Song:Lies
Album:Ferry Maat's Soulshow Vol. 2
Today Jonathan Butler's music is best described as Smooth Gospel Jazz. He has a significant fanbase in the Smooth Jazz and Gospel markets. But back in the 80s, he made his only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with Lies. Some may not even realize it's the same guy. Butler was born Oct. 10, 1961 in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa. In the 70s he became a teen idol in South Africa which was unusual for a black artist. Then he signed with Jive Records and moved to England in the 80s. His early albums were instrumental jazz. He worked with Sonny Rollins' long time bassist Bob Cranshaw. Then in 1987, Jive owner Clive Calder put him together with producer Barry Eastmond. Eastmond had success with Melba Moore and Freddie Jackson. Lies reached #5 on the R & B Singles chart and reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Some of his other songs were R & B hits but most folks will only remember Lies. You can get it on this 5CD various artists comp from legendary Dutch DJ Ferry Maat. In the late 90s, Butler reinvented himself with some jazz CDs on N-Coded and more recently he had a big gospel hit with Falling In Love With Jesus. His latest CD Grace and Mercy topped the Jazz Album chart and was top ten in Gospel. So he's still successful but in a different market. Here's the video for Lies by Jonathan Butler.
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