Jerry Butler (singer)

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Jerry Butler
Birth name Jerry Butler, Jr.
Born December 8, 1939 (1939-12-08) (age 70)
Sunflower, Mississippi, United States
Origin Chicago, Illinois
Genres Soul, R&B, funk, Chicago soul
Occupations Singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist
Instruments Singing, guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, drums
Years active 1958 – present
Labels Vee-Jay, Mercury, Motown, Rhino
Associated acts The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield

Jerry Butler (born Jerry Butler Jr., December 8, 1939 in Sunflower, Mississippi[1] ) is an American soul singer and songwriter, known as "The Ice Man" because of his cool demeanour while singing often intensely emotional lyrics.[citation needed] He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Butler is also an American politician. He serves as a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois, having first been elected in 1985. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chairs the Health and Hospitals Committee, and serves as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.

Contents

[edit] Musical solace

The mid 1950s had a profound impact on Butler's life. He grew up poor, having lived in Chicago's Cabrini Green housing complex. Music and the church provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South.[citation needed] He performed in a church choir with Curtis Mayfield. As a teenager, Butler sang in a gospel quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, along with Mayfield. Mayfield, a guitar player, became the lone instrumentalist for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and the Pilgrim Travelers, getting into the music industry seemed inevitable.[2]

Butler's younger brother, Billy Butler, also had a career in the music industry.

[edit] Early recordings

Butler wrote the song "For Your Precious Love" (which is ranked #327 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) and wanted to record a disc. Looking for recording studios, The Impressions auditioned for Chess Records and Vee-Jay Records. The group eventually signed with Vee-Jay, where they released "For Your Precious Love" in 1958. It became The Impressions' first hit and gold record.

[edit] Solo career

Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by WDAS Philadelphia disc jockey, Georgie Woods, while performing in a Philadelphia theater.

He co-wrote, with Otis Redding, the song "I've Been Loving You Too Long" in 1965. Butler’s solo career had a string of hits, including the Top 10 successes "He Will Break Your Heart", "Find Another Girl", "I'm A-Telling You" (all written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal), the million selling[1] "Only the Strong Survive," "Moon River," "Need To Belong" (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), "Make It Easy On Yourself," "Let It Be Me" (with Betty Everett), "Brand New Me," "Ain't Understanding Mellow" (with Brenda Lee Eager), "Hey, Western Union Man", and "Never Give You Up." Butler released two successful albums, The Ice Man Cometh (1968) and Ice On Ice (1970). The Ice Man Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy nominations. He collaborated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team, Gamble and Huff. With Motown, in 1976 and 1977, Butler produced and co-produced (with Paul David Wilson) two albums: 1.) “Suite For The Single Girl” and 2.) “It All Comes Out In My Song.”

Tony Orlando and Dawn revived "He Will Break Your Heart" in 1975, with a new title, "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)," and it was even more successful than Butler's original, going to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.[2]

Subsequently, Butler and Wilson produced an album on Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble with Philadelphia International. In 1981 with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from Sharp-Gamble's album "Dee Dee", Butler/Wilson’s production spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and Dance Chart Billboard.[3]

[edit] Recent years

Butler continues to perform while serving as a Cook County Board Commissioner since the 1980s. As Cook County Commissioner, Butler voted to uphold a historical 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, which remains the highest in the nation. As a result the Chicago Tribune has encouraged people to vote against him in the 2010 elections.[4]

In recent years, he has served as host of PBS TV music specials such as Doo Wop 50 and 51, Rock Rhythm and Doo Wop, and Soul Spectacular: 40 years of R&B, among others. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 1991, Butler was inducted, along with the other original members of the Impressions (Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash, and Arthur and Richard Brooks) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[2]

[edit] Personal life

He currently resides in Chicago with his wife, Annette. He has two sons, Randy and Tony, and a grandson.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 255. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 
  2. ^ a b c starpulse.com
  3. ^ [[Dee Dee Sharp Gamble |Wilson, Paul David]]; Paul David Wilson. ""Breaking and Entering”, Produce by Jerry Butler and Paul David Wilson". Dee Dee Sharp Gamble (Billboard). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artists_who_reached_number_one_on_the_US_Dance_chart. Retrieved 1981. 
  4. ^ Tribune

[edit] Further reading

Pruter, Robert. Chicago Soul. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1991, ISBN 978-025206259-9

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_(singer)"
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