Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums.

Life and career Butler was born in Brooklyn, New York, and learned to play various instruments including piano, clarinet and drums as a child. He attended Erasmus Hall High School. Erasmus Hall High School, Famous Alumni . Retrieved May 12, 2013 At the age of 13, he auditioned for Henry Glover of King Records, who offered him a contract as a result. His single, "Lock, Stock and Barrel", credited to Arthur Butler, was issued on the DeLuxe label in 1957, but was not successful. Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013 DeLuxe Records Discography. Retrieved May 12, 2013 "In the Beginning", ArtieButler.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013

By the early 1960s he was working as an assistant at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, where he met songwriters and record producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He began working for them in the Brill Building, initially as a pianist and then as an arranger. He contributed to records by The Drifters and others before, in 1963, arranging his first hit, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" by The Jaynetts, on which he claims to have played all the instruments except guitar. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" at ArtieButler.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013 He co-wrote Alvin Robinson's "Down Home Girl" with Leiber (quickly covered in 1965 by The Rolling Stones), and later in 1964 joined the team working with songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. He arranged and contributed keyboards to several hits on Red Bird Records, including The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love," and The Ad Libs' "The Boy from New York City." He also arranged Neil Diamond's early releases, including "Solitary Man" and "Cherry, Cherry," and Janis Ian's "Society's Child"."Society's Child" at ArtieButler.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013

In 1967 he moved to Los Angeles. The following year he started work for A&M Records, where he worked with jazz musicians including Herbie Hancock, and contributed keyboards on Joe Cocker's hit "Feelin' Alright". He then went freelance, and suggested to Louis Armstrong that he should record the song "What a Wonderful World". Armstrong agreed, and Butler arranged and recorded the song with Armstrong despite the opposition of ABC Records President Larry Newton. Jack Doyle, “What A Wonderful World”, The Pop History Dig. Retrieved May 12, 2013 From the 1970s onwards, Butler arranged many commercially successful records, including The Raiders' "Indian Reservation", Vicki Lawrence's "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia", Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain", Barry Manilow's "Copacabana", and Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again". In 1987 he co-wrote, with lyricist Phyllis Molinary, "Here's to Life", intended for and first performed by Peggy Lee,Feather, Leonard (March 12, 1987). "Peggy Lee: Balloons and a Big Break". Los Angeles Times. pt. VI, pg. 6. Retrieved June 24, 2022. but first recorded in 1990 by Shirley Horn and later by Barbra Streisand.Biography at ArtieButler.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013 He has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums during his career.Artie Butler home page. Retrieved May 12, 2013

In the 1970s he began working on films, creating the scores for The Love Machine (1971), What's Up Doc? (1972), The Harrad Experiment (1973), the TV movie Wonder Woman (1974), For Pete's Sake (1974), Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975), the Disney film The Rescuers (1977), Sextette (1978), Sultan and the Rock Star (1980), and O'Hara's Wife (1982). In 1992, he was nominated for an Emmy award for the CBS miniseries Sinatra. In 2004 he worked with Mike Stoller on a stage musical, Laughing Matters, which premiered in New York in 2006, and in 2011 worked again with Stoller and lyricist Iris Rainer Dart on the musical The People in the Picture. Kenneth Jones, People in the Picture, With Donna Murphy Living Two Lives, Comes Into Focus on Broadway April 1, Playbill.com, 1 April 2011 . Retrieved May 12, 2013

Discography

+Albums and SoundtracksYearTitleNotesLabel1968Have You Met Miss Jones?CTI Records1970The Original CleanheadWith Eddie "Cleanhead" VinsonBluesTime1973The Harrad ExperimentSoundtrack for film by Ted PostCapitol Records2011The People in the PictureBroadway production alongside Mike StollerN/A +Singles and EPsYearTitleNotesLabel1963Sweet September / FreedomWith Alan Lorber20th Century Fox Records1963Theme From "The Cardinal" / Waltz for J. & M.20th Century Fox Records1964Thème Du Film "Le Cardinal"French release of his previous two records20th Century Fox Records1967Ode to Billie Joe / Soul BrotherProduced by Ted CooperEpic1968Max's Brasilian What / Something StupidCTI Records1971Feelin' Alright / Alice In WonderlandProduced by Charles SternVerve Records1971The White FoxProduced by Neely PlumbScepter Records

References

External links Official website

"The Rock Arranger - A Necessity, But What Does He Actually Do?", Billboard, November 6, 1971, p. 28, including comments by Butler