Jerry Butler, Former Impressions Lead Singer and Chicago Politician, Dies At 85

Jerry Butler, lead singer of R&B group The Impressions and an accomplished Chicago politician, has died at 85 years old, The Chicago Sun-Times reports. Although no cause of death was disclosed, Butler had been living with Parkinson’s disease.

A decorated soul singer who went on to serve as a Windy City commissioner, Butler was born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, where he got his start singing in a local church choir. He brought those vocals to The Impressions after meeting Curtis Mayfield in the mid-1950s. During his three years as an Impression, Butler wrote the group’s 1958 solo hit “For Your Precious Love” before departing on good terms to pursue a solo career.

After some growing pains, everything came together when he met Philly soul architects Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, with whom he developed his classic 1962 album The Iceman Cometh. The records spawned major hits including “Only the Strong Survive” and “Never Give You Up.” Throughout his solo career, Butler also wrote music for a number of other artists. He composed the Otis Redding classic “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” which has since been covered by music royalty from Aretha Franklin to Etta James to the Rolling Stones.

With nearly two decades in music under his belt, Butler pivoted to politics later in life, rising to the rank of Cook County, Illinois board commissioner by 1994. As fellow commissioner Larry Suffredin told the Chicago Reader: “I think [he] got into [politics] for only one reason—he felt that he had a voice because of all the blessings he’d been given, and that he could use it for other people.”

But even as he pivoted to civic service, his entertainment accolades continued coming. The Impressions—and Butler with them—were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. And as a solo artist, Butler joined the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015, going on to receive its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Speaking to the Sun-Times, Smokey Robinson called Butler “one of the great voices of our time.” In their own statement, Gamble and Huff echoed the sentiment, sharing: “We deeply and sincerely mourn the loss of our dear and longtime friend the great Jerry Butler aka ‘The Iceman’ for his cool, smooth vocals and demeanor. He was a one of a kind music legend!”

Butler was married to his wife Annette—who he met while she was working as his backup singer—for 60 years. She passed away in 2019. Butler is survived by two sons, Randy and Anthony.