Jerry Butler was an American soul singer also known as The Ice Man. Originally from an area now known as Cabrini Green in Chicago, Butler began performing in a church choir alongside Curtis Mayfield. The pair became friends and soon joined with Sam Gooden and Richard and Arthur Brooks as The Roosters. In 1957, the group changed their name to Jerry Butler & the Impressions, and they soon scored a hit with Butler's "For Your Precious Love".
Butler soon went out on a solo career, and had a minor hit with "Lost" before entering his peak in 1960 with "He Will Break Your Heart". After a few more hits, Butler began working with Gamble & Huff, producing many of his most well-known recordings, including The Ice Man Cometh and "Only the Strong Survive". The hits eventually dried out, however, and Butler moved on to politics, supporting Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor, as well as becoming a Cook County Commissioner and then Alderman of Chicago.
Butler moved from Sunflower, MS, to Chicago, IL, at the age of three during the mass migration of fls from the South to the North.
Butler scored his first hit with the Impressions in 1958 with the timeless ballad "For Your Precious Love." (He'd written the lyrics to the song when he was just 16.) That same year Butler and the Impressions cordially split, and Butler began his solo career.
Butler scored a number-six single with Eager with a remake of the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and a solo hit with a remake of the O'Jays' "One Night Affair," which was also his last song to crack the Top Ten.
JerryButler's career spans four decades; he recorded more than 50 albums and his voice is one of the most distinguished voices in all of music.
Butler acquired his initial music lessons as a young boy while a member of the church choir in Chicago.
Butler scored his first hit with the Impressions in 1958 with the timeless ballad "For Your Precious Love." (He'd written the lyrics to the song when he was just 16.)
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