Jerry Butler - He Will Break Your Heart '2021

Tracks list

Tracklist:

01. He Will Break Your Heart
02. Givin up on Love
03. Whatever You Want
04. Aware of Love
05. Good Times
06. Need to Belong
07. For Your Precious Love
08. Moon River
09. Make It Easy on Yourself
10. I Stand Accused
11. Find Another Girl
12. Im A-Telling You
13. Sweet Was the Wine
14. Its Too Late
15. Thanks to You


 Read MoreButler acquired his initial music lessons as a young boy while a
member of the church choir in Chicago. Curtis Mayfield, who was three years
younger, was also a member of the same choir. The two befriended each other and
began a collaboration that would have an everlasting impact on music. The
twosome joined up with brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks and Sam Gooden to form
the R&B group the Roosters. In fact, the Brooks brothers, Gooden, and a female
had migrated to Chicago from Tennessee, and were called the Roosters & a Chick.
But when Butler and Mayfield joined them, the group became simply the Roosters.
In 1957, the quintets name was changed to Jerry Butler & the Impressions. Butler
scored his first hit with the Impressions in 1958 with the timeless ballad For
Your Precious Love. (Hed written the lyrics to the song when he was just 16.)

The Iceman ComethThat same year Butler and the Impressions cordially split, and
Butler began his solo career. He released his first single, Lost, on the Abner
label. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard R&B charts. Jumping over to
Vee-Jay in late 1960 where his career blossomed, Butler had his first hit as a
solo artist with He Will Break Your Heart. The single popped to the top of the
charts at number one and stayed there for seven consecutive weeks. In 1961,
Butler bounced back with two Top Ten singles: Find Another Girl and Im a Telling
You. In 1967, he signed with Mercury and teamed up with the production duo of
Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. His work with these two master producers and
songwriters resulted in some classic recordings, including the outstanding album
The Ice Man Cometh. The album featured one superb track after another, including
two number-one singles (Hey, Western Union Man, Only the Strong Survive) and two
Top Ten singles (Never Give You Up, Are You Happy). Always known for being a
crooner, Hey, Western Union Man revealed to many that Butler was more than
capable of singing up-tempo songs.

In 1971, Gamble and Huff formed their own label and subsequently Butler formed a
creative workshop to help provide material for his forthcoming albums. Material
that did not make his albums, he marketed to other artists. In the spring of
1971, Butler hit the Top Ten with the number-eight single If Its Real What I
Feel, which was written by Chuck Jackson (the younger brother of Rev. Jesse
Jackson). Butler continued his hit-making tradition with Aint Understanding
Mellow, a classic soul-ballad duet with Brenda Lee Eager that peaked at number
three on the Billboard R&B charts. 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 OJays One Night Affair, which was also his last song to
crack the Top Ten.

Never one to categorize singers because he believes that a singer is a singer --
not based on genre, but on a persons mere ability to sing -- Butler himself
covered several styles of music during his lengthy music career. He had many
highs in his career; ranging from sharing the spotlight with such greats as
Aretha Franklin to being the chairman of the board for the Rhythm and Blues
Foundation (a non-profit organization). Butler also became a force in another
field: politics. In the mid-80s, he was a significant campaign supporter of
Chicagos first black mayor Harold Washington. A short time later, Butler himself
became the Cook County (IL) Commissioner and by the late 90s he was a Chicago
City Alderman. When the great Jerry Butler is not lobbying for his constituents,
he can be found on-stage giving one of his spine-chilling performances with Ice
Man-cool delivery. ~ Craig Lytle

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