Soul singer Jerry Butler died at 85 years old

American singer Jerry Butler, soul legend, died Thursday at the age of 85, his relatives announced to the American media Chicago Sun Times. Nicknamed «Ice Man» (“The Ice Man”in French) for its foolproof calm, the octogenarian suffered from Parkinson’s disease.

The native of Sunflower, in the Mississippi, began as a singer at the church, in different choirs of Chicago, before joining the group The Impressions, whose repertoire includes titles of gospel, soul and R&B.

Political career

He left the group in 1959 to embark on a solo career, and published quickly Lost Then He will break your hearthis very first successes. But it was truly in the late 1960s that he started to chain hits, with Make it easy on yourself, Only the strong survive, Hey, Western Union man et I wanna do it to you.

In addition to his musical career, he engaged in the 1980s in politics in the 1980s, participating in the Harold Washington electoral campaign, the first African-American mayor of Chicago. He then held several municipal positions for more than 30 years. He leaves two sons behind him. His wife Annette, with he was married for 60 years, died in 2019 at the age of 81.