In honor of the late Jerry Butler, who passed away earlier this week, today’s classic song of the day is his biggest hit, “Only the Strong Survive.” Released in February of 1969, this Philly Soul single peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Cash Box Top 100, but went all the way to #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“Only the Strong Survive” was written by Jerry Butler along with Philly Soul legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It first saw the light of day on Mr. Butler’s 1968 album, The Ice Man Cometh, which also included two other big hits, “Hey, Western Union Man” and “Never Give You Up.” The late ’60s was a good time for Jerry Butler.
Jerry Butler was born in 1939 in Sunflower, Mississippi, but his family moved to Chicago when he was just three years old. Butler grew up in the infamous Cabrini-Green housing project and sang in a church choir with Curtis Mayfield, the preacher’s grandson, who quickly became a close friend. The two also sang together in a gospel quartet called the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. Mayfield and Butler then joined a six-piece R&B band called the Roosters, which evolved into the Impressions, of which Butler was the lead singer. Butler sang lead on several hits for the Impressions, including “For Your Precious Love” and “Come Back My Love.”
In 1960, Jerry Butler left the Impressions for a solo career. His solo hits included “He Will Break Your Heart” (1960), “Find Another Girl” (1961), “I’m a Telling You” (1961), a wonderful cover of “Moon River” (1961), the Bacharach/David tune “Make It Easy on Yourself” (1962), “Need to Belong” (1963), “Let It Be Me” (a duet with Betty Everett in 1964), “Mr. Dream Merchant” (1967), “Never Give You Up” (1968), “Hey, Western Union Man” (1968), “Moody Woman” (1969), “What’s the Use of Breaking Up” (1969), “A Brand New Me” (1969), and “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” (a duet with Brenda Lee Egger in 1971). Those late-60s hits came after he migrated east from Chicago to Philadelphia and hooked up with Gamble and Huff, who revitalized his career.
Jerry entered politics in the mid-80s, serving as a Cook County Board Commissioner from 1985 to 2018, when he retired. Even when serving on the Board, he continued to perform on weekends and got additional exposure as the host of several PBS fund-raising TV specials. (You know them because you watched them: Doo Wop 50 and 51, Rock Rhythm and Doo Wop, and Soul Spectacular: 40 years of R&B, among others.)
Jerry Butler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Impressions, although many critics believed (and still believe) that he deserved a second induction as a solo artist. Jerry Butler passed away on February 20, 2025, of Parkinson’s Disease. He was 85 years old.
Here’s what Jerry Butler said about his career in a 2011 interview:
“You know, I have lived well. My wife probably would say I could’ve lived better. Did I make 40, 50 million dollars? No. Did I keep one or two? Yes. The old guys on the street used to say, ‘It’s not how much you make. It’s how much you keep.’”
Jerry Butler had a very good life, indeed.
In case you were wondering, Butler got his nickname from Georgie Woods, a disc jockey for Philadelphia radio station WDAS. Woods called him the Iceman because of his cool, smooth performing style. He was indeed a very cool singer, as you can see in today’s daily bonus video of the day. It’s Jerry Butler performing “Only the Strong Survive” for the induction of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. The Iceman brought it.
