Jerry Butler (singer)
Encyclopedia
Jerry Butler is an American
soul
singer and songwriter
. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B
vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
inductee.
Butler is also an American politician
. He serves as a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois
, having first been elected in 1985. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chairs the Health and Hospitals Committee, and serves as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.
's Cabrini–Green housing complex. Music
and the church
provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South
. He performed in a church choir with Curtis Mayfield
. As a teenager
, Butler sang in a gospel
quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, along with Mayfield. Mayfield, a guitar
player, became the lone instrumentalist for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by Sam Cooke
and the Soul Stirrers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
, and the Pilgrim Travelers
, getting into the music industry seemed inevitable.
Butler's younger brother, Billy Butler
, also had a career in the music industry. Today, Billy plays guitar with Jerry's band, which tours throughout the country.
the song
"For Your Precious Love" (which is ranked #327 on the Rolling Stone
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) and wanted to record
a disc
. Looking for recording studio
s, The Impressions auditioned for Chess Records
and Vee-Jay Records
. The group eventually signed with Vee-Jay, where they released "For Your Precious Love" in 1958. It became The Impressions' first hit
and gold record
.
, Georgie Woods
, while performing in a Philadelphia theater.
He co-wrote, with Otis Redding
, the song "I've Been Loving You Too Long
" in 1965. Butler’s solo
career had a string of hits, including the Top 10 successes "He Will Break Your Heart", "Find Another Girl", "I'm A-Telling You" (all written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal), the million selling "Only the Strong Survive
," "Moon River
" (note that it was Jerry's vocal, not Andy Williams, that hit on single records), "Need To Belong" (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), "Make It Easy On Yourself
," "Let It Be Me" (with Betty Everett
), "Brand New Me," "Ain't Understanding Mellow" (with Brenda Lee Eager
), "Hey, Western Union Man
", and "Never Give You Up." Butler released two successful album
s, The Ice Man Cometh
(1968) and Ice On Ice (1970). The Ice Man Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy
nominations. He collaborated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team, Gamble and Huff
. With Motown, in 1976 and 1977, Butler produced and co-produced (with Paul David Wilson) two albums: 1.) “Suite For The Single Girl” and 2.) “It All Comes Out In My Song.”
Tony Orlando and Dawn
revived "He Will Break Your Heart" in 1975, with a new title, "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)," and it was more successful than Butler's original, going to #1 on the US
Billboard Hot 100
pop
chart
.
Subsequently, Butler and Wilson produced an album with Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble with Philadelphia International. In 1981 with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from Sharp-Gamble's album Dee Dee, Butler/Wilson’s production spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and Dance Chart Billboard.
since the 1980s. As Cook County Commissioner, Butler voted to uphold an historic 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, which remains the highest in the nation. As a result the Chicago Tribune
has encouraged people to vote against him in the 2010 elections.
In recent years, he has served as 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, among others. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation
. In 1991, Butler was inducted, along with the other original members of the Impressions (Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden
, Fred Cash
, and Arthur and Richard Brooks), into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
.
Most recently, blues-rock
duo The Black Keys
covered "Never Give You Up" on their 2010 album, Brothers
.
| * no RnB charts published during the chart runs of these singles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
inductee.
Butler is also an American politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He serves as a Commissioner for Cook County, Illinois
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, having first been elected in 1985. As a member of this 17-member county board, he chairs the Health and Hospitals Committee, and serves as Vice Chair of the Construction Committee.
Early life
The mid 1950s had a profound impact on Butler's life. He grew up poor, having lived in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Cabrini–Green housing complex. Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and the church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
provided solace from a city that was as segregated as those in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
. He performed in a church choir with Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
. As a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Butler sang in a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
quartet called Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers, along with Mayfield. Mayfield, a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player, became the lone instrumentalist for the six-member Roosters group, which later became The Impressions. Inspired by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
and the Soul Stirrers, the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was a post-war gospel quartet. Powered by lead singer Archie Brownlee, their single "Our Father" reached the Billboard R&B charts in the early 1950s, one of the first gospel records to do so.-History:...
, and the Pilgrim Travelers
Pilgrim Travelers
The Pilgrim Travelers were a gospel group popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s.-Musical career:Formed in the early 1930s in Houston, Texas, they were strongly influenced by another Texas-based quartet, the Soul Stirrers...
, getting into the music industry seemed inevitable.
Butler's younger brother, Billy Butler
Billy Butler (singer)
Billy Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter active principally in the 1960s and early 1970s.Butler is Jerry Butler's younger brother. He formed the vocal group The Enchanters while at high school. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1963, and was produced initially by Curtis Mayfield...
, also had a career in the music industry. Today, Billy plays guitar with Jerry's band, which tours throughout the country.
Early recordings
Butler wroteSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"For Your Precious Love" (which is ranked #327 on the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) and wanted to record
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. Looking for recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s, The Impressions auditioned for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
and Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
. The group eventually signed with Vee-Jay, where they released "For Your Precious Love" in 1958. It became The Impressions' first hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
and gold record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
Solo career
Butler was dubbed the "Iceman" by WDAS Philadelphia disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
, while performing in a Philadelphia theater.
He co-wrote, with Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, the song "I've Been Loving You Too Long
I've Been Loving You Too Long
"I've Been Loving You Too Long" is a song written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler. It appeared as the A-side of a 1965 hit single by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul...
" in 1965. Butler’s solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career had a string of hits, including the Top 10 successes "He Will Break Your Heart", "Find Another Girl", "I'm A-Telling You" (all written by fellow Impression Curtis Mayfield and featuring Mayfield as harmony vocal), the million selling "Only the Strong Survive
Only the Strong Survive (Jerry Butler song)
"Only the Strong Survive" is a 1968 song by Jerry Butler, released on his album The Ice Man Cometh. It was the most successful single of his career, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Black Singles Chart, in March and April 1969, respectively."Only the...
," "Moon River
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...
" (note that it was Jerry's vocal, not Andy Williams, that hit on single records), "Need To Belong" (recorded with the Impressions after he went solo), "Make It Easy On Yourself
Make It Easy On Yourself
"Make It Easy On Yourself" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was first a hit for Jerry Butler in 1962 and has since been a Top 40 single for the Walker Brothers - for whom it was a #1 UK hit - and Dionne Warwick.-Jerry Butler:...
," "Let It Be Me" (with Betty Everett
Betty Everett
Betty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
), "Brand New Me," "Ain't Understanding Mellow" (with Brenda Lee Eager
Brenda Lee Eager
Brenda Lee Eager is an American soul singer, songwriter and musical theatre performer who has written and performed several hits, including "Ain't Understanding Mellow", "Close to You", and "Somebody's Somebody".-Life and career:...
), "Hey, Western Union Man
Hey, Western Union Man
"Hey, Western Union Man" is a 1968 soul single by Jerry Butler written by Butler with Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. The single became Jerry Butler's second number one R&B hit on the Billboard chart, where it stayed for a week. "Hey, Western Union Man" was also part of a string of Top 40 crossover...
", and "Never Give You Up." Butler released two successful album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, The Ice Man Cometh
The Ice Man Cometh
The Ice Man Cometh is Jerry Butler's eleventh album, released in 1968 .-Track listing:#"Hey, Western Union Man" - 2:41#"Can't Forget About You, Baby" - 2:40...
(1968) and Ice On Ice (1970). The Ice Man Cometh garnered Butler three Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations. He collaborated on many of his successful recordings with the Philadelphia-based songwriting team, Gamble and Huff
Gamble and Huff
Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff are an American songwriting and record production team who have written and produced over 170 gold and platinum records. They were pioneers of Philadelphia soul and the in-house creative team for the Philadelphia International record label...
. With Motown, in 1976 and 1977, Butler produced and co-produced (with Paul David Wilson) two albums: 1.) “Suite For The Single Girl” and 2.) “It All Comes Out In My Song.”
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
revived "He Will Break Your Heart" in 1975, with a new title, "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)," and it was more successful than Butler's original, going to #1 on the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
Subsequently, Butler and Wilson produced an album with Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble with Philadelphia International. In 1981 with "Breaking and Entering" / "Easy Money," from Sharp-Gamble's album Dee Dee, Butler/Wilson’s production spent four weeks at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and Dance Chart Billboard.
1980s to date
Butler continues to perform while serving as a Cook County Board CommissionerCook County Board of Commissioners
The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district for four year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the nation's second largest county with a population of 5.2 million residents...
since the 1980s. As Cook County Commissioner, Butler voted to uphold an historic 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, which remains the highest in the nation. As a result the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
has encouraged people to vote against him in the 2010 elections.
In recent years, he has served as 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, among others. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Rhythm and Blues Foundation
The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
. In 1991, Butler was inducted, along with the other original members of the Impressions (Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being an original member of the successful group The Impressions from its beginnings as The Roosters in the 1950s. Sam and the group are still recording and performing...
, Fred Cash
Fred Cash
Fred Cash is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being a member of the successful group The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. Cash was an original member of the Roosters , the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for...
, and Arthur and Richard Brooks), into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
Most recently, blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
duo The Black Keys
The Black Keys
The Black Keys are an American rock duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. The band was formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. As of October 2011, the band has sold over 2 million albums in the U.S....
covered "Never Give You Up" on their 2010 album, Brothers
Brothers (The Black Keys album)
Brothers is the sixth album and Grammy Award-winner of Best Alternative Music Album by American blues-rock duo, The Black Keys. The album was announced on March 2, 2010 by Pitchfork Media and became the band's third release from Nonesuch Records on May 18, 2010...
.
Personal life
He currently resides in Chicago with his wife, Annette—who is one of his backup singers on the road. He has two sons, Randy and Tony, and a grandson.Discography
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
||
| 1958 | "For Your Precious Love"(with the Impressions) | 11 | 3 | |
| "Come Back My Love"(with the Impressions) | 29 | |||
| 1959 | "Lost" | 17 | ||
| 1960 | "A Lonely Soldier" | 25 | ||
| "He Will Break Your Heart" | 7 | 1 | ||
| 1961 | "Find Another Girl" | 27 | 10 | |
| "I'm a Telling You" | 25 | 8 | ||
| "Moon River" | 11 | 14 | 3 | |
| "Aware of Love" | 105 | |||
| 1962 | "Make It Easy On Yourself" | 20 | 18 | |
| "You Can Run (But You Can't Hide)" | 63 | 23 | ||
| "Theme from Taras Bulba (The Wishing Star)" | 100 | |||
| 1963 | "Whatever You Want" | 68 | ||
| "Need To Belong" | 31 | * | ||
| 1964 | "Giving Up On Love" | 56 | * | |
| "I Stand Accused" | 61 | * | ||
| "I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore" | 95 | * | ||
| "Let It Be Me"(with Betty Everett) | 5 | * | ||
| "Ain't That Loving You Baby"(with Betty Everett) | 108 | * | ||
| "Smile"(with Betty Everett) | 42 | * | ||
| 1965 | "Good Times" | 64 | 33 | |
| "I Can't Stand To See You Cry" | 122 | |||
| "Just For You" | 33 | |||
| 1966 | "For Your Precious Love"(re-recording) | 25 | ||
| "Love (Oh, How Sweet It Is)" | 103 | 34 | ||
| 1967 | "I Dig You Baby" | 60 | 8 | |
| "Mr. Dream Merchant" | 38 | 56 | ||
| "Lost" | 62 | 48 | ||
| 1968 | "Never Give You Up" | 20 | 7 | |
| "Hey, Western Union Man" | 16 | 1 | ||
| "Are You Happy" | 39 | 9 | ||
| 1969 | "Only the Strong Survive" | 4 | 1 | |
| "Moody Woman" | 24 | 3 | ||
| "What's the Use of Breaking Up" | 20 | 4 | ||
| "A Brand New Me" | 109 | |||
| "Don't Let Love Hang You Up" | 44 | 12 | ||
| 1970 | "Got To See If I Can Get Mommy (To Come Back Home)" | 62 | 21 | |
| "I Could Write a Book" | 46 | 15 | ||
| "Where Are You Going" | 95 | 42 | ||
| "Special Memory" | 109 | 36 | ||
| 1971 | "You Just Can't Win (By Making the Same Mistakes)"(Gene & Jerry) | 94 | 32 | |
| "Ten and Two (Take This Woman Off the Corner)"(Gene & Jerry) | 126 | 44 | ||
| "If It's Real What I Feel"(with Brenda Lee Eager) | 69 | 8 | ||
| "Ain't Understanding Mellow"(with Brenda Lee Eager) | 21 | 3 | ||
| "How Did We Lose It Baby" | 85 | 38 | ||
| "Walk Easy My Son" | 93 | 33 | ||
| 1972 | "I Only Have Eyes For You" | 85 | 20 | |
| "Close To You"(with Brenda Lee Eager) | 91 | 6 | ||
| "One Night Affair" | 52 | 6 | ||
| 1973 | "Can't Understand It"(with Brenda Lee Eager) | 26 | ||
| "The Love We Had Stays On My Mind"(with Brenda Lee Eager) | 64 | |||
| "Power of Love" | 15 | |||
| 1974 | "That's How Heartaches Are Made" | 58 | ||
| "Take the Time To Tell Her" | 46 | |||
| "Playing On You" | 33 | |||
| 1976 | "The Devil In Mrs. Jones" | 55 | ||
| 1977 | "I Wanna Do It To You" | 51 | 7 | |
| "Chalk It Up" | 28 | |||
| "It's a Lifetime Thing"(with Thelma Houston) | 55 | |||
| 1978 | "(I'm Just Thinking About) Cooling Out" | 14 | ||
| 1979 | "Nothing Says I Love You Like I Love You" | 86 | ||
| 1980 | "The Best Love I Ever Had" | 49 | ||
| "Don't Be An Island"(with Debra Henry) | 75 | |||
| 1982 | "No Love Without Changes" | 83 | ||
| 1983 | "In My Life"(with Patti Austin) | 92 | ||
| * no RnB charts published during the chart runs of these singles
See also
- R&B number-one hits of 1960 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1960 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1960:See also: 1960 in music, List of number-one R&B hits...
- R&B number-one hits of 1961 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1961 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1961:See also: 1961 in music, List of number-one R&B hits...
- R&B number-one hits of 1968 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1968 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1968:See also: 1968 in music, List of number-one R&B hits...
- R&B number-one hits of 1969 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1969 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1969:See also: 1969 in music, List of number-one R&B hits...
- List of soul musicians