From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Dec 8, 2002  7:11 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Jerry Butler

JERRY BUTLER

Born 8 December 1939, Sunflower, Mississippi

One of the great soul voices, effortlessly powerful and emotive, Jerry
Butler initially found fame as a member of the Impressions with Curtis
Mayfield and sang the impassioned lead on 'For Your Precious Love'
in 1958 (written by Butler incidentally, although Mayfield would go on
to be one of the primary writers working in the soul idiom). The record,
on the Abner label, went to # 3 on the R&B and # 11 on the pop charts.
A year later Butler was gone and the group went into limbo, but Curtis
Mayfield continued to tour with and write for Butler, resulting in the 1960
hit 'He Will Break Your Heart' (# 1 R&B, # 7 pop). This was the first of
a succession of hits for the Vee-Jay label, including 'Find Another Girl'
and 'Make It Easy On Yourself' (later covered by the Walker Brothers),
as well as a few successful duets with Betty Everett, 'Let It Be Me' (# 5)
being the best example..
Butler moved onto Mercury in 1966 and a second phase of his career
began. He teamed up with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and had yet
another string of successful singles - 'Never Give You Up', 'Hey Western
Union Man', 'Only The Strong Survive' (his biggest hit, # 4 pop, # 1 R&B)
and 'What's The Use Of Breaking Up' are just a few. Two strong (and
commercially successful) albums also ensued, "The Iceman Cometh"
in 1968 and "Ice On Ice" in 1969, which strengthened his reputation as
a fully rounded artist and performer.
Now dubbed "The Iceman", Butler continued to record throughout the 70s
and 80s (achieving success with Thelma Houston and the album "Thelma
and Jerry" on Motown in 1977), but he also concentrated on other areas
of interest which culminated in him achieving elected office (Cook County
Commissioner) in Chicago in 1986.

More info: http://www.onlinetalent.com/Butler_homepage.html
CD recommendations : The Best Of Jerry Butler (Rhino, 18 tracks)
The Philadelphia Sessions (Universal, 25 tracks).
Autobiography: Jerry Butler with Earl Smith : Only the strong survive :
memoirs of a soul survivor. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2000.