There are many talented and accomplished musicians with the Butler surname, but these musicians with the Butler last name are noteworthy for their musical achievements:
Artie Butler (b. 1942)
As an arranger, songwriter, and session musician, Artie has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums during his career.
In the 1960s, he arranged and played keyboards on hits such as The Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack,” The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love,” and The Ad Libs’ “The Boy from New York City.” He also arranged Neil Diamond’s early records, including “Solitary Man” and “Cherry, Cherry,” and played keyboards on Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright.” Notably, Artie told Louis Armstrong that he should record “What a Wonderful World” and arranged and recorded the song with Armstrong.
In the 1970s, Artie arranged radio staples such as Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia,” Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter in the Rain,” Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana,” and Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Never Love This Way Again.”
In 2002, Artie was an “answer” in a crossword puzzle published by The New York Times.
Bernard Butler (b. 1970)
Bernard is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist of the English rock band Suede. His solo albums include People Move On and Friends and Lovers.
In 2004, Bernard formed the band The Tears with Brett Anderson. This collaboration yielded the hit “Refugees,” which reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, and the single “Lovers.”
BBC journalist Mark Savage called Bernard “one of Britain’s most original and influential guitarists.” In 2010, he was voted the 24th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national BBC poll.
Champ Butler (1926-1992)
To support himself while pursuing his dream of becoming a professional singer, Champ worked as a parking lot attendant at a popular nightclub in West Hollywood, California. One day, an entertainment business manager came by, and Champ sang a few bars while leaning against Clark Gable’s Jaguar. He was quickly signed to a contract and left his parking lot job.
Champ’s musical act was refined at Columbia Records, and he became a very popular singer in the 1950s with hits like “Them There Eyes,” “Down Yonder,” “Oh, Looka There, Ain’t She Pretty,” “Be Anything (But Be Mine),” “Fit as a Fiddle,” and “I Apologize.” He earned six gold records and even had his own nightly television show, Musical Nightcap, for more than two years.
President Harry S. Truman was a big fan of Champ’s and had eight of his records in his Independence, Missouri home after he left the presidency.
Chris Butler (b. 1949)
After stints with the Numbers Band and Tin Huey, Chris joined The Waitresses, an Akron, Ohio-based new wave band, as a guitarist-songwriter in the 1980s. The band’s most popular songs include “I Know What Boys Like,” “No Guilt,” “Christmas Wrapping” and the theme song for the TV sitcom Square Pegs, starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
Chris holds the 1997 Guinness Book of World Records for the longest pop song recording in history. “The Devil Glitch” is a 69-minute song that was posted online and extended by listeners in the hope that it would play for days. The song ultimately clocked in at over four hours and 47 minutes and has more than 60 pages of lyrics.
Frank Butler (1928-1984)
Frank was an American jazz drummer that performed with many jazz legends and was once called “the greatest drummer in the world.” He performed and recorded with Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Hampton Hawes, Harold Land, and Curtis Counce. He also recorded two highly acclaimed albums, Wheelin and Dealin and The Stepper, under his own name.
“Geezer” Butler (b. 1949)
Terence Michael Joseph “Geezer” Butler almost became an accountant. He was studying accounting when he joined the heavy metal band that eventually became Black Sabbath.
Geezer was originally a rhythm guitarist, but moved to bass when Tommy Iommi joined the band and made it clear that he didn’t want to play with another guitarist. According to Geezer, “I’d never played bass until I was on stage at the first gig that we played. Borrowed the bass guitar off one of my friends and it only had three strings on it.” He would be Black Sabbath’s bassist and primary lyricist on and off for over 25 years.
Regarded as one of the all-time greatest bassists, Geezer has been cited as an influence by other bassists such as Cliff Burton, Les Claypool, Steve Di Giorgio, Alex Webster, John Myung, Johnny Lee Middleton, and Greg Smith. Jason Newsted said, “All true metal bassists look up to Geezer as a pioneer and Godfather of our chosen instrument. The best ever.”
Fun Fact: According to Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer “never uses foul language.”
Henry Butler (1948-2018)
Henry was an American jazz and blues pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Blinded by glaucoma as an infant, he learned to play the trombone, baritone horn, and drums at the Louisiana State School for the Blind before deciding to concentrate on singing and piano.
Henry was known for both his technique and his ability to play many styles of music. Jon Pareles, a music critic at the New York Times, wrote that he “revels in fluency and facility, splashing chords all over the keyboard and streaking through solos with machine-gun articulation.” Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune said that he played with “an enormous intellect matched by unusual physical strength.”
In 1993, Henry founded a series of jazz camps for blind and visually impaired young musicians. His work was featured in a 2010 documentary titled The Music’s Gonna Get You Through.
Despite his blindness, Henry took up photography after attending an art exhibit in Los Angeles. The documentary Dark Light: The Art of Blind Photographers told the story of how he took pictures.
Jerry Butler (b. 1949)
Jerry was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, which included Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, and Fred Cash. He co-wrote the song “For Your Precious Love,” which was ranked number 327 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
After leaving the Impressions, Jerry had over 55 Billboard Pop and R&B chart hits, including “He Will Break Your Heart,” “Find Another Girl,” “Let It Be Me,” and “Only the Strong Survive.” He co-wrote the song “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” with Otis Redding. Jerry was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015.
After his musical career, Jerry served as a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois, from 1985 to 2018. More recently, he has been the host of PBS TV music specials such as Doo Wop 50 and 51, Rock Rhythm and Doo Wop, and Soul Spectacular: 40 Years of R&B.
Joe Butler (b. 1941)
Joe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a founding member of the American rock band The Lovin’ Spoonful. The band’s hits included “Summer in the City,” “Do You Believe In Magic,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” and “Daydream.”
Though he was primarily a drummer in the early days of The Lovin’ Spoonful, Joe was the lead vocalist on the songs “You Baby,” “Full Measure,” “Never Going Back,” and “Me About You.” Outside of the band, he was in the musical production of Hair and the rock opera Soon.
John Butler (b. 1975)
John is the lead singer for the John Butler Trio, a roots and jam band that formed in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1988. He plays harmonica, didgeridoo, drums, lap-steel, banjo, and amplified acoustic guitars.
The John Butler Trio has made five studio albums. Three of them, Sunrise Over Sea, Grand National, and April Uprising all went to number one on the Australian charts. His recordings and live shows have won numerous awards from the Australasian Performing Right Association and the Australian Recording Industry Association.
Jonathan Butler (b. 1961)
Jonathan is a singer-songwriter from South Africa that plays R&B, jazz fusion, and worship music. He was the first black artist played by white radio stations in segregated South Africa.
In 1975, Jonathan’s cover of The Drifters’ “Please Stay” reached number 2 on the charts in South Africa. His cover of The Paris Sisters’ “I Love How You Love Me” reached number 4 the same year. The song “I’ll Be Home” reached number 16 in 1976.
Jonathan broke through internationally in 1987 with a Grammy nomination for the single “Lies,” which reached number 27 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Larry Butler (1942-2012)
Larry was a Nashville piano player who frequently backed up country music stars such as George Jones, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He played piano on Conway Twitty’s hit “Hello Darlin” and Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey.” In the 1960s, he played keyboards in the rock band Ronny and The Daytonas, which had a hit with the song “GTO.” As a member of The Gentrys, he charted the songs “Keep on Dancing” and “Every Day I Have to Cry Some.”
Following his career as a musician, Larry turned his attention to producing. He worked with Johnny Cash on several of his biggest hits. But, his most important and enduring collaboration was with his friend Kenny Rogers. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, Larry and Kenny sold millions of records around the world, including Kenny Rogers (1976), The Gambler (1978), Gideon (1980), and I Prefer the Moonlight (1987). During this period, he teamed Kenny with Dottie West, resulting in the hits “Every Time Two Fools Collide” and “‘Til I Make It On My Own.” He also teamed Kenny with Kim Carnes, resulting in the smash hit “Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer.”
As a songwriter, Larry co-wrote “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” which topped both the Pop and Country charts for B.J. Thomas and won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
Richard Butler (b. 1956)
Richard formed the Psychedelic Furs, a British post-punk band, in the Butler family living room with his brother in February 1977. By the 1980s, the band charted several singles and was a staple on modern rock and college radio stations. Their song “Pretty in Pink” was featured in filmmaker John Hughes’ 1986 movie of the same name.
When the Psychedelic Furs went on hiatus in the early 1990s, Richard became the lead singer of the alternative rock band Love Spit Love. The band’s cover of the Smiths’ song “How Soon is Now?” can be heard during the opening credits of the television show Charmed, which aired from 1998 to 2006. The song “Am I Wrong” was featured in the 1995 film Angus.
Richard returned to the Psychedelic Furs in 2001 after a nine-year absence. He released a self-titled solo album, Richard Butler, in 2006.
Tony Butler (b. 1957)
Tony is a bassist and vocalist best known for his work with Big Country, a Scottish rock band. He has worked with The Pretenders, Roger Daltrey, and Pete Townshend.
A warm-up bass riff Tony played was used in The Pretenders’ song “My City Was Gone” and later adopted by Rush Limbaugh’s talk show as its opening theme.
Win Butler (b. 1980) and William Pierce Butler (b. 1982)
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Win Butler co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire in 2001. His younger brother Will joined afterward as a synthesizer, bass, guitar, and percussion player. The band’s 2004 debut album, Funeral, is widely considered to be one of the best albums of the 2000s.
In 2008, the band released its second album, Neon Bible, and won the Meteor Music Award for Best International Album and the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year. This was followed by The Suburbs, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year, a Juno Award for Album of the Year, and a Brit Award for Best International Album.
Arcade Fire’s work has been a shortlist nominee for the Polaris Music Prize three times: in 2007 for Neon Bible, in 2011 for The Suburbs, and in 2014 for Reflektor.
Primary Sources:
- Artie Butler | Composer, Songwriter, Orchestrator. (n.d.).
- Leight, E. (2014, October 27). The Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of the 1960s.
- Wiser, C. (n.d.). Chris Butler of The Waitresses : Songwriter Interviews.
- Leigh, S. (2012, January 24). Larry Butler: The only country record producer to win a Grammy
- The Honorable Jerry Butler’s Biography. (n.d.).
- Baca, R. (2007, September 12). Win Butler stays calm as Arcade Fire ignites
