About
Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.
Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, 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. His first single was the first by a black artist played by white radio stations in the racially segregated South Africa and earned a Sarie Award, South Africa’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards.
He began touring at the age of seven when he joined a travelling stage show, and was later signed up to perform on a string of hit recordings, turning him into a local teen idol. In 1975, his cover of “Please Stay” by the Drifters reached number 2 in South Africa. The same year his cover of “I Love How You Love Me” by The Paris Sisters reached number 4. “I’ll Be Home” reached number 16 in 1976.
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, the Pacific Express. Two albums were…
Awards & Recognition
Born On This Day
Bio and photo via Wikipedia, used under Creative Commons licensing.