But the start of the Impressions` career also was the undoing of Butler`s association with the group.Īs Butler tells the story, label co-owner Vivian Carter ''took what was known as the test pressing in those days back with her to her record shop and played it over the loudspeakers. The quintet`s first single (which actually appeared on the Falcon-Abner label, distributed by Vee-Jay), ''For Your Precious Love,'' turned into an instant Top 10 hit. With an original lineup of Butler, Mayfield, Sam Gooden and the brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks, the Impressions auditioned for Chicago`s Vee-Jay Records, one of the first major black-owned independent labels in the country. So I think that kind of gives you an idea of why I`m so political.'' We raised money to help send people on the March to Washington. We got involved in movements, and we participated even in the sit-ins in the South. ![]() We got involved in helping to attract audiences for other political people to speak. ![]() That was one of the things that really said to me and the others (in the Impressions) that this is terribly wrong, and what can we do with all of this fame and notoriety that`s coming at us this early in life to try and change some things? So we got involved in the political processes. And still we were being treated as second-class citizens. ![]() Our records were being played on black and white radio stations all over the United States. ''And here we were young performers who really thought that we had arrived. You had to get a carry-out order and oftentimes would have to go around to the back or to the side of the building in order to get food. There were no places along the highways that you could go and sit down and have a meal. There were still black and white, or colored and white, washrooms in filling stations. You were just persona non grata because of the color of your skin. Butler and his wife, Annette, married in 1959, reside in Chicago and are parents to twin sons.''And if you can recall what America was like in those years for the African-American, if you went south of the Mason-Dixon line, there were certain hotels, most of them, that you could not stay in no matter how much money you had or how famous you were. In 1993, at the age of 55, Butler received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Governor's State College in University Park, Illinois. Butler himself was first elected to public office in 1985 as the Cook County Commissioner, where he served three four-year terms. ![]() Influenced by the Civil Rights movement, Butler entered politics in the mid-1980s as a campaign supporter of Chicago's first African American Mayor, Harold Washington. Butler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994, a non-profit organization for which he has served as the Chairman of the Board. In addition to his recording credits, Butler has hosted and appeared on numerous television variety specials been nominated for three Grammy Awards and received various awards for singing, composing, and publishing, including several from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, two Billboard magazine awards, two Humanitarian Awards and several Broadcast Music Inc. Butler, a musical icon, is known for his smooth, distinguished voice.īutler has had numerous hit songs go platinum during his career, including "For Your Precious Love" with The Impressions (1958), "He Will Break Your Heart" (1960), "Moon River" (1961), "Never Gonna Give You Up" (1967), "Hey Western Union Man" (1968), "Brand New Me" (1969), "Only The Strong Survive" (1969), and "Ain't Understanding Mellow" (1973). Spanning five decades, Butler's musical career has produced over 50 albums, numerous hit songs and three Grammy Award nominations. Butler met Curtis Mayfield, with whom he began his musical career as part of a quintet called "Jerry Butler and The Impressions." In 1958, The Impressions had their first hit with the classic "For Your Precious Love," after which the group cordially split and 18-year-old Butler went on to pursue a solo career. He moved to Chicago, Illinois at the age of three and grew up in an area later known as the Cabrini-Green Housing Projects. Award-winning performer, producer and composer Jerry "The Iceman" Butler was born in Sunflower, Mississippi on December 8, 1939.
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