Best of Jerry Butler

Jerry Butler seems to be well-represented on Greatest Hit CD's as he truly deserves to be. 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 grew up in Chicago and sang in the church choir and The Northern Jubilee Singers with his friend Curtis Mayfield. 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.. 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.Jerry had a powerful baritone voice that could soar over any orchestra. 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. It was his voice and unflappable demeanor that got him the nickname of "The Iceman". 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. 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. But the name stuck for more reasons than that. Jerry Butler always had a strong, dependable presence that carried through into his songs. He never broke down or cried but always carried on with dignity and class. 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.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). 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. His final top ten hit of the era was the soaring duet with Betty Everett, Let it Be Me in the Fall of 1964. After that he had a long time without chart success in the mid-Sixties. When Vee Jay folded in 1966, he was recruited by Jerry Ross of the Mercury label, a label that had had great success with Brook Benton. By late 1967 he was back in the top 40 for the first time in years with the Ross-penned Mr Dream Merchant.But that was just the beginning. Ross teamed Jerry up with a hot young pair of composers on his staff, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Together they created a whole second career for Jerry Butler in the late Sixties. Gamble and Huff updated his sound with strings, a great rhythm section, backup singers and beautiful production. Soon he was even bigger than he had been in the early Sixties with songs like Never Gonna Give You Up, Hey Western Union Man, Moody Woman and Only the Strong Survive. And you can really hear that superlative production that was already virtually TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), the coming sound of soul for the early and mid 70's. Gamble and Huff had a falling out with Mercury and went on to found Philadelphia International Records and had enormous success with Billy Paul, the O'Jays, Joe Simon, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The Three degrees and many others. Jerry's Mercury contract would not allow him to go with them and one only wonders how much bigger he would have been had he been able to. As it was his remaining years with Mercury only produced one Top Twenty hit, Ain't Understanding Mellow, a 1972 duet with Brenda Lee Eager.What about this disc. It focuses mostly on the Vee Jay years straight through to Let It Be Me.and then includes three of his big Mercury Hits (but not Moody Woman or What's the Use of Breaking Up). It also doesn't include Mr. Dream Merchant, which is such a favorite of mine that I got the 20th Century Masters disc just to get it. Personally, I would have taken off three minor songs to include that song and the two missing Gamble-Huff hits, but that's my only criticism of the disc. This is put out by Rhino, which is Warner's oldies reissue label. Rhino has always been top notch with really excellent sound, only original masters and informative booklets.How is the competition? The top-seller, from Universal's 20th Century Masters Series has only the Gamble and Huff Mercury material, so it's not near complete and is for those who mostly remember his late 60's songs. The "Singles" collection by Charly Records offers a lot of songs (56 songs on two discs) but it's only the earlier Vee Jay songs. The Curb "Greatest Hits" is like all Curb collections: short (11 songs) and usually blank inside the cover but does cover hits from both his labels. The black-covered Hallmark disc is dubvious; I haven't heard it but I've gotten some of their discs and found thin, tinny sound. The white-covered Neon Netherlands disc again has only the Vee Jay songs, and I'm always distrustful of budget priced discs because they often do not use original masters and have indifferent remastering.With 18 songs from both of his hit eras and wonderful sound at a low price, this is the clear choice for any fan of Jerry Butler except those who only know his late 60's songs.

I had a copy of this CD some years ago and it got lost or 'borrowed'. When I saw it available on Amazon, I jumped at the opportunity to hear Jerry Butler sing these songs again. If you are a fan of Jerry Butler's music, no one needs to pressure you into playing this CD. It is a fabulous combination of smooth, tender love songs and brings back many memories. His phrasing, style and beautiful tenor voice blend perfectly together to make you believe he believes the words of these songs. Its meant to be enjoyed with a passion for listening, don't even try and hurry through this one. Relax and allow yourself to get caught-up in each song. Lose yourself inside the story he tells with his velvet crooning. Get ready to become part of the Best of Jerry Butler. Its an awesome experience from start to finish.

Great cd love to listen to it

Loved it this cd brought back many memories.

I loved this album! Long live the "Ice Man" ! Quite a few songs on this CD and is worth every dollar!I would recommend this CD to anyone who just loves Jerry Butler's music. Five stars!

Jerry Butler is still one of the best artist around. He is a true professional in every word.I play his CD everyday all day. This is an excellent CD.

These are all original versions and no remakes!!!!!! Awesome!!! These are the songs that I remember as I remenber them and it's wonderful to listen to my favorite Soul Performers of the 60s and 70s. Great!!!

Nice CD