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The Butler Twins

 
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

The Butler Twins

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  • Genres: Blues

Biography

Clarence and Curtis Butler are two longtime beacons on the Detroit-area blues scene, and with two recently recorded albums for the London-based JSP Records, they may finally begin to garner a wider following outside of Detroit. The brothers' albums for JSP include Pursue Your Dreams (1996) and Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow (1995).

Guitarist Clarence and harmonica player Curtis Butler grew up near W.C. Handy's birthplace of Florence, Alabama, about 30 miles from the Mississippi Delta. They took their earliest musical cues from their father, guitarist Willie "Butch" Butler, who was famous in the region but never recorded.

The twins moved to Detroit in the 1960 and quickly found work in Motor City auto plants. The club scene at the time was booming, with the music of John Lee Hooker, Little Sonny, Bo Collins, Bobo Jenkins and dozens of others spilling out of the city's juke joints. The twins continued working and sitting in as much as they could, but by the late 1960s, the blues scene in Detroit had dried up. Civil unrest and the rise of the Motown sound didn't leave much room for a flourishing blues scene, but by the early 1980s, when the blues began a resurgence again nationally, the Butler Twins were still on the scene. More importantly, they were celebrated as survivors and veterans.

The twins' two JSP releases may allow them to tour more extensively in the U.S., Canada and Europe. ~ Richard Skelly, Rovi
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The Butler Twins

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
The Butler Twins
Birth name Clarence Butler / Curtis Butler
Born January 21, 1942(1942-01-21)
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died Clarence Butler
December 22, 2003(2003-12-22) (aged 61)
Curtis Butler
April 9, 2004(2004-04-09) (aged 62)
Genres Detroit blues, electric blues[1]
Instruments Guitar, harmonica, vocals
Years active Early 1960s–2003
Labels JSP Records

The Butler Twins were an American Detroit blues and electric blues duo, comprising the twins Clarence (January 21, 1942 – December 22, 2003) and Curtis Butler (January 21, 1942 – April 9, 2004).[2] Long time, semi-professional performers in the local blues scene in Detroit, they gained international recognition following the recording of three albums in the late 1990s. Their best known track was "The Butler's Boogie."[3]

Contents

Biography

Clarence and Curtis Butler were born seconds apart, and grew up in Florence, Alabama. Their father, Willie "Butch" Butler, was noteworthy as a local guitar player, and with his harmonica playing partner, Raymond Edwards, both proved useful tutors.[4] By the age of seven the twins were proficient enough musicians to win a talent contest, and played in the abandoned house where W. C. Handy once lived.[2] They were in the middle of a family of sixteen siblings, and the twins put together their first musical ensemble at the age of 14, and two years later started to tour the Southern United States.[5]

They relocated to Detroit in 1960, and worked in automobile assembly plants. By night they were part of the local nightclub scene. Clarence Butler supplied harmonica and vocals, while Curtis Butler played rhythm 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.[1]

The London, England, based JSP Records label issued two albums; Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow (May 1995) and Pursue Your Dreams (May 1996). The relative success led to tours across the US, Canada and Europe.[1] The Twins, as they became referred to in the blues community, became more famous overseas than in their own country. In 2000, the Detroit Music Awards gave the Outstanding Blues Writer award to Clarence Butler.[5]

The Butler Twins were granted Music Achiever status by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.[2]

Clarence Butler died after a heart attack on December 22, 2003, in Hamtramck, Michigan.[6] Curtis Butler died just over three months later on April 9, 2004.[3]

Discography

  • Not Gonna Worry About Tomorrow (1995) - JSP
  • Pursue Your Dreams (1996) - JSP
  • The Butler's Boogie (2000) - live album - Orchard[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Skelly, Richard. "The Butler Twins". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p204414/biography. Retrieved February 28, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c Alamhof.org - accessed February 2010
  3. ^ a b Thedeadrockstarsclub.com (2004) - accessed February 2010
  4. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 98. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. 
  5. ^ a b Owens, Keith A.. "The Butler Twins". Metro Times. http://www.metrotimes.com/metropolis/sonic/artistprofile.asp?id=274. Retrieved February 28, 2010. [dead link]
  6. ^ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com (2003) - accessed February 2010
  7. ^ "Allmusic ((( The Butler Twins > Discography > Main Albums )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p204414/discography. 

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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