|
Jerry Butler, Jr. (born December 8, 1939 in Sunflower, Mississippi) is an American soul singer and songwriter also known as "The Ice Man" because of his cool demeanour while singing often intensely emotional lyrics. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the legendary R&B vocal group The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee.
The mid-1950s had a profound impact on Butler’s life. He grew up poor, having lived in Chicago’s rough and tumble Cabrini Green housing complex. Music and the church provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South. 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 instrumentist for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by music icons Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and the Pilgrim Travelers, getting into the music business seemed inevitable.
At age 18, Butler wrote the song, "For Your Precious Love" and wanted to cut a record for it — not necessarily a hit record. Shopping for recording studios, The Impressions auditioned for Chess Records and VeeJay Records, both located on famed Record Row on Chicago's Michigan Avenue between Cermak Road and Roosevelt Road, where all the record distributors and record companies where housed. The group eventually signed with Vee-Jay, where they released "For Your Precious Love" in 1958, which became The Impressions' first hit to become a gold record. Due to conflicts between the group and Vee-Jay, which wanted to bill the group as "Jerry Butler and The Impressions", which neither Jerry nor the other group members wanted, Jerry left the group shortly thereafter.
Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by WDAS Philadelphia disc jockey Georgie Woods while performing in a Philadelphia theater. When the sound system went out, Butler continued singing — staying cool under pressure. However, Butler achieved what eluded many earlier Doo Wop groups during the 1950s and 1960s — longevity. Butler’s solo career had a string of hits, including the Top 10 hit "He Will Break Your Heart," "Moon River," "Need To Belong" (which he actually recorded with the Impressions AFTER he went solo), "Make It Easy On Yourself," "Let It Be Me" (the Everly Brothers classic re-done as a duet with Betty Everett), "Brand New Me," "Ain’t Understanding Mellow," (duet with Brenda Lee Eager), and "Never Gonna Give You Up," followed by two hugely successful albums The Ice Man Cometh in 1968 and Ice On Ice in 1970. The Iceman Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy nominations. He collaberated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team, Gamble and Huff.
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 number one pop
Butler continues to perform his classic hits, "For Your Precious Love", and others, in between his regular gig as Cook County Board Commissioner, where he has served since the 1980s. In recent years, he has served as host of all the famous 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 national Rhythm And Blues Foundation. In 1991, Jerry 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.
|
