Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in s ...

the Impressions, inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 1991. After leaving the group in 1960, Butler achieved over 55 ''Billboard'' Pop and R&B Chart hits as a solo artist including " He Will Break Your Heart", " Let It Be Me" and " Only the Strong Survive". He was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015. He served as a Commissioner for

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...

, from 1985 to 2018. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chaired the Health and Hospitals Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.

Biography

Early life

Butler was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, United States, in 1939. When Butler was three years old, the family moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, and he grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing projects. The mid-1950s had a profound effect on Butler's life. He performed in a church choir with

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

. As a teenager, Butler sang in a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

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 Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

and the

Soul Stirrers The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...

, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and the Pilgrim Travelers, getting into the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

seemed inevitable. Butler's younger brother, Billy Butler, also had a career in the music industry, including playing guitar with Jerry's band, until his death in 2015.

Early recordings

Butler co-wrote the song " For Your Precious Love" (which is ranked No. 327 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) and wanted to record a disc. Looking for recording studios, the Impressions (the original members of which were Butler,

Sam Gooden Samuel Gooden (September 2, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American soul singer. He was best known for being an original member of the successful 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted R&B group The Impressions, from its beginnings as The R ...

Fred Cash Fred Cash (born October 8, 1940) is an American soul singer. He was a member of The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. As one of the group's longest-serving members, he is also a 1991 inductee into the Rock and Roll ...

- who left early on, and later returned - and brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks), auditioned for

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock a ...

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 Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

and gold record.

Solo career

Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by WDAS

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

disc jockey,

Georgie Woods Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM station ...

, while performing in a Philadelphia theater. He released as a single "He Will Break Your Heart" in 1960, and the song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard pop chart. Butler's 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 " Only the Strong Survive", "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the ...

", "Need To Belong" (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), "

Make It Easy on Yourself "Make It Easy on Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was first a hit for Jerry Butler in 1962. The best known version is the 1965 recording by the Walker Brothers for whom it was a No. 1 UK hit. Dionne Wa ...

", " Let It Be Me" (with Betty Everett), "Brand New Me", " Ain't Understanding Mellow" (with Brenda Lee Eager), "

Hey, Western Union Man "Hey, Western Union Man" is a 1968 soul single by Jerry Butler written by Butler with Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. The single was Jerry Butler's second number one R&B hit on the ''Billboard'' chart, where it stayed for a week. "Hey, Western Uni ...

", and " Never Give You Up". His 1969 "Moody Woman" release became a Northern Soul favourite and featured at number 369 in the Northern Soul Top 500. Butler released two successful albums, '' The Ice Man Cometh'' (1968) and ''Ice on Ice'' (1969). He collaborated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team

Gamble and Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known a ...

. With Motown, in 1976 and 1977, Butler produced and co-produced (with Paul David Wilson) two albums: ''Suite for the Single Girl'' and ''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 more successful than Butler's original (#7), going to number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Subsequently, Butler and P.D. Wilson produced an album with Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble on Philadelphia International Records. In 1981, "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money" was released from Sharp-Gamble's album ''Dee Dee''.

1980s–2018

Butler continued to perform while serving as a Cook County Board Commissioner before retiring from public office in 2018. As Cook County Commissioner, Butler voted to uphold a historic 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, which remains the highest in the nation. As a result, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' encouraged people to vote against him in the 2010 elections. Butler, however, won reelection in March 2014 with over 80 percent of the vote. 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,

, and Arthur and Richard Brooks), into the

. Butler released '' Time & Faith'' in 1992. The Hives covered "Find Another Girl" on their 2000 album '' Veni Vidi Vicious''. The Black Keys covered " Never Give You Up" on their 2010 album, '' Brothers''.

Personal life

He currently resides in Chicago. His wife Annette, originally one of his backup singers, died in 2019. Since his 1991 induction into the

as a member of the Impressions, music writers and critics have stated that Butler also deserves a second induction as a ''solo'' artist, based upon his successful career as a recording artist and songwriter after leaving that group.

Discography

Singles

References

Bibliography

*Pruter, Robert. ''Chicago Soul''. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1991,

External links

Mississippi musicians: Jerry Butler.
Erica Covin
Jerry Butler Biography on VH1.com

Jerry Butler on Philly Soul Classics

"The History Makers: Jerry Butler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Jerry 1939 births Living people People from Sunflower, Mississippi African-American people in Illinois politics 20th-century African-American male singers American soul musicians Mercury Records artists Singers from Chicago Singers from Mississippi Philadelphia International Records artists Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners The Impressions members Vee-Jay Records artists American baritones Alligator Records artists