But, the more you learn about this singer/songwriter/guitar-slinger named Pork, you realize that this is a man who is very comfortable in his own skin no matter what you call him. Pork learned at an early age that he could grow up loud and boisterous to try and get attention, or he could just out sing, out play, or out perform his older siblings and peers. Being that his father’s side of the family had eighteen children, that meant out performing a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins too. |
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| The McElhinny family is spread far and wide throughout Western Pennsylvania; some are known for being loud and boisterous, some for being musical, but all of them for being strong in character and true to their own. Sure, there are old family tales of pioneering and farming, and even a few stories about outlaws, whiskey-drinking and fist fights. All of which certainly gives Pork the credentials to write country music whether it came from a first-hand perspective or family lure. This is the place where the real story of Pork McElhinny begins. It’s a story rooted firmly in family tradition and music. Being a McElhinny meant that you certainly played something and more than likely played several instruments. In Pork’s case, the guitar felt the most comfortable and became the way he communicated with the rest of the family, mostly his father, but also his older brother whom was also a guitarist. It took them all to a mutual place where they could relate to one another and share in the same experience. It didn’t matter whether Pork was playing an old honky-tonk cut on his acoustic, or a traditional blues standard on his beloved Fender, his approach was always the same – total expression. Pork has learned to express himself in song and through his chosen instruments, which also includes a razor-bladed, throaty set of pipes that allow him to perform four-hour long sets without the scarcest hint of losing his tone. Jack McElhinny had his own band when Pork was growing up and he used to watch his dad from the side of the stage, strumming a mini, Buck Owens knock-off and dreaming about the day he would also play under those hot stage lights. At that particular time in Jack’s career, the stage was centered in a small Brookville, Pennsylvania honky-tonk called The Hourglass. Oddly enough it is this same venue that has become Pork’s own backyard honky-tonk as fans drive upwards of a hundred miles to hear him strum on an old guitar twice a week. Pork’s musical journey begins where his father’s left off, but ‘ole pops taught Pork a few things over the years that will carry him through all of the trials and tribulations of a professional musician. Pork cut his teeth on old honky-tonk country, learning the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, but he also loved the traditional blues and artists like B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn. He played in a few rock-n-roll bands like most young artists do and even came close to a recording deal with a regional band he fronted called Four On The Floor. But, Pork really transformed into the artist he is now by leaving the safety net of a secure job and familiar surroundings and embarking on his own as a solo artist. He wrote his first album Boy in the Man in a matter of a few months and soon realized this was the right exit off the freeway. He continued to explore his songwriting which led him to Nashville and a little studio that sits at the top of Music Row overlooking Warner Bros. Records and EMI Music Publishing. It was here that he wrote three of the cuts on his new Long Way to the Top album – "I’m Just Me," "Life Is Good" and "Made to Order." This Music Row inspired writing session led to months of self exploration as the remaining cuts on the album just seemed to flow from a creative place he hadn’t reached before. After playing a late night show in a Pennsylvania honky-tonk, Pork penned the album’s first single titled "Hardwood Floor" which was inspired in part from the night’s performance. In writing this song, Pork realized that he was now able to fully express himself not only as a guitar player, but completely as a songwriter too. He went on to pen "Long Way to the Top" which speaks to his chosen career path and documents exactly the state of his life at this given point in time. In tribute to his father, Pork also recorded one of Jack McElhinny’s original songs that he wrote more than twenty-five years ago. "She’s 32" is the most traditional sounding cut on the album and Pork still remembers hearing that song as a boy and dreaming about recording it one day. And that day has arrived. Long Way to the Top is Pork’s latest recording and was written with an outlaw-country attitude combined with a very, straight-ahead songwriting style. It is devoid of the traditional, formulaic songwriting approach that is common with a lot of today’s popular country music. Pork penned six of the songs by himself and three with Nashville songwriter and Producer Aaron Scherz. The tenth song was written by Pork’s father Jack McElhinny. This album was originally designed to be produced for the Pork faithful who flock to his more than two-hundred and fifty, standing-room only shows a year, who were demanding a follow up to Boy in the Man. But, as the songs started to come alive and be recorded it was apparent early on that this album was taking on a life of its own. Pork McElhinny has certainly earned his stripes with this release and is well on his way to making the McElhinny name even more widely known than it already is in the Western Pennsylvania hills. |
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