Jerry Butler

Jerry Butler (born Jerry Butler Jr, December 8, 1939, Sunflower, Mississippi) was an American soul singer and songwriter also known as 'the Ice Man' because of his cool demeanour while singing often intensely emotional lyrics. He was 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 Cabrini Green housing complex. Music and the church provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South. As a teenager, Butler sang in a gospel quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, along with Curtis Mayfield. Mayfield, a guitar player, became the lone instrumentalist 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 industry seemed inevitable.

At the age of 18, Butler wrote the song 'For Your Precious Love' 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, which became the Impressions' first hit and 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 Butler nor the other group members wanted - he left the group shortly thereafter.

Butler was dubbed 'the iceman' by WDAS Philadelphia disc jockey Georgie Woods, while performing in a Philadelphia theatre. When the sound system went out, Butler continued singing.

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 Ten successes 'He Will Break Your Heart (He Don't Love You, Like I Love You)', 'Find Another Girl', 'I'm A-Telling You' (all written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal); '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 Gonna Give You Up'.

Butler released two successful albums, The Ice Man Cometh (1968) and Ice on Ice (1970). The Iceman Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy nominations. He collaborated 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 on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

Jerry Butler continued to perform while serving as a Cook County Board Commissioner since the 1980s. In recent years, he 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, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash and Arthur and Richard Brooks, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Jerry Butler (b. December 8, 1939 - February 20, 2025)