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Jerry Butler

2014-06-24

Created page with "'''Jerry Butler''' (born '''Jerry Butler Jr.''', December 8, 1939, ..."

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'''Jerry Butler''' (born '''Jerry Butler Jr.''', December 8, 1939, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower,_Mississippi Sunflower, Mississippi])[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-The_Book_of_Golden_Discs-1 [1]] is an American [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music soul] singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the famed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues R&B] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_group vocal group], '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Impressions The Impressions]''', as well as a 1991 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] inductee.

Butler is also an American politician. He serves as a Commissioner for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_County,_Illinois 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==

 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29# hide]] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Biography 1 Biography]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Early_life 1.1 Early life]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Early_recordings 1.2 Early recordings]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Solo_career 1.3 Solo career]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#1980s_to_date 1.4 1980s to date]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Personal_life 1.5 Personal life]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Discography 2 Discography]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#See_also 3 See also]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#References 4 References]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#Bibliography 5 Bibliography]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#External_links 6 External links]





==Biography[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]==

===Early life[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]===

The mid-1950s had a profound impact on Butler's life. He grew up poor, having lived in Chicago's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini%E2%80%93Green Cabrini–Green] housing complex. Music and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Church church] provided solace from racial discrimination and inequality.[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]''] He performed in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_choir church choir] with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield Curtis Mayfield]. As a teenager, Butler sang in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_music gospel] quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, along with Mayfield. Mayfield, a guitar player, became the lone [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumentalist instrumentalist] for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke Sam Cooke] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Stirrers Soul Stirrers], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Blind_Boys_of_Mississippi Five Blind Boys of Mississippi], and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_Travelers Pilgrim Travelers], getting into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_industry music industry] seemed inevitable.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-Starpulse-2 [2]]

Butler's younger brother, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Butler_(singer) Billy Butler], also had a career in the music industry. Today, Billy plays guitar with Jerry's band, which tours throughout the country.

===Early recordings[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]===

Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Impressions The Impressions]Butler [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter wrote] the song "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Your_Precious_Love For Your Precious Love]" (which is ranked No. 327 on the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone Rolling Stone]'' magazine's list of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone%27s_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]) and wanted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_recording_and_reproduction record] a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramophone_record disc]. Looking for recording studios, The Impressions (the original members of which were Butler, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield Curtis Mayfield], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Gooden Sam Gooden], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Cash Fred Cash] (who left early on, and later returned), and brothers Arthur and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brooks_(singer) Richard Brooks], auditioned for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_Records Chess Records] and[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vee-Jay_Records Vee-Jay Records]. The group eventually signed with Vee-Jay, where they released "For Your Precious Love" in 1958. It became The Impressions' first [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_record hit] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_recording_sales_certification gold record].

===Solo career[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]===

Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDAS_(AM) WDAS] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia Philadelphia] disc jockey, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgie_Woods Georgie Woods], while performing in a Philadelphia theater.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-3 [3]]

He co-wrote, with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Redding Otis Redding], the song "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_Been_Loving_You_Too_Long I've Been Loving You Too Long]" in 1965. Butler's solo career had a string of hits, including the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_40 Top 10] successes "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Will_Break_Your_Heart 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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-The_Book_of_Golden_Discs-1 [1]] "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_the_Strong_Survive_(Jerry_Butler_song) Only the Strong Survive]", "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_River Moon River]", "Need To Belong" (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_It_Easy_on_Yourself Make It Easy on Yourself]", "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_Me_(1955_song) Let It Be Me]" (with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Everett Betty Everett]), "Brand New Me", "Ain't Understanding Mellow" (with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Lee_Eager Brenda Lee Eager]), "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey,_Western_Union_Man Hey, Western Union Man]", and "Never Give You Up". His 1969 "Moody Woman" release became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Soul Northern Soul] favourite and featured at number 369 in the Northern Soul Top 500. Butler released two successful albums, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ice_Man_Cometh The Ice Man Cometh]'' (1968) and ''Ice on Ice'' (1969).''The Ice Man Cometh'' garnered Butler three [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award Grammy] nominations. He collaborated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamble_and_Huff 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''.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Orlando_and_Dawn 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, going to number one on the US [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 ''Billboard''Hot 100] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music pop] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_chart chart].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-Starpulse-2 [2]]

Subsequently, Butler and Wilson produced an album with 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.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-breakingandentering-4 [4]]

===1980s to date[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]===

Butler continues to perform while serving as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_County_Board_of_Commissioners Cook County Board Commissioner] since the 1980s. 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 ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune Chicago Tribune]'' has encouraged people to vote against him in the 2010 elections.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-Trib_Editorial-5 [5]]

In recent years, he has served as host of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_Blues_Foundation Rhythm and Blues Foundation]. In 1991, Butler was inducted, along with the other original members of the Impressions (Curtis Mayfield, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Gooden Sam Gooden], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Cash Fred Cash], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Brooks_(singer) Arthur] and Richard Brooks), into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame Rock and Roll Hall of Fame].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Butler_%28singer%29#cite_note-Starpulse-2 [2]]

Most recently, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues-rock blues-rock] duo [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Keys The Black Keys] covered "Never Give You Up" on their 2010 album, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_(The_Black_Keys_album) Brothers]''.

===Personal life[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]===

He currently resides in Chicago with his wife, Annette—who is one of his backup singers on the road. He has two sons, Randy and Tony, and a grandson.

Since his 1991 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Impressions, several music writers and critics have stated that Jerry Butler also deserves a second induction as a ''solo'' artist, based upon his hugely successful career as a recording artist and songwriter ''after'' leaving that legendary group.

==Discography[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Butler&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro edit]]==

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-right:0px;border-color:rgb(170,170,170);color:black;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:22.399999618530273px;text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"|Year

! rowspan="2" width="400"|Single

! colspan="3"|Chart positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="40"|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 US]

! width="40"|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs US

R&B]

! width="40"|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Adult_Contemporary_Tracks US

AC]

|-

| rowspan="2"|1958

| align="left"|"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Your_Precious_Love For Your Precious Love]"(with the Impressions)

|11

|3

|

|-

| align="left"|"Come Back My Love"(with the Impressions)

|

|29

|

|-

|1959

| align="left"|"Lost"

|

|17

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|1960

| align="left"|"A Lonely Soldier"

|

|25

|

|-

| align="left"|"He Will Break Your Heart"

|7

|1

|

|-

| rowspan="4"|1961

| align="left"|"Find Another Girl"

|27

|10

|

|-

| align="left"|"I'm a Telling You"

|25

|8

|

|-

| align="left"|"Moon River"

|11

|14

|3

|-

| align="left"|"Aware of Love"

|105

|

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1962

| align="left"|"Make It Easy on Yourself"

|20

|18

|

|-

| align="left"|"You Can Run (But You Can't Hide)"

|63

|23

|

|-

| align="left"|"Theme from Taras Bulba (The Wishing Star)"

|100

|

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|1963

| align="left"|"Whatever You Want"

|68

|

|

|-

| align="left"|"Need To Belong"

|31

|*

|

|-

| rowspan="6"|1964

| align="left"|"Giving Up on Love"

|56

|*

|

|-

| align="left"|"I Stand Accused"

|61

|*

|

|-

| align="left"|"I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore"

|95

|*

|

|-

| align="left"|"Let It Be Me"(with Betty Everett)

|5

|*

|

|-

| align="left"|"Ain't That Loving You Baby"(with Betty Everett)

|108

|*

|

|-

| align="left"|"Smile"(with Betty Everett)

|42

|*

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1965

| align="left"|"Good Times"

|64

|33

|

|-

| align="left"|"I Can't Stand To See You Cry"

|122

|

|

|-

| align="left"|"Just For You"

|

|33

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|1966

| align="left"|"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Your_Precious_Love For Your Precious Love]"(re-recording)

|

|25

|

|-

| align="left"|"Love (Oh, How Sweet It Is)"

|103

|34

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1967

| align="left"|"I Dig You Baby"

|60

|8

|

|-

| align="left"|"Mr. Dream Merchant"

|38

|56

|

|-

| align="left"|"Lost"

|62

|48

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1968

| align="left"|"Never Give You Up"

|20

|7

|

|-

| align="left"|"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey,_Western_Union_Man Hey, Western Union Man]"

|16

|1

|

|-

| align="left"|"Are You Happy"

|39

|9

|

|-

| rowspan="5"|1969

| align="left"|"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_the_Strong_Survive_(song) Only the Strong Survive]"

|4

|1

|

|-

| align="left"|"Moody Woman"

|24

|3

|

|-

| align="left"|"What's the Use of Breaking Up"

|20

|4

|

|-

| align="left"|"A Brand New Me"

|109

|

|

|-

| align="left"|"Don't Let Love Hang You Up"

|44

|12

|

|-

| rowspan="4"|1970

| align="left"|"Got To See If I Can Get Mommy (To Come Back Home)"

|62

|21

|

|-

| align="left"|"I Could Write a Book"

|46

|15

|

|-

| align="left"|"Where Are You Going"

|95

|42

|

|-

| align="left"|"Special Memory"

|109

|36

|

|-

| rowspan="6"|1971

| align="left"|"You Just Can't Win (By Making the Same Mistakes)"(Gene & Jerry)

|94

|32

|

|-

| align="left"|"Ten and Two (Take This Woman Off the Corner)"(Gene & Jerry)

|126

|44

|

|-

| align="left"|"If It's Real What I Feel"(with Brenda Lee Eager)

|69

|8

|

|-

| align="left"|"Ain't Understanding Mellow"(with Brenda Lee Eager)

|21

|3

|

|-

| align="left"|"How Did We Lose It Baby"

|85

|38

|

|-

| align="left"|"Walk Easy My Son"

|93

|33

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1972

| align="left"|"I Only Have Eyes For You"

|85

|20

|

|-

| align="left"|"Close To You"(with Brenda Lee Eager)

|91

|6

|

|-

| align="left"|"One Night Affair"

|52

|6

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1973

| align="left"|"Can't Understand It"(with Brenda Lee Eager)

|

|26

|

|-

| align="left"|"The Love We Had Stays on My Mind"(with Brenda Lee Eager)

|

|64

|

|-

| align="left"|"Power of Love"

|

|15

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1974

| align="left"|"That's How Heartaches Are Made"

|

|58

|

|-

| align="left"|"Take the Time To Tell Her"

|

|46

|

|-

| align="left"|"Playing on You"

|

|33

|

|-

|1976

| align="left"|"The Devil in Mrs. Jones"

|

|55

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|1977

| align="left"|"I Wanna Do It To You"

|51

|7

|

|-

| align="left"|"Chalk It Up"

|

|28

|

|-

| align="left"|"It's a Lifetime Thing"(with Thelma Houston)

|

|55

|

|-

|1978

| align="left"|"(I'm Just Thinking About) Cooling Out"

|

|14

|

|-

|1979

| align="left"|"Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You"

|

|86

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|1980

| align="left"|"The Best Love I Ever Had"

|

|49

|

|-

| align="left"|"Don't Be An Island"(with Debra Henry)

|

|75

|

|-

|1982

| align="left"|"No Love Without Changes"

|

|83

|

|-

|1983

| align="left"|"In My Life"(with Patti Austin)

|

|92

|

|}

| * no RnB charts published during the chart runs of these singles

[[Category:1939 births]]