Why was he called the … The Ice Man? The proof is in the puddin! I had the honors of working with Mr. Butler several times and one of my favorite times was watching him from the wings of the stage. He was singing his hits, and you could hear the audience singing along with him. Rather that asking them to stop and listen … he, like the true professional that he was slowly backed off of his microphone unlil he could hardly be heard. The audience soon stopped singing. Jerry walked back to his mic and finished the song. Total control of his stage! It was like watching a magician! Another time was at Heinz Hall when we Johnny Angel and the Halos, were backing Mr. Eddie Holman and Jerry Butler was headlining the show. I was standing next to his stage manager, and I was totally mesmerized by his control of the stage. His Stage manager said watch this as Jerry introduced his next song. The stage manager was in direct contact with the sound and lighting crew. As Jerry introduced the song “Moon River” … the stage went black as a blue haze lite the stage and I pin spotlight hit Mr. Butler as he belted … Moon River! The effect was incredible… the mood changed immediately and again Mr. Butler was in complete control of his stage and his audience! Back stage I sat in Jerry’s dressing room and like a sponge started questioning Mr. Butler … How did it start? How did he meet Curtis Mayfield? And of course, I was like a sponge taking in as much information as I could handle. One story Eddie Holman told me was working with Jerry Butler as a teenager and being introduced to a card game. When I asked Jerry about that event … he calmly said that Eddie was adding yeast to the pudding. Not only a gentleman but a sense of humor. This coming Monday, December 8th is Jerry Butler’s birthday, and I will be spotlighting the career of Mr. Butler on my Heavenly Soul Show on jukinoldies.com. I’m sure I’ll be sharing some stories of being in Jerry’s company and playing some Jerry Butler classics. Yes, he was known as the “ICE MAN” … Jerry Butler … and I saw it first hand!