Jerry Butler’s baritone combined the soaring ecstasy of church, the rumbling rhythms of Chicago and the soul of his native Sunflower, Mississippi. Warm and plush but also cool, it won him the nickname ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. The great soul singer Jerry Butler died last month at the age of 85. We're going to remember him by listening back to our interview from 2000. He first recorded ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. The great soul singer Jerry Butler died last month at the age of 85. We're going to remember him by listening back to our interview from 2000. He first recorded ...

BUTLER: You know, see, we were never big and famous, as was Sam Cooke or Lou Rawls with the Pilgrim Travelers and Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers. And so when we started singing rhythm and blues, ...

GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to the interview I recorded in 2000 with soul singer Jerry Butler. He died last month at age 85. Butler, who died Feb. 20, was born in rural Miss., and had his ...

Butler, who died Feb. 20, was born in rural Miss., and had his first hit in 1958, singing lead with The Impressions. He later moved to Chicago and entered local politics. Originally broadcast in 2000.

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. The great soul singer Jerry Butler died last month at the age of 85. We're going to remember him by listening back to our interview from 2000. He first recorded ...