Butler was born in Cape Town during Apartheid and grew up singing and playing the acoustic guitar. Many of his records have been about Apartheid’s racial segregation. His first single, which was played on white radio stations in South Africa, was his first single by a black artist. He won a Sarie Award. At seven years old, he began to tour with a touring stage show. Later, he was signed up to perform on several hit records, making him a local teenager idol. He joined the best-known jazz/rock band in Cape Town, Pacific Express, in 1978 and found the encouragement and inspiration to start writing songs and compose. The Express recorded two albums, with some songs from Pacific Express later appearing on the 1988 7th Avenue album. Mountain Records issued all three albums. Butler signed to Jive Records back in 1977. He then moved to the United Kingdom in the 1980s, where he remained for 17 years. He achieved international fame in 1987 with “Lies”, his Grammy-nominated hit song. In 1987, he also performed a cover of “If You’re ready (Come Go With Me)” by the Staple Singers. In the 1980s and 1990s Butler had a loyal following across Europe, America, and South Africa. Henry Panion, University of Alabama at Birmingham music professor, recorded Butler as a featured singer on the 2006 album Gospel Goes Classical. The recording reached No. 1 with arrangements by Panion and Tommy Stewart, Michael Loveless, Ray Reach, and Ray Reach. 2 on the Billboard Gospel charts, and No. 3 on the Classical Crossover charts. His single “Going home” was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2008, Butler was also a guest star on George Duke’s Album Dukey treats, along with the late Teena Marie, on the song Sudan, where he spoke about the Darfur disasters. From Wikipedia
