Jerry Butler, soul singer and politician, dies at 85
Butler, also known as "Ice Man," died Thursday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He had been living with Parkinson's disease.
His assistant confirmed the singer's death to TMZ.
Butler, who was born in Mississippi but lived for many years in Chicago, met fellow Impressions member Curtis Mayfield when he was just 13 years old.
The music group, which also included Fred Cash, Richard A. Brooks, Sam Gooden and Arthur "Pop" Brooks, Sr., was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
"A bridge in more ways than one. The Impressions traversed the sounds of the Fifties and Sixties as well as old and new attitudes," a description from the hall of fame reads. "Their music was the sound of the civil rights movement."
As a solo artist, Butler was well known for his song, "Only the Strong Survive," which appeared on his 1968 album The Ice Man Cometh.
Beyond music, Butler became a commissioner for Cook County, Ill., beginning in 1985. He continued in that role through 2018.
"He's one of the great voices of our time," fellow music artist Smokey Robinson told the Chicago Sun-Times. "...He's a great person and I love him."
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You furnish the engagement; I'll furnish the reality.
