Jerry Butler (musician)

Jerry Butler (1998)

Butler's greatest success:
Only the Strong Survive
on Mercury 72898

Jerry Butler, Jr. (born December 8, 1939 in Sunflower , Mississippi ) is an American soul singer and songwriter. It was mostly successful in the 1960s and 1970s. He has been a politician since 1985.

biography

Butler grew up in Sunflower, then his family moved to Chicago in 1943 . As a member of a church choir, he first came into contact with singing. There he met Curtis Mayfield , with whom he later worked for years. Both were among the founders of the rhythm and blues vocal group The Roosters in 1957 , which was renamed The Impressions in 1958 . Their first single contained the title For Your Precious Love , written by Buttler at the age of 16 , which was released by the record company Vee-Jay under Jerry Butler and the Impressions with catalog number 280. The title became successful, rose to number 3 in the R&B charts in 1958 and was later awarded the gold record .

Butler left Impressions in 1960 after having released solo records from 1959 onwards. These initially appeared under the Abner label, a subsidiary of Vee-Jay. The first solo single contained the title Lost / One By One and was released under catalog no. Abner 1024. Two of the titles published by Abner, Lost and A Lonely Soldier , have already made it into the R&B charts (17th, 25th). In the course of 1960 Butler was taken over by Vee-Jay, where he brought out about 30 singles records by 1965. Eight of them were listed in the top 50 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts. He Will Break Your Heart (1960) and Let It Be Me (1964, duet with Betty Everett ) became number 1 hits on the R&B charts.

In 1966 Butler moved to the Chicago record company Mercury Records . There, too, he had two R&B number 1 hits with Hey, Western Union Man (1968) and Only the Strong Survive (1969). While it was regularly represented in the Billboard Hot 100 until 1972, it was then only listed in the R&B charts, with the exception of the title I Wanna Do It to You (1977, number 51), but until 1982 More than 30 single releases, Butler made another change of record label and in 1976 joined the Motown label in Los Angeles . However, there were only four solo singles and two duet records with Smokey Robinson and Thelma Houston , of which only the titles I Wanna Do It to You and Chalk It Up were successful in the R&B charts (positions 7 and 28). From 1978 to 1980, a few singles appeared on Philadelphia International Records , of which only the 1978 track Cooling Out was reasonably successful (# 14 R&B). 1980 the title Don't Be an Island appeared , which referred to Butler's meanwhile acquired synonym "The Iceman", which he had acquired because of his hypothermic appearance.

After his text success in 1958, Butler continued to be successful as a writer. He was involved as a songwriter in almost all of the hits he sang. His greatest success as a writer was He Don't Love You , which was sung by Tony Orlando & Dawn in 1975 and reached number 1 on the Hot 100. In 1999 Jerry Butler wrote the hot dance number 5 song Was That All It Was, sung by Hannah Jones .

Even after the turn of the millennium, Jerry Butler still performed in night clubs, concerts and music festivals. He was nominated three times for a Grammy for singing and composition, and in 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Impressions . The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has honored him several times as a songwriter, and from Billboard magazine he received two awards as an author and singer.

After having run a beer publishing company in addition to his artistic activities since 1973, Butler has been involved in local politics in Cook County in the state of Illinois since 1985 as the elected commissioner responsible for prisoners and health care. He still held this post in 2010, making it Cook County's longest-serving commissioner.

Jerry's younger brother Billy Butler also had some minor hits from the mid-1960s to the 1970s and worked with him as a songwriter.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, comments, catalog number)		Remarks	Catalog no.
		US	R&B
1964	Delicious Together Betty Everett & Jerry Butler	US102 (11 weeks) US	-	Duet album	Vee-jay 1099
1967	The Soul Artistry of Jerry Butler	-	R&B23 (2 weeks) R&B		Mercury 21105
	Mr. Dream Merchant	US154 (7 weeks) US	-		Mercury 61146
1968	Jerry Butler's Golden Hits Live	US178 (2 weeks) US	R&B40 (6 weeks) R&B	Recorded live in September 1967 at Morgan State College , Baltimore	Mercury 61151
	The Soul Goes On	US195 (2 weeks) US	R&B25 (9 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61171
1969	The Ice Man Cometh	US29 (47 weeks) US	R&B2 (50 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61198
	Ice on Ice	US41 (23 weeks) US	R&B4 (30 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61234
1970	You & Me	US172 (4 weeks) US	R&B10 (17 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61269
	The Best of Jerry Butler	US167 (5 weeks) US	R&B31 (12 weeks) R&B	Best of album	Mercury 61281
1971	Jerry Butler Sings Assorted Sounds	US186 (4 weeks) US	R&B25 (10 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61320
	Gene & Jerry - One & One Gene Chandler & Jerry Butler	US143 (5 weeks) US	-	Duet album	Mercury 61330
	The Sagittarius Movement	US123 (22 weeks) US	R&B25 (25 weeks) R&B		Mercury 61347
1972	The Spice of Life	US92 (24 weeks) US	R&B17 (19 weeks) R&B		Mercury 7502 [2]
1973	The Love We Have, the Love We Had Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager	-	R&B43 (14 weeks) R&B	Duet album	Mercury 660
	Power of Love	-	R&B22 (14 weeks) R&B		Mercury 689
1974	Sweet Sixteen	-	R&B55 (3 weeks) R&B		Mercury 1006
1976	Love's on the menu	-	R&B49 (6 weeks) R&B		Mercury 850
1977	The Vintage Years The Impressions featuring Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield	US199 (2 weeks) US	-	Best-of-album 4-track LP with 13 songs from Impressions, 13 from Butler and 2 from Mayfield	Sire 3717 [2]
	Suite for the single girl	US146 (11 weeks) US	R&B22 (15 weeks) R&B		Motown 878
	Thelma & Jerry Thelma Houston & Jerry Butler	US53 (12 weeks) US	R&B20 (11 weeks) R&B	Duet album	Motown 887
1978	Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You	US160 (4 weeks) US	R&B42 (12 weeks) R&B		Philadelphia Int. 35510
1980	The best love	-	R&B71 (3 weeks) R&B		Philadelphia Int. 36413
1982	Ice 'n Hot	-	R&B60 (3 weeks) R&B		Fountain 821
1992	Time & Faith	-	R&B92 (1 week) R&B		Ichiban 1151

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes, catalog number)		Remarks	Catalog no.
		US	R&B
1958	For Your Precious Love Jerry Butler, Esq.	US11 (12 weeks) US	R&B3 (7 weeks) R&B	Jerry Butler and the Impressions Authors: A. Brooks, R. Brooks , J. Butler Place 327 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2004)	Abner 1013
	Come Back My Love Jerry Butler, Esq.	-	R&B29 (1 week) R&B	The Impressions featuring Jerry Butler Authors: C. Otis , R. Hamilton	Abner 1017
1959	Lost Jerry Butler, Esq.	-	R&B17 (3 weeks) R&B	Authors: A. Tucker, T. Twiggs, C. Bateza	Abner 1024
1960	A Lonely Soldier He Will Break Your Heart	-	R&B25 (4 weeks) R&B	Authors: C. Mayfield , J. Butler	Abner 1035
	He Will Break Your Heart He Will Break Your Heart	US7 (15 weeks) US	R&B1 (16 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, C. Mayfield, Calvin Carter 7 weeks at number 1 on the R&B charts	Vee-jay 354
1961	Find Another Girl Aware of Love	US27 (10 weeks) US	R&B10 (11 weeks) R&B	Authors: C. Mayfield, J. Butler	Vee-jay 375
	I'm a Telling You Aware of Love	US25 (8 weeks) US	R&B8 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, C. Mayfield	Vee-Jay 390
	Moon River Need to Belong	US11 (17 weeks) US	R&B14 (6 weeks) R&B	Original: Audrey Hepburn in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Authors: H. Mancini , J. Mercer	Vee-jay 405
1962	Make It Easy on Yourself Need to Belong	US20 (11 weeks) US	R&B18 (2 weeks) R&B	Authors: B. Bacharach , H. David 1965 a number 1 hit in Great Britain for the Walker Brothers	Vee-jay 451
	You Can Run (But You Can't Hide) Need to Belong	US63 (7 weeks) US	R&B23 (5 weeks) R&B	Authors: Paul Griffin, D. Covay	Vee-jay 463
	Theme from Taras Bulba (The Wishing Star) Taras Bulba (Original Film Soundtrack)	US100 (1 week) US	-	Theme of the film Taras Bulba Authors: F. Waxman , H. David	Vee-jay 475
1963	Whatever You Want Need to Belong	US68 (6 weeks) US	-	Authors: B. Gaudio , B. Crewe	Vee-jay 486
	Need to Belong Need to Belong	US31 (11 weeks) US	R&B2 (15 weeks) R&B	Author: C. Mayfield	Vee-jay 567
1964	Giving Up on Love Need to Belong	US56 (6 weeks) US	R&B17 (14 weeks) R&B	Authors: R. Gottehrer , J. Goldstein , Bob Feldman	Vee-jay 588
	I Stand Accused More of the Best of Jerry Butler	US61 (6 weeks) US	R&B3 (18 weeks) R&B	Authors: B. Butler , J. Butler	Vee-jay 598
	I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore More of the Best of Jerry Butler	US95 (2 weeks) US	-	Author: Randy Newman Published as B-side by I Stand Accused
	Let It Be Me Delicious Together	US5 (13 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B	Betty Everett & Jerry Butler Authors: G. Bécaud , P. Delanoë , M. Curtis 1960 a hit for the Everly Brothers , Original: Bécaud (1955) as Je t'appartiens	Vee-jay 613
	Ain't That Loving You Baby Delicious Together	-	R&B24 (2 weeks) R&B	Betty Everett & Jerry Butler : Original / author J. Reed (1955, No. 3 R & B) as a B-side of Let It Be Me published
	Smile More of the Best of Jerry Butler	US42 (7 weeks) US	R&B16 (8 weeks) R&B	Betty Everett & Jerry Butler Music: C. Chaplin for the film Modern Times (1936); Text: John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons	Vee-jay 633
1965	Good Times	US64 (4 weeks) US	R&B33 (5 weeks) R&B	Author: Ted Daryll	Vee-jay 651
	Just for you	-	R&B33 (3 weeks) R&B	Author: JD Jones	Vee-jay 707
1966	For Your Precious Love (new version) Love Me	US99 (2 weeks) US	R&B25 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: A. Brooks, R. Brooks , J. Butler	Vee-jay 715
	Love (Oh, How Sweet It Is)	-	R&B34 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: Bobby Miller, B. Butler, J. Butler	Mercury 72592
1967	I Dig You Baby Soul Artistry	US60 (9 weeks) US	R&B8 (10 weeks) R&B	Original: Lorraine Ellison ; Authors L. Ellison, D. Lambert , Samuel Bell	Mercury 72648
	Mr. Dream Merchant Mr. Dream Merchant	US38 (7 weeks) US	R&B23 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: L. Weiss , J. Ross	Mercury 72721
1968	Lost Mr. Dream Merchant	US62 (6 weeks) US	R&B15 (10 weeks) R&B	not identical to the song from 1959 Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff , J. Butler	Mercury 72764
	Never Give You Up The Ice Man Cometh	US20 (14 weeks) US	R&B4 (16 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Mercury 72798
	Hey, Western Union Man The Ice Man Cometh	US16 (13 weeks) US	R&B1 (13 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Mercury 72850
	Are You Happy The Ice Man Cometh	US39 (10 weeks) US	R&B9 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: Theresa Bell, J. Butler, K. Gamble	Mercury 72876
1969	Only the Strong Survive The Ice Man Cometh	US4th gold (13 weeks)US	R&B1 (14 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Mercury 72898
	Moody Woman Ice on Ice	US24 (10 weeks) US	R&B3 (12 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, T. Bell , J. Butler	Mercury 72929
	What's the Use of Breaking Up Ice on Ice	US20 (10 weeks) US	R&B4 (12 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, T. Bell, J. Butler	Mercury 72960
	Don't Let Love Hang You Up Ice on Ice	US44 (8 weeks) US	R&B12 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Mercury 72991
1970	Got to See If I Can't Get Mommy (To Come Back Home) Ice on Ice	US62 (5 weeks) US	R&B21 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: Helen Miller, Rose Marie McCoy	Mercury 73015
	I Could Write a Book You & Me	US46 (5 weeks) US	R&B15 (6 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Mercury 73045
	Where Are You Going Joe (Soundtrack)	US95 (1 week) US	R&B42 (2 weeks) R&B	from the movie Joe - Revenge for America (with Peter Boyle ) Authors: B. Scott , Danny Meehan	Mercury 73101
	Special Memory Assorted Sounds with the Aid of Assorted Friends and Relatives	-	R&B36 (5 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, B. Butler, Larry Wade	Mercury 73131
1971	You Just Can't Win (By Making the Same Mistakes) Gene & Jerry - One & One	US94 (3 weeks) US	R&B32 (4 weeks) R&B	Gene & Jerry Authors: Ronald Simmons, Walter Simmons, Wylie Dixon	Mercury 73163
	If It's Real What I Feel Assorted Sounds with the Aid of Assorted Friends and Relatives	US69 (... weeks) US	R&B8 (11 weeks) R&B	featuring Brenda Lee Eager Author: C. Jackson	Mercury 73169
	Ten and Two (Take This Woman off the Corner) Gene & Jerry - One & One	-	R&B44 (2 weeks) R&B	Gene & Jerry Authors: Ronald Simmons, Walter Simmons, Wylie Dixon	Mercury 73195
	How Did We Lose It Baby Assorted Sounds with the Aid of Assorted Friends and Relatives	US85 (3 weeks) US	R&B38 (4 weeks) R&B	Authors: B. Butler, Charles Jones	Mercury 73210
	Walk Easy My Son The Sagittarius Movement	US93 (2 weeks) US	R&B33 (8 weeks) R&B	Author: C. Jackson	Mercury 73241
	Ain't Understanding Mellow The Sagittarius Movement	US21st gold (18 weeks)US	R&B3 (17 weeks) R&B	featuring Brenda Lee Eager Authors: Homer Talbert, Herscholt Polk	Mercury 73255
1972	I Only Have Eyes for You The Spice of Life	US85 (4 weeks) US	R&B20 (8 weeks) R&B	Original: Dick Powell & Ruby Keeler (1934, film) Authors: H. Warren , A. Dubin	Mercury 73290
	(They Long to Be) Close to You The Spice of Life	US91 (3 weeks) US	R&B6 (13 weeks) R&B	featuring Brenda Lee Eager Authors: B. Bacharach , H. David 1970 a number 1 hit for the Carpenters	Mercury 73301
	One Night Affair The Spice of Life	US52 (7 weeks) US	R&B6 (10 weeks) R&B	Original: The O'Jays (1969); Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff	Mercury 73335
1973	Can't Understand It The Love We Have, The Love We Had	-	R&B26 (10 weeks) R&B	featuring Brenda Lee Eager Authors: C. Jackson, Marvin Yancy	Mercury 73395
	The Love We Had Stays on My Mind The Love We Have, The Love We Had	-	R&B64 (7 weeks) R&B	featuring Brenda Lee Eager Authors: Larry Wade, T. Callier	Mercury 73422
	Power of Love Power of Love	-	R&B15 (13 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, J. Bristol	Mercury 73443
1974	That's How Heartaches Are Made Power of Love	-	R&B58 (9 weeks) R&B	Original: Baby Washington (1963); Authors: Ben Raleigh, Bob Halley	Mercury 73459
	Take the Time to Tell Her Sweet Sixteen	-	R&B46 (11 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, Marvin Yancy	Mercury 73495
	Playing on You Sweet Sixteen	-	R&B33 (13 weeks) R&B	Authors: L. Hutson , Zane Gray	Mercury 73629
1976	The Devil in Mrs. Jones Love’s on the Menu	-	R&B55 (6 weeks) R&B	Author: Michael Smith	Motown 1403
1977	I Wanna Do It to You Suite for the Single Girl	US51 (11 weeks) US	R&B7 (16 weeks) R&B	Authors: J. Butler, Homer Talbert, Patricia Henley	Motown 1414
	Chalk It Up Suite for the Single Girl	-	R&B28 (12 weeks) R&B	Author: Paul Wilson	Motown 1421
	It's a Lifetime Thing Thelma & Jerry	-	R&B84 (3 weeks) R&B	Thelma Houston & Jerry Butler Authors: Keithen Carter, Michael Ward	Motown 1422
1978	(I'm Just Thinking About) Cooling Out Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You	-	R&B14 (17 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Philadelphia Int. 3656
1979	Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You	-	R&B86 (2 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff, J. Butler	Philadelphia Int. 3673
1980	The Best Love I Ever Had The Best Love	-	R&B49 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. Gamble, L. Huff	Philadelphia Int. 3746
	Don't Be an Island The Best Love	-	R&B75 (4 weeks) R&B	Jerry “The Iceman” Butler featuring Debra Henry of “Silk” Author: Keith Echols	Philadelphia Int. 3113
1982	No Love Without Changes Ice 'n Hot	-	R&B83 (4 weeks) R&B	Authors: Phillip Brown, Rufus Hill	Fountain 400
1983	In My Life	-	R&B92 (3 weeks) R&B	Patti Austin with Jerry Butler Author: P. Austin	CTI 59

More singles

• I Was Wrong (1959)
• Silent Night (1960)
• Isle of Sirens (1962)
• I Almost Lost My Mind (1963)
• Where's the Girl (1963)
• A Woman with Soul (1963)
• Since I Don't Have You (1965)
• I Can't Stand to See You Cry (1965)
• You Make Me Feel like Someone (1966)
• You Walked into My Life (1967)
• You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose It (1967)
• Let's Make Love (1979)

Songwriting

Chart songs by other artists that Jerry Butler was involved in as a writer:

• I've Been Loving You Too Long by Otis Redding (1965, with O. Redding, 110th place in the Rolling Stone 500 )
• It Ain't Necessary by Mamie Galore (1966, with Council Gay and Sylvester Potts)
• Yes, My Goodness, Yes by Al Perkins (1969, with Bobby Womack and Jimmy Holiday)
• Just as Long as You Need Me by the Independents (1972, with Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy)
• Memories Don't Leave like People Do by Johnny Bristol (1974, with J. Bristol, James Dean and John Glover)
• He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) by Dawn (1975, with Calvin Carter and Curtis Mayfield, # 1 in USA )
• You by Aretha Franklin (1976, with Marvin Yancy and Randy Stewart)
• Was That All It Was by Hannah Jones (1999, with Linda Conlon and John Usry)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jerry Butler in the US charts (Billboard)
2. ↑ US Billboard 200: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 . / US R&B albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Albums 1965–1998 . Billboard Books, New York 1999, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
3. ↑ US Hot 100: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US R&B singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents Hot R&B Songs 1942-2010 . Billboard Books, New York 2011, ISBN 0-89820-186-1 .
4. ↑ Jerry Butler in the RIAA gold / platinum database (USA)

literature

• Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul , St. Martin's Press, New York 1989, pp. 89-91, ISBN 0-312-02573-4
• Frank Laufenberg: Rock- und Poplexikon Vol. 1 , Econ Taschenbuch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 213, ISBN 3-612-26206-8

Web links

• Jerry Butler at Allmusic (English)
• Biography at chicagoreader.com
• Discography at soulfulkindamusic.net
• Jerry Butler at Music VF.com
• Jerry Butler on the official Cook County Government website
• Jerry Butler at Discogs (English)