Carl Butler and Pearl were an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

husband-and-wife duo. Between 1962 and 1969, the duo released several singles and charted thirteen times on the U.S. country charts, reaching No. 1 in 1962 with their first single, "

Don't Let Me Cross Over "Don't Let Me Cross Over" is a song made famous as a duet by Carl Butler and Pearl, a husband-and-wife country music duo. Originally released in November 1962, the song needed just four weeks to reach the #1 spot on the ''Billboard'' Country Sing ...

Biography

Carl Roberts Butler was born in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States, on June 2, 1927. He grew up influenced by

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

and the old time music around his home. He began singing at local dances at the age of 12 and, after service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, sang with several bluegrass bands and then as a solo act on numerous radio shows, including the "Mid Day Merry Go Round" on WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. During this period he met Pearl Dee Jones, a

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

native born September 20, 1927, whom he married in 1952. In 1961, Carl Butler recorded "Honky Tonkitis", which made it to number 25 on the country chart. The following year, the Butlers were invited to join the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

, and the exposure provided by the show helped them push "

" to number one. Their first single as a duo spent almost three months at the top of the country music chart, and they remained one of country music's most popular duos for the next two decades. Later chart records included "I Wouldn't Change You If I Could", "Too Late To Try Again", "Loving Arms" and "I'm Hanging Up The Phone". Carl Butler was also a songwriter, penning classics including "If Teardrops Were Pennies", a No. 8 hit for Carl Smith in 1951 and a top 10 single for

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

in 1973, and "Crying My Heart Out Over You" which became

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

' first number one hit in 1981. The Butlers were also among the earliest supporters of

, with whom they had worked in Knoxville in the 1950s, and they helped to get her established in Nashville in the early 1960s. (Parton, in turn, paid tribute to the Butlers when she included "Don't Let Me Cross Over" on ''

Treasures A treasure is a concentration of riches. Treasure may also refer to: Literature * ''Treasure'' (Cussler novel), a 1988 novel by Clive Cussler * ''Treasure'' (magazine), a British periodical for children * '' Treasure: In Search of the Golden Ho ...

,'' a 1996 album of covers of some of her favorite songs.) The Butlers continued to record throughout the 1970s but essentially retired to their ranch, "Crossover Acres", near

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, in the early 1980s. They made occasional guest appearances on the Opry until Pearl Butler died at the age of 60 on March 1, 1988. Carl made an unsuccessful attempt at a comeback after her death. He died of a heart attack on September 4, 1992.

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^A"Punish Me Tomorrow" peaked at No. 25 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Carl and Pearl Country music groups from Tennessee Country music duos Grand Ole Opry members Musical groups established in 1961 1961 establishments in Tennessee