![]() He was the only singer to have a big hit with Moon River, which he did with a lightly Latin rhythm that was amenable to the Cha-Cha, a popular dance of the era. Jerry had a great early Sixties career with Vee Jay singing more Curtis Mayfield songs, early Bacharach-David (Make It Easy On Yourself), and early Crewe-Gaudio (Who put together The Four Seasons). In He Will Break Your Heart you know he's being really torn up deep inside yet he's calm and self-possessed as he sings the truth of the situation. He never broke down or cried but always carried on with dignity and class. Jerry Butler always had a strong, dependable presence that carried through into his songs. But the name stuck for more reasons than that. ![]() The local celebrity disc jockey, Georgie Woods of WDAS, Philadelphia's big R&B station gave him the nickname after that performance and the way Jerry coolly handled it. At a concert in 1959 in Philadelphia the public address system went out, but Jerry just kept on singing and holding the audience, showing he didn't even need amplification. It was his voice and unflappable demeanor that got him the nickname of "The Iceman". But he was not just a powerful singer, his voice also conveyed great feeling and tenderness, which made him a perfect singer of songs about winning and losing at love. Jerry had a powerful baritone voice that could soar over any orchestra. Vee Jay Records, the Chicago R&B label that signed them, felt that Jerry had such a voice that he should be a solo act, and so he left the Impressions but retained his friendship with Mayfield, with whom he co-wrote his first big solo hit, He Will Break Your Heart. Not long after they formed The Impressions with four of their friends and immediately hit it big with For Your Precious Love, a song that opens like a hymn and builds in intensity. Jerry grew up in Chicago and sang in the church choir and The Northern Jubilee Singers with his friend Curtis Mayfield. For many years he was a regular presence on the radio and premiered some of the great soul classics like For Your Precious Love, He Will Break Your Heart and Let It Be Me. Jerry Butler seems to be well-represented on Greatest Hit CD's as he truly deserves to be.
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