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The Independent
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Jerry Butler death: Impressions singer dies at 85
Jerry Butler, the original lead singer of the R&B and soul group The Impressions, has died. He was 85. The Mississippi-born musician started singing as a teenager in a Chicago church choir alongside his future bandmate Curtis Mayfield. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted The Impressions in 1991, described their music as 'the sound of the Civil Rights Movement.' In later life, Butler went on to become a local politician and served as a commissioner for Cook County, Illinois, from 1985 to 2018. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, he died at home late on Thursday evening. His niece Yolanda Goff told the publication: 'He was very important to both music and to the community, and he will be missed.' Butler was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, on December 8, 1939. When he was three, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up in the Cabrini–Green housing project. In 1957, at the age of 17, Butler and Mayfield joined a doo-wop group called the Roosters. By the following year, at the suggestion of their manager, they had been renamed Jerry Butler & the Impressions. The group had their first chart hit in 1958 with 'For Your Precious Love', which Butler co-wrote with brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks. His most lucrative songwriting credit came when he co-wrote Otis Redding's 1965 hit 'I've Been Loving You Too Long' with the singer. While performing in Philadelphia, a local DJ nicknamed Butler 'The Ice Man' for his cool, smooth delivery. The name stuck, and inspired the names of his solo albums The Ice Man Cometh (1968) and Ice on Ice (1969). Butler continued to perform after launching his political career in 1985. He was a commissioner for Cook County as a member of a 17-member county board, chairing the Health and Hospitals Committee. In a statement Dr Erik Mikaitis, Cook County Health CEO, described Butler as a 'distinguished public servant' and a 'steadfast advocate for health justice.' He added: 'Commissioner Butler's leadership and commitment to public service have left an indelible mark on our health system and the entire county. His unwavering dedication to our community and his invaluable contributions to our County and health system will be profoundly missed.' He was married to his wife Annette, who had originally been one of his backup singers, from 1959 until her death in 2019. No cause of death has yet been confirmed, although it has been reported that Butler was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jerry Butler, Iconic R&B Singer and Longtime Chicago Politician, Dead at 85
Jerry Butler, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and original lead singer of the Impressions who later embarked on a successful career as a solo artist and a Chicago politician, has died at the age of 85. Butler's niece confirmed her uncle's death to the Chicago Sun-Times, adding that he died Thursday at his Chicago home. No cause of death was provided. 'He was very important to both music and to the community, and he will be missed,' Yolanda Goff said. 'We hope the city of Chicago recognizes the legacy he leaves behind.' More from Rolling Stone Rick Buckler, the Jam Drummer, Dead at 69 Mexican Singer Paquita la del Barrio Dead at 77 South Korean Actress Kim Sae-ron Dead at 24 The Mississippi-born, Chicago-raised Butler first sang in his church choir, where he met Curtis Mayfield and, together, formed the first incarnation of the legendary R&B group the Impressions. With Butler as lead vocalist, the Impressions landed a Top 100 hit with 'For Your Precious Love' in 1958; the oft-covered single would later appear on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. 'The spiritual tenor of the vocals came from the Impressions' church roots; Butler and Curtis Mayfield had sung together in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers,' Rolling Stone wrote of 'For Your Precious Love. 'The lyrics were drawn verbatim from a poem Butler had written in high school. The single's credit — 'Jerry Butler and the Impressions' — caused friction in the group, which Butler soon left.' While Butler's tenure with the group only lasted under three years before he went solo, he was among the Impressions members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. As a solo artist, Butler, dubbed 'the Iceman' for his cool onstage demeanor, scored dozens of R&B hits throughout the Sixties, including 'He Will Break Your Heart,' 'Make It Easy on Yourself,' a rendition of 'Moon River,' 'Let It Be Me,' 'Hey, Western Union Man,' and 1969's 'Only the Strong Survive,' which Bruce Springsteen recently covered for his 2022 album of the same name. While Butler remained prolific through the Seventies, the singles stopped hitting the charts, and in the following decade he segued into the second stage of his career: politician. In 1986, Butler was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners overseeing the city of Chicago, spending two terms in that role before ascending to Cook County Board Commissioner in 1994. Butler would remain in that position until his retirement in 2018. Throughout his time in office, Butler continued to perform live, and released a solo album in 1992 following the Impressions' Rock Hall induction. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
