Jerry Butler (Born 08/12/1939)

Butler moved onto Mercury in 1966 and the second phase of his solo career began. He teamed up with Gamble and Huff and had yet another string of successful singles - 'Never Give You Up', 'Hey Western Union Man', 'Only The Strong Survive' and 'What's The Use Of Breaking Up' are just a few; two wonderful albums also ensued, "The Iceman Cometh" in 1968 and "Ice On Ice" in 1970, both of which strengthened his reputation as a fully rounded artist and performer. All this excellent material is available on the compilation "Iceman - The Mercury Years". Another release covering the same period is the very fine "The Philadelphia Sessions".

Apart from his undeniable abilities as a singer (I defy anyone to not warm to his voice, even if some of the material may not to be their liking) he is also important through his attempts to develop young songwriting talent through the creation of the Songwriters Workshop.
Throughout the late 70s and 80s he continued to record (achieving success with Thelma Houston and the album "Thelma and Jerry" on Motown in 1977) but he also concentrated on other areas of interest outside the music industry - culminating in elected office in Chicago in 1986.
As one of the great voices in popular music however, his place in soul music should be assured and both his VeeJay and Mercury recordings are highly recommended listening.