Jerry Butler 'the iceman' before his passing, Impressions Singer & Chicago Politician Dies
Chicago soul giant Jerry Butler, who succeeded early hits as lead singer of the keystone R&B group Impressions and a notable solo career with years as a Windy City politician, has died, according to the Chicago Sun TImes. No cause of death was announced, although he had suffered from Parkinson’s disease; he was 85.
Alongside singer-guitarist Curtis Mayfield, with whom he had sung in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, 19-year-old Butler broke onto the charts in 1958 with the doo-wop-inflected ballad “For Your Precious Love,” by the act initially billed as Jerry Butler and the Impressions. Rolling Stone critic Joe McEwen later wrote, “The song can almost be considered the first soul record.”
By the early ‘80s, Butler was running a Chicago beer distributorship, but his interest turned to politics after Harold Washington was elected as the city’s first Black mayor in 1983. Chicago alderman (and former Black Panther Party officer) Bobby Rush encouraged him to run for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Elected in 1986, he held the post until his retirement in 2018.
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