The Butler Twins were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Detroit blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

and

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

duo of the

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

brothers Clarence (January 21, 1942 – December 22, 2003) and Curtis Butler (January 21, 1942 – April 9, 2004). Longtime semiprofessional performers in the local blues scene in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, they gained international recognition following the

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of three albums in the late 1990s. Their best-known track was "The Butler's Boogie".

Biography

Clarence and Curtis Butler were born seconds apart, in Killen, and grew up in nearby

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Their father, Willie "Butch" Butler, was noteworthy as a local guitar player, and with his harmonica playing partner, Raymond Edwards, both proved useful tutors. By the age of seven the twins were proficient enough musicians to win a

talent contest A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather th ...

, and played in the abandoned house where

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

once lived. They were in the middle of a family of sixteen

sibling A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separat ...

s, and the twins put together their first

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

at the age of 14, and two years later started to tour the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

.
They relocated to Detroit in 1960 and worked in automobile assembly plants. By night they were part of the local

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

scene. Clarence Butler supplied

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, while Curtis Butler played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, and they sat in with other musicians, until the local blues scene faded away in the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, with the Butler Twins still in residence, they were lauded as blues survivors.

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

, based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, issued two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s by the Butler Twins: ''Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow'' (May 1995) and ''Pursue Your Dreams'' (May 1996). The relative success led to

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

across the United States, Canada and Europe. The Twins, as they became known among blues fans, became more famous overseas than in their own country. In 2000, the

Detroit Music Awards The Detroit Music Awards Foundation is a Michigan 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to recognize Detroit area musicians working on a national, regional, and local level. The Foundation supports and nurtures the musical community in Detro ...

gave the Outstanding Blues Writer award to Clarence Butler. The Butler Twins were granted Music Achiever status by the

Alabama Music Hall of Fame The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility after a statewide referendu ...

.
Clarence Butler died after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on December 22, 2003, in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small po ...

, Michigan. Curtis Butler died just over three months later, on April 9, 2004.

Discography

*''Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow'' (1995), JSP *''Pursue Your Dreams'' (1996), JSP *''The Butler's Boogie'' (2000),

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, Orchard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler Twins, The American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues harmonica players American blues musical groups American blues singers American male singers Detroit blues musicians Electric blues musicians Family musical groups Singers from Alabama Sibling musical duos Songwriters from Alabama Songwriters from Michigan American twins Singers from Michigan People from Killen, Alabama Musicians from Florence, Alabama Guitarists from Alabama Guitarists from Michigan American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References