Added: 4 years ago
From: KnightInWhite
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  • Jerry Butler is one of the greatest. You can just feel him thru his songs.

  • Thank You BasedGod.

  • This man has one of the most signature voices of all times.

  • The Walker Brothers did a pretty good rendition.

  • I sure do remember hearing this everywhere. If you like this song you might check out Dakota Staton's interpretation also on youtube. A woman with a great jazz voice, pov on this very human situation.

    It's rare because it's not on any of her 20 albums.

  • Every time Jerry Butler sang a song he turned it into an instant classic.

  • What a Great Voice ,,Iam 59 years old , this song was heard no matter what you were doing.!

  • Thanks for the post. Thank you Johnny Rabbit of KXOK radio 63 on your AM dail. Most of all thank you Jerry Butler for some of the best tummy rubbing tunes of my teen-age years. (You Baby Boomers out there know what I'm talking about.:)

  • @MrMalamute51 Are you in St. Louis? Grew up with KXOK and WIL on the AM dial. Was listening from the time I could turn on the radio...late '50"s. I remember when Bruno J. Grunyon was going to die for some reason. Was going to be down in the Ozarks for the weekend and didn't want to go for fear of missing the episode. But my trusty Zenith transistor pulled in the program. Bruno got out of it somehow.

  • classic Butler; classic Bacharach & David.

  • The Perfection of Jerry Butler!!!! Thank's for post this one

  • As good as this version is, ok as GREAT as this version is, I would love to find the version by Cissy Houston(Whitney's mom) from her 1970's album "Think it over", it really gives the Iceman a run for his money.

  • A summer night 1966 eery, magical , cosmic god bless you Jerry butler.

  • Beastly track. Can't stop listening to it.

  • Jerry Butler was one of the best in a time when there was so much good music on the airways.Seeing and hearing him on YouTube has rekindled a need to get some Jerry Butler in my collection. I think I'll start with "The Iceman Cometh" and go from there. I actually got here when I heard that John Walker of the Walker brother's had passed and I went looking for some Walker Brothers tunes. 

  • Jerry Butler was one of the best in a time when there was so much good music on the airways.Seeing and hearing him on YouTube has rekindled a need to get some Jerry Butler in my collection. I think I'll start with "The Iceman Cometh" and go from there. I actually got here when I heard that John Walker of the Walker brother's had passed and I went looking for some Walker Brothers tunes. They were good, but no one can compete with Jerry's version. He truly is the Iceman.

  • What really comes across for me in this Song by Jerry Butler is how congrent it is to the lyric's, the purity of the deliverly. Finding this song is like polishing an old piece of metal (hearing the other versions) only to find out it's actually true Gold.

  • There are some songs that no matter how hard some people try to sing them, there is only one version that will stand out a class above, and this is one of them, Jerry all the way **

  • song so strong!

  • What year did he record this?  What's happened to our music? This is just a pop song check out all the musical subtleties it possesses, the arrangement, the strings, the chorus of sirens at the end. It was destroyed by a bunch of strung out poseurs (mot of whom are now dead) and technology. Now all we have in pop music is crap. No es la amargura de un viejo, pero un hecho musical, a musical fact.

  • @orqsilva This song comes from 1962. It's one of Bacharach/David's early ones.

  • NEM SEI QUEM É ESSE CARA

  • Check out the divine comedy version..

  • Great song by a great singer.

  • Jerry Butler... the voice of yesterday, today and forever.. This is what great music sounds like. 

  • @earlyjune43 Oh yeah!

  • Jerry Butler... the voice of yesterday, today and forever.. This is what great music sounds like.

  • Jerry Butler... the voice of yesterday, today and forever.. This is what great music sounds like.

  • Shorttstop Have you ever listened or watched the 3 Degrees sing this, great version and just such class, todays female singers could take a lesson from those classy ladies back in the 60s and 70s..

  • Breaking up is so very hard to do............

  • I just listened to the walker bro's version which was terrific, but I do like this version better..go Jerry..great voice man

  • When this came out I was young enough to be in love with the concept of being in love. I didn't understand true love but this song made me want to find it. I was 12.

  • Chilled to perfection

  • very nice

  • Nice

  • The first time I heard this song was one summer night in 1966, I was about 11 and somebody a neighbor was playing it

  • @mustang73ism it's amazing you remember that. the power of a song...

  • @CandiceW Yes, what memories!

  • Jerry Butler, The Ice Man. What an awesome voice. Love all of his songs.

  • I Have loved this song sonce I was a kid and it still makes my head tingle and feel a warm swell inside ; ) Thanks!!!

  • just close your eyes. such a beautiful song.

  • lupe fiasco- jedi mind tricks

  • @SVLocksmith technically its Jedi Mind Trick's legacy of blood intro. Lupe only used the beat for his mixtape.

  • The Walkers Brothers, Far too Unemotional and Polished.

    DONT TOUCH JERRY BUTLER, THE RAW SOUL IN JERRYS AT THE SONG CLIMAX, CANNOT BE OVERCOME BY PARROTERS

  • I love how Masta Ace used this in "Hold U".

  • I JUST LOVE THE ICE MAN,NO ONE CAN DO IT BETTER THEN HIM,HE CAN REALLY SING THOES BROKEN HEARTED LOVE SONGS.Ms.JAN

  • @janlikesmusic1  I agree jan

  • classic passive aggressive lyrics! I love it.

  • OMG I did not remember Jerry Butler doing this song. What a powerful song. There are times in life when decisions are made that are painful. As the saying goes ... "sometimes love is just not enough." Thank you.

  • I hear this and my heart stops it's such a moving deep song still in love with it.

  • A great singer and a real gentelman

  • Two people hit the wrong button on this BEST version!

  • Not that big of a Jerry Butler fan but this is a great performance,even though Dionne took this song to a whole new level.

  • AMAZING!!!!!!!

  • JERRY MADE THIS SONG COSMIC, so later versions dont even matter, the Cosmic already held Jerry version in the Akashic records.

  • The Iceman. What a voice !!!!

  • looking for Betty & Jerrys last song together, on doo wop show, help !1

  • The Man !!!!!

  • I'm glad to see this song means so much to so many others. I had an album with this on it, and I would listen to it over and over - early 1964. Very emotional and beautiful song...

  • @recovering16

    Very well said! I second the emotion completely & utterly!

    :-)

  • This song is Burt Backarack's many penned greats! God bless!

  • Jerry Butlers voice,with the strings and background vocals make this a powerful love song.Although,i love Ron Banks(Dramatics) version also.

  • AWESOME THANK YOU SUNSHINE SMILES ~ NAMASTE :)

  • BREAKING UP IS SO VERY HAD 2 DO... I'LL BLINK MY EYE AN UR IN THE DUST SORRY MY BROTHER MAN. IT'S 2010!!!

  • A VOICE THAT CAN'T NEVER BE COMPARED, IT WILL LAST FOR EVER !

  • A VOICE THAT WILL LAST FOREVER!

  • Mr Butler your song is the only one for me wonderful.

  • Both Jerry's and Walker bros versions sound awesome, fantastic, incredible, you name it.

  • JMT (jedi mind tricks) samled this in a song...cant remember the name though :(

  • @MoneyBlocc868 its in their intro to Legacy of Blood.. Lupe spits over it to on 'Jedi Mind Tricks' off Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II too

    such a good sample.

  • I love doing this song at karaoke -- and I think I do it pretty damn well, too !

  • Mr. Butler nailed this song with golden nails! You can hear strength, vulnerability, great sadness, and love simultanouly in his voice! Think about it: He wants his love to do what she chooses to do......even it isn't him........Now that is love!

  • The Ice Man, heard this in 1963-64 by the Walker Bros, did not know that Jerry did the original; tears me up when I hear it..

  • @FrankieD92 You won't have heard this by the Walker Bros in 1963/1964. They didn't release it until late in 1965.

  • @ronwhycherly Thanks,  those years tend to run together..

  • legendary. my fave Jerry Butler song.

  • THANK YOU DON.

  • ZPU - Noches en BCN (Nights in Barcelona) ( feat Nach) Spanisg Rap

    Greetings from Spain!

  • The Iceman....is The Man.....he be bad!

  • The Iceman is The Man.....he be bad!

  • 2:31

  • simply beautiful...this is when your entire heart and soul was put into a song..you can actually feel jerry's sadness..

  • What a voice! Can anyone now sing like him? Only shouting and screaming for what lengths their voice range can reach. This real singing... none of that new stuff that i mentioned.

  • Epic song.

  • @peterboy48 lol

    

  • This song is hauntingly beautiful. What I like about this song is the contrast between Jerry's deep, low vocals and the high, almost "chirpy" vocals of the backup singers. Right after Jerry sings the chorus at 2:18, I really like the sound of the backup singers' "oooooooooo..." because their voices sound so mesmerizing at this part. I wonder who were the women backing Jerry in this song. Their vocals are heavenly... especially when paired with Mr. Butler's.

  • Pure gold

  • the iceman /love this song..

  • I love the end when he sings "oooohhh baby". He really means it.

  • The time that this came out is very important to consider . I was a teenager and this song spoke to all my teenage angst. Having a man sing this song, as opposed to Dionne, made a difference. This will always be my favorite rendition

  • I wonder what a duet of Scott Walker and Jerry Butler would've sounded like. Both great voices. Still one of my favorite songs. Reminds me of summers at the Jersey Shore.

  • Comment removed

  • O.K. I have settled the winner of the best version of "Make it Easy on Yourself"...and the winner is by Jerry Vale. Please go on youtube and listen to Vale's rendition. You, too, will give him 5Stars. Please do not get me wrong, the others mentioned on the comments area did great....but....

    Jerry Vale...what a voice

  • very sad song :( but very amazing

  • Nice il like !!!!!!!!!

  • I'd have to give it to both Jerry and Dionne because it's not easy to make a song yours when

    it has already been done so phenomenally!

    But Dionne some eight years later, left her signature. They both own this gem of a song!

  • Ok! Here is A poll. MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF. Which version is better?

    Jerry Butler(1962)

    The Walker Brothers(1965)

    Dionne Warwick(1970) Or, do you like all of them, OR two of the three?

    AND why?

  • @surfside48 -you know what, i like all of them. i just do.

  • You Know I like the Jerry Butler and Dionne Warwick Version. But Johnny Mathis has a real nice version of this song

  • rosilva0909

    The Oscar Torney Jr version,too very beautful.

  • My little 'ol opinion?

    1st - Jerry Butler

    2nd - Walker Brothers.

    I've heard other women (including non-professional) sing this song better than Dionne. No disrespect to Dionne, but this song, in particular, seems to fit singers that have strong voices with good volume. Dionne's version seems too light. However, I like many of her other Burt Bacharach - Hal David recordings.

  • @surfside48 The Walker Brothers for me; Scott's voice really defines the song in my opinion. The other versions are still fantastic, of course :D

  • I vote for Butlers, with Warwick's earlier recording a close second. I think the '70 hit was a re-recording. Walker Bros. tried too hard to sound like the Righteous Bros.

  • Comment removed

  • I have to say that the Walker Bros. version is probably the best, followed closely by Jerry Butler's.

  • @surfside48 Butler owns this song!

  • @viewingut

    Ah, YES! Jerry Butler. Born 12/8/39 in Sunflower, Miss.Older brother of Billy Butler. Sang in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers with Curtis Mayfield. Later with the Quails. Butler and Mayfield Joined The Roosters with Sam Gooden and brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks in 1957 and changed Name to The Impressions. Jerry went solo in autumn of 1958. Also worked as the Cook County Commissioner in Illinois, Dubbed "The Ice Man." Make it easy on Yourself # 20 on 8/18/62, Billboards Chart

  • they try to censor the influencer, just makes me sicker, influenza!

  • This isn't about Jerry. I just wanted to ask anyone ( I don't know how to post a message any other way) Why does the funny writing keep popping up? It asks me to type the words I see before it will post my comment.

  • The worst part of Love is breaking up. Regardless of the reason or time together it hurts one person more than the other. Having hopes and dreams together and being lied to behind your back makes it even more harder to deal with and to understand. It is hard to just walk away from you have to move on. You can get help from family and friends but they can not know what you feel in your heart and your mind. This song says it all . Try not to hate the other person, because they too have feelings.

  • I was a teacher of middle school age kids and later high school. i witnessed love and subsequent break-ups that in some cases, I could see that it would have a long lasting if not a lifetime effect. I do believe that kids can fall in love deeply, and the break-up can be severe. Adults just laugh it off and wave it away. Meanwhile, their child is deeply hurt. Breaking up IS hard to do!

  • Thank you for posting this timeless wonderful song! I only wish that Luther Vandross would have recorded this song. I would also like Gladys Knight to record it.

    Burt Bacharach and Hal David are one of the greatest songwriting teams/composers ever, and they had great singers to perform their songs!

    Again, thank you for posting this great song!

  • Yes! Gladys could sing the Alphabet and it would be alright with me! lol

  • What a great, great voice. And one of the rudest men I've ever met.

  • pfc jerry metcalf,kia 22may 1966, b co, 1st bat, 1st plt.1st brig,1st air cav div. jerry wa skilled on operation crazy horse, in llcops area near pleiku, i was 9, i had a radio with me at his grave the first time i heard this song in 1966, this song always takes me back to that day, jerry is buried in rockhill cem in foxboro mass. i remember walking away from his grave and the last 40 seconds of this song remind me of that time, i dont know why.

  • God Bless Jerry and so many who did not return from that politicians fiasco.

  • I love the Walker Bros version alot, but for some reason I like this one better, I think because his voice sounds so pained, it's very emotional, and even though the Walker Bros. might be a little more technically superior, this one seems a little more raw and from the heart.

  • It is also a song of its time. It wasn't the technique we were listening to. None of the 60s music can compare in quality to what was done later. But honey, when you would go to a party that had one light on and it was blue or red...

  • great voice xx

  • i wonder why is unable to download this music

    who can help?

  • amazing

  • I think Jerry might have still been doing a little Billy Eckstein thing here, but still this mans voice is awesome

  • Like this.Masta ace used it on the joint with Jean grae back in 2000...Schwaaaaaayy

  • Sampled For Jedi Mind Tricks - Lupe Fiasco, Correct me if I'm wrong.

  • Well,ain't heard that joint yet.But definitely a good sample!!

  • @LyrikalTheOne word.

  • Jerry Butler had the original...circa '61. The Walker Bros. did an awesome job on their version too. In '65 I believe.

  • sundance2472 is right.

    Burt Bacharach wrote the song, and it was originally intended for miss Dionne Warwick, who late covered the song as well.

  • I thought The Walker Bros. first recorded this?

  • 100 years from today. 8-16-109. this song will still be loved.

  • @peteboy1113 I´ve heard a slower version of it by oscar peter junor, but I couldn´t find any video of it.....

  • True true true

  • "always lovely"

  • I want to dedicate this song to Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian

  • What can I say about the Ice man, Jerry Butler. His voice is just so smooth,so strong and yet so soulful,. His voice is truly amazing.

  • This song totally blows me away! I love it, and is the better of the two more well known charted versions. Hooray for Jerry Butler!

  • Jerry is the man.

    But how about some love for Hal David who wrote those absolutely amazing lyrics?

  • Its Was Shystie grime artist, Make it Easy da naem of da song.

  • God dammit who sampled this its driving me crazy!

  • stack bundles sampled this song its called breaking up

  • BEAUTIFUL what more can you say....

  • I love this version of the song. I love the background singers and music (nice drumming). And of course, a voice like no other than Jerry Butler.

  • I agree with you 100%. I love Mr. Jerry Butler's voice. He sang many great songs, but this song is his masterpiece! I have enjoyed it for over 30 years and I know I will always love to listen to it... May our Lord less Mr. Butler.

  • I am feeling this song; Preach brotha Preach!!!

  • This 1962 R&B song is one of the finest break up songs ever recorded, "The Ice Man" sings this song with such feeling, any man who has experienced a break up can relate to this one, a 60's R&B classic, and an alltime R&B classic as well.

  • You are so right : ) i was just listening to this and was blown away(again) so i 'youtubed' it, i have loved this tune immensely for years and i'm a dj who plays funk and uptempo stuff but this is my home stuff for sweet listening!

    Great to hear the term R&B used it its correct form! respect to ya!!!

  • knigh how about his hit -whats the use of breaking up. do you have that.

  • You're missing the best song Moody Woman

  • jerry is the best black solo singer from the 50s and 60s. i loved his songs in the 60s when i was just a boy. almost 45.000 hits for this song. it just shows you that his music will never die off. you see people know great music when they hear it.

  • My all-time favorite Jerry Butler song! Only Jerry can sing this one with class!

  • I'm gonna dedicate this song to Bristol Palin and Levi, lol....

    All kidding aside, this is a great song whether Jerry or Dionne or The Walker Brothers sings it.

  • I got a set of Time-Life DVDs which was live performances from the star in the sixties . . . Jerry Butler is the host on them and his voice is still just as terrific!

    Great DVDs, has Duke of Earl, Hurt so Bad, Love Potion Number 9, etc. Who cared if the stars looked older ---- so do I!

  • There will never be another "Ice Man." Jerry Butler will always be #1. Saw him for the first time, in Chattanooga in the early 60s at Memorial Auditorium. A performance I can still remember like yesterday. Jerry you are still the Man.

  • My sister used to go to these concerts where tons of people sang at the Memorial Auditorium.

    One of my favorite songs.

  • This song makes me emotional every time. I love this man.

  • what a nice song.

  • I love the beginnning of the song it was used for lupe fiasco-jedi mind tricks

  • This is my dad's favorite song i think., This is my second favorite.

  • If this is your second favorite, which song is your first?

  • I'm not in love by 10cc.

  • Awesome Choice.

  • thanks

  • My favorite is Find another girl.

  • The Iceman Cometh! I love this man OMG I do.

    Peace

  • Wonderful!

    I love this song!

    Jerry has a beautiful voice one.

    I did not find this music recorded by Oscar Toney jr.

    If anybody has pls let me know.

    Rgds,

    Rosely Brito

  • Let's not leave Burt Bacharach and Hal David out - this is just one more example of their enduring genius.

    Jerry Butler earned his place among the immortals with this song.

    Just brilliant.

  • how right you are my friend!

  • This is a great song. I listen to Jerry singing today and it sounds like he hasn't missed a beat. Thank you for posting.

  • love the voice...sad song but so beautiful...thank you for posting...

  • Gold!

  • breaking up is hard. but you turn around when you never expect it. BAM!!!

  • Jerry Butler, is a timeless "Mack Daddy" words of love and heart persuasion are timeless. I love You Jerry.

    Peace

  • Very beautiful song

  • One of my all time favorites---complete with REAL musicians, in fact a whole orchestra and choral backups to accompany the velvet "ICE MAN." Thanks so much for memories of "quality" and "cool" in soul music.

  • One of the saddest songs. Great song, great voice. Awesome.

  • Like David Ruffin, Jerry could sing a song of heartbreak and make it believable. Burt Bacharach's arrangement is timeless!