Jerry 'The Iceman' Butler is celebrating his 83rd birthday today.
Born on 8 Dec 1939 in Sunflower, MS, he was famously one of the original
members of The Impressions before leaving for a solo career in 1960
achieving a total of 55 combined R&B and Hot 100 hits.
His family moved into the Cabrini-Green project in Chicago when he was 3
years old. He grew up singing in church with Curtis Mayfield eventually
forming a group with him named The Roosters which would evolve into The
Impressions with Sam Gooden, Fred Cash along with the Brooks Brothers Arthur
and Richard. Their first recording was the Butler penned "For Your Precious
Love" in 1958 which was released initially on Falcon and then picked up by
Vee-Jay Records and reached #3 R&B and #11 Hot 100.
Butler's first solo record was "He Will Break Your Heart" in 1960 which was
a #1 R&B hit (#7 hot 100). I guess a lot of his early material may be
regarded as a bit MOR.
He's released around 35 albums mainly for Vee-Jay, Mercury, Motown and Philadelphia International. His Vee-Jay period in the early 60s and his Mercury period from 1967-73 were his most productive. After Mercury, Butler joined Motown in 1974 releasing five albums, two
being duet albums with Thelma Houston. In 1979 he switched to Philadelphia
International for two albums and since then has released a handful of
sporadic albums on a variety of different labels starting with his own label
Fountain in 1982. For all intents and purposes his recording career ended
around 1982 when he was still a relatively young man aged 43.
This is possibly because he became a politician serving as the Commissioner
for Cook County, IL, from 1985 right up until 2018. He chaired the Health
and Hospitals Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Construction
Committee.
Butler is a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer being inducted in 1991 as a
member of the original Impressions line-up.
He first came to my attention with his 1969 outing "Moody Woman" on Mercury which was big at one time (mid 70s) on the Northern Soul scene. Many of his albums are not available on Spotify but three of his Mercury albums and a Mercury compilation are so I've cherry picked some of the best tracks. However, the compilation, surprisingly, doesn't include one of my personal favourites which is "Stop Steppin' On My Dreams" from his 1972 double album "Spice Of Life" (which was an album only track until released on 7" by Outta Sight in 2020 coupled with "Moody Woman") so a YouTube clip is included, as if you haven't heard it then I think you need to! It contain this poignant lyric:
"You know most folks are scared of dying, so the fear brings it near".
"I see 'em buying books to get to heaven, but they fight real hard to stay right here."
The playlist includes his version of his brother's, Billy Butler, Northern Soul classic "The Right Track".
Album Discography
1959 - Jerry Butler, Esq. [Abner]
1960 - He Will Break Your Heart [Vee-Jay]
1961 - Aware of Love [Vee-Jay]
1962 - Moon River [Vee-Jay]
1963 - Folk Songs [Vee-Jay]
1963 - Need to Belong [Vee-Jay]
1964 - Delicious Together with Betty Everette [Vee-Jay]
1967 - Mr. Dream Merchant [Mercury]
1967 - The Soul Artistry of Jerry Butler [Mercury]
1968 - The Iceman Cometh [Mercury]
1968 - Gift of Love [Sunset]
1968 - The Soul Goes On [Mercury]
1968 - Souled Out [Upfront]
1969 - Ice on Ice [Mercury]
1970 - You & Me [Mercury]
1971 - Gene & Jerry: One & One [Mercury]
1971 - The Sagittarius Movement [Mercury]
1971 - Jerry Butler Sings Assorted Sounds... [Mercury]
1972 - Melinda (Original Music From the Motion Picture) [Pride]
1972 - Spice of Life [Mercury]
1973 - The Love We Have... with Brenda Lee Eager
[Mercury]
1973 - Power of Love [Mercury]
1974 - Sweet Sixteen [Mercury]
1976 - Love's on the Menu [Motown]
1977 - Suite for the Single Girl [Motown]
1977 - Thelma & Jerry with Thelma Houston [Motown]
1978 - It All Comes Out In My Song [Motown]
1978 - Two to One with Thelma Huston [Motown]
1978 - Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You [PIR]
1980 - The Best Of Love [PIR]
1982 - Ice 'N Hot [Fountain]
1992 - Time & Faith [Ichiban]
1993 - Hey Western Union Man [Polygram]
1994 - Simply Beautiful [Valley Vue]
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