Jerry Butler Biography

Jerry Butler brew up in Chicago and spend his childhood as a member of the local church choir. He became friends with Curtis Mayfield as a young boy and then as young men, Butler and Mayfield joined with Richard and Arthur Brooks and Sam Gooden to create the band initially known as the Roosters. By 1957, they had changed the name to Jerry Butler & the Impressions, and within one year of that, they’d scored their first hit with “For Your Precious Love.”

Butler immediately embarked on a solo career, leaving the Impressions and releasing his first solo endeavor, “Lost,” which hit the charts and rose into the Top 20 on the Billboard R&B.  “He Will Break Your Heart” was just as successful, finding a home at the top of the charts for seven straight weeks.  For the next five decades, Jerry Butler went on to record approximately fifty albums in total, bringing audiences such notable hits as: "Find Another Girl," "I'm a Telling You," "Hey, Western Union Man," "Only the Strong Survive,” "Never Give You Up," "Are You Happy,” "If It's Real What I Feel," and "Ain't Understanding Mellow," to name a few. Butler’s smooth, soulful voice is among the most recognizable in music history, but his achievements go beyond recording music alone.

Jerry Butler has also contributed to the music industry as the chairman of the board for the non-profit Rhythm and Blues Foundation. He has also been an active force in Chicago politics, supporting Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor. He himself eventually became the Cook County Commissioner and a Chicago City Alderman in the 1990’s. Jerry Butler currently resides in Chicago and continues to perform and has served as a host of a variety of television music specials. He and his fellow Impressions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.