Jerry “The Iceman” Butler, the legendary soul singer with the smooth baritone voice and longtime Chicago politician, has passed away. He was 85.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Butler died on Thursday, Feb. 20 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His niece Yolanda Goff confirmed his passing.
“He was very important to both music and to the community, and he will be missed,” Goff said. “We hope the city of Chicago recognizes the legacy he leaves behind.”
Motown icon Smokey Robinson described Butler as having “one of the great voices of our time.”
Born in Sunflower, Miss., in 1939, his family relocated to Chicago when he was 3 years old in the Cabrini–Green housing projects. Like many singers of his era, Butler discovered his love for music in the Black Church. He sang in a church with the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers along with another legendary singer Curtis Mayfield They would go on to form Roosters and eventually The Impressions.
Butler’s first big hit with the group was “For Your Precious Love” which hit number one in 1958, based on a poem he wrote in high school. After two years as lead singer in the group, he went solo and established himself as a force to be reckoned with “He Will Break Your Heart.” Written by Mayfield, the song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Interestingly, Butler did not believe he had a future in the entertainment industry.
“I was the guy that never expected to be in show business. Show business was an avocation,” he told NPR in 2005. “It was something that I did as a hobby. I enjoyed it. I would have sang free if I couldn’t have gotten paid. And once I found out I could get paid, I took it a little more seriously, and got into it a little bit more.”
He would go on to have numerous hits including “Never Give You Up” and “Only the Strong Survive,” both written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, “Hey, Western Union Man”, “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” and many more. In total, he placed 53 songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart including 18 top 10s and four No. 1s. He also co-wrote Otis Redding’s classic 1965 hit “ I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”
Nicknamed “The Iceman”, by WDAS Philadelphia DJ George Woods, Butler was known to keep his cool under any circumstances.
When he wasn’t making hits or touring, Butler was deeply entrenched in the political scene of Chicago. From 1985 to 2018, he served as a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chaired the Health and Hospitals Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.
“I was the guy that never expected to be in show business. Show business was an avocation,” he told NPR in 2005. “It was something that I did as a hobby. I enjoyed it. I would have sang free if I couldn’t have gotten paid. And once I found out I could get paid, I took it a little more seriously, and got into it a little bit more.”
With The Impression, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
In a joint statement, Gamble and Huff paid tribute to Butler.“We deeply and sincerely mourn the loss of our dear and longtime friend the great Jerry Butler, aka ‘The Iceman,’ for his cool, smooth vocals and demeanor,” they wrote. “Our friendship with Jerry goes back for more than 60 years both as an iconic artist and music collaborator with hit songs such as ‘Only the Strong Survive,’ ‘Western Union Man,’ ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and many more. We will really miss Jerry. He was a one-of-a-kind music legend!”
We at WBLS, extend our prayers and condolences to the family and friends of Jerry Butler.