Jerry Butler, Iconic R&B Singer and Chicago Politician, Dead at 85

Jerry Butler, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and original lead singer of the Impressions who later embarked on a successful career as a solo artist and a Chicago politician, has died at the age of 85.

Butler’s niece confirmed her uncle’s death to the Chicago Sun-Times, adding that he died Thursday at his Chicago home. No cause of death was provided. “He was very important to both music and to the community, and he will be missed,” Yolanda Goff said. “We hope the city of Chicago recognizes the legacy he leaves behind.”

The Mississippi-born, Chicago-raised Butler first sang in his church choir, where he met Curtis Mayfield and, together, formed the first incarnation of the legendary R&B group the Impressions. With Butler as lead vocalist, the Impressions landed a Top 100 hit with “For Your Precious Love” in 1958; the oft-covered single would later appear on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

“The spiritual tenor of the vocals came from the Impressions’ church roots; Butler and Curtis Mayfield had sung together in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers,” Rolling Stone wrote of “For Your Precious Love. “The lyrics were drawn verbatim from a poem Butler had written in high school. The single’s credit — ‘Jerry Butler and the Impressions’ — caused friction in the group, which Butler soon left.”

While Butler’s tenure with the group only lasted under three years before he went solo, he was among the Impressions members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

As a solo artist, Butler, dubbed “the Iceman” for his cool onstage demeanor, scored dozens of R&B hits throughout the Sixties, including “He Will Break Your Heart,” “Make It Easy on Yourself,” a rendition of “Moon River,” “Let It Be Me,” “Hey, Western Union Man,” and 1969’s “Only the Strong Survive,” which Bruce Springsteen recently covered for his 2022 album of the same name.

While Butler remained prolific through the Seventies, the singles stopped hitting the charts, and in the following decade he segued into the second stage of his career: politician. In 1986, Butler was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners overseeing the city of Chicago, spending two terms in that role before ascending to Cook County Board Commissioner in 1994. Butler would remain in that position until his retirement in 2018.

Throughout his time in office, Butler continued to perform live, and released a solo album in 1992 following the Impressions’ Rock Hall induction.