Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also 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 the ...

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. Butler served as a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

for

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, from 1985 to 2018. As a member of the 17-member county government 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, on December 8, 1939. When Butler was three years old, the family moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 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 A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

with Curtis Mayfield. As a teenager, Butler sang in a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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 Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

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

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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, Curtis Mayfield,

Sam Gooden Samuel Gooden (September 2, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American soul music, 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 (American band), ...

, Fred Cash − 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 an ...

and

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

. 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 Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Solo career

Butler was first given the nickname "Iceman" by WDAS

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

disc jockey, Georgie Woods, while performing in a Philadelphia theater. He released the single " He Will Break Your Heart" in 1960, and the song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard pop chart. Butler co-wrote, with

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, the latter's hit song " I've Been Loving You Too Long" in 1965. Butler's solo career saw a string of hits, including the Top 10 successes " He Will Break Your Heart," "Find Another Girl," "I'm A-Telling You" (all co-written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal), the million selling " 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." His 1969 "Moody Woman" release became a

Northern Soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

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 of Gamble and Huff. In 1972, he had a small role in the cult classic film '' The Thing with Two Heads'' as a prison guard. 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''. In 1975, the pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn covered Butler's 1960 song " He Will Break Your Heart," with a new title, "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)," and it was more successful than Butler's original (#7), peaking at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

1980s–2018

Butler continued to perform while serving as a Cook County Board Commissioner from 1985, 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 an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

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

, Fred Cash, and

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

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 and death

His wife Annette, originally one of his backup singers, died in 2019. After his 1991 induction into the

as a member of the Impressions, some music writers and critics stated that Butler also deserved a second induction as a solo artist, based upon his successful career as a recording artist and songwriter after leaving that group. Butler died from the effects of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at his home in Chicago, on February 20, 2025, at the age of 85.

Discography

Singles

References

Bibliography

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