Jonathan Butler (born October 10, 1961, Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Discography 3 References 4 External links
[edit] Biography
Born and raised in Cape Town during Apartheid, Butler started singing and playing acoustic guitar as a child. Racial segregation and poverty during Apartheid has been the subject of many of his records.[1] His first single was first by a black artist played by white radio stations in the racially segregated South Africa, earned a Sarie Award, South Africa's equivalent to the Grammy Awards.
He began touring at the age of seven when he joined a traveling stage show, and was later signed up to perform on a string of hit recordings, turning him into a local teen idol. In 1978 he found the inspiration and encouragement to begin expressing himself as a composer and songwriter when he joined Cape Town's best known jazz/rock outfit, Pacific Express. Two albums were recorded with the Express personnel, and some Pacific Express songs were later released on the 1988 7th Avenue album. All three releases were issued by Mountain Records.
Butler was signed to Jive Records in 1977, and in the early 1980s he moved to the United Kingdom where he remained for seventeen years. His international breakthrough came in 1987 with his Grammy nominated hit single, "Lies" and his cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", which he performed with Ruby Turner.
Butler maintained a loyal following in the 1980s and 1990s, in South Africa, the United States and Europe.
In 2006, Butler was a featured vocalist on the album Gospel Goes Classical, produced by University of Alabama at Birmingham music professor Henry Panion. This recording, featuring arrangements by Panion, Tommy Stewart, Michael Loveless, and Ray Reach, rose to #2 on the Billboard Gospel chart, and #3 on the Classical Crossover chart.[clarification needed] He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his single "Going Home". [edit] Discography
Jonathan Butler at the Dave Koz & Friends Smooth Jazz Cruise 2006.
Wayman Tisdale & Jonathan Butler CD release party at the AllStar Rendezvous Concert in 2006. Introducing Jonathan Butler (1985) Jonathan Butler (1987) Inspirations (1987) 7th Avenue (1988) More Than Friends (1988) Deliverance (1990) Heal Our Land (1990) Best Of Jonathan Butler (1993) Head To Head (1994) Do You Love Me? (1997) Story Of Life (1999) The Source (2000) Surrender (2002) Ultimate Butler (2002) Worship Project (2004) Jonathan (2005) Gospel Goes Classical (2006) (with Juanita Bynum) Brand New Day (2007) So Strong (2010)
