Jerry Butler

A popular Chicago soul star of the 1960s, Jerry Butler has released over 50 albums of smooth, timeless pop, scored a string of R&B hits and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nicknamed The Iceman because of his ice-cool delivery, he sang in the same choir as Curtis Mayfield in the 1950s and the pair went on to form gospel harmony group The Roosters, who evolved into The Impressions. Butler penned their classic For Your Precious Love at the age of 16, but left the group in 1960 to score the solo hit He Will Break Your Heart and co-wrote Otis Redding's breakthrough single I've Been Loving You Too Long. As one of the voices which helped shape early soul music, Butler's US hits included Moon River, Let It Be Me, Hey Western Union Man and the million selling Only The Strong Survive, while classic album The Iceman Cometh (1968) received three Grammy Award nominations. His 1969 single Moody Woman was later adopted as an anthem of the British Northern Soul scene and, though his success subsided in the 1980s, Butler - who also became a politician serving as a commissioner for Cook County, Illinois - remains an influential figure, revered for being one of the first soul stars to voice political and socially conscious lyrics.

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