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Stan Butler Stan Butler is a Southern Soul artist from Jeffersonville, GA. Noteworthy songs include Tootie Boot", "I Took My Grandma To The Club" and "Preacher Was A Homewrecker". Album Discography
1.
Respect Intro
1. Third of the
Month ***
Nowadays there is a staggering
amount of new music being produced in the Southern Soul Blues genre.
New artists crop up seemingly weekly. The DIY (do-it-yourself)
spirit is thriving and for most a bona fide record label and
distributor is no longer necessary. Anybody can buy a keyboard,
pro-tools, program a track, lay down vocals and blast an MP3 to a
network of radio and club djs, while putting the music up for sale
digitally and hoping for a hit. A hit can mean gigs and gigs are the
only true way to make decent money in this business. Streaming and
piracy has left the business of selling music in a coma. An
encouraging trend has been the increasing appearance of little
Quincy Joneses, record producers with their own independent labels.
Your Beat Flippas, TK Souls, Jerry Floods, Bigg Robbs, etc. have
dominated the game for years now. I consider this a very positive
thing as there is an inexhaustible supply of talented people who
wouldn't stand a chance without the current system. The days of
trying to sign with an established label are long gone. In Southern
Soul that is. Of all genres this one is the easiest to break into.
The competition is fierce though and while this current situation
results in excess mediocrity there's always something special that
breaks out. Stan Butler is one of
the special results of this new paradigm. Like Jody Sticker or
Luther Lackey, Butler is not necessarily a knock-u-flat Soul singer
ala Wendell B or Willie Clayton but he became an expert at using his
voice and lyrical wit for the greatest effect. Prime example is the
absolutely brilliant shuffle bumper "I Took My Grandma To The Club",
one of the most clever and humorous tracks to come along since Sir
Jonathan Burton's "Too Much Booty Shakin'". A refreshing respite
from all the "side piece" clones. As the title suggests the song
tells a (tall?) tale of Mr. Butler acquiescing to bringing his
grandma to the club. She asks and he agrees as long as: "You promise
me when we get to the club you'll sit down in your seat". Now you see
Butler tipped his hand here. Was it necessary to remind her to stay
in her seat or did he suspect she just may cut some rug? Perhaps not
the first time? As anticipated when they get to the club grandma is
enjoying herself so much she decides to teach these young
whippersnappers how to do the damn thang, in this case the "Tootie
Boot", a reference to one of Butler's first songs to appear on the
radar (found of his first full-length "Back To Basics"). "I'm
eighty years old as y'all can see/I bet not one of y'all can out
dance me". Though funny it really isn't insulting or unbelievable
like certain television commercials that, say, show old people
suddenly acting like young idiots after drinking Mountain Dew or
sneaking away from their retirement home to party hardy before
stopping at Taco Bell for late night fuel. Those are obnoxious and
exploitive but Butler's "Grandma" isn't for what he reports does
actually happen! I've witnessed it myself. My grandmother being
challenged in the skin color department did this and certainly did
not, er, "out
dance" anyone! Alas, I won't be writing a song about this
unfortunate experience. Butler's vocals on
the verses are basically rapped and remind me of Young MC of "Bust A
Move" fame. He sings the bridge and refrain: "I took my grandma to
the club and told her to take her seat/But uh she got up and out
danced me". This is a feel good song that is extremely catchy and,
well, fun. Elsewhere on "The Blues In Me" Butler gets serious
on the (Luther Lackey-inspired?) "Preacher Was A Homewrecker". On
this story-telling slow jam Butler informs us that a friend from
work invited him and his wife to his church and the wife soon falls
prey to the seduction of the not so man of God. "All the time I was
changing my life/And the preacher was having my wife". Butler didn't
re-invent the wheel here. Luther Lackey has a whole series of songs
describing similar exploits. Nevertheless Butler's delivery sounds
earnest. Another bumper "Third Of The Month" has our working class
hero promising his woman he will "Pay your rent and your car note
too" but not until the "third of the month". Who can't relate to
that? The percolating dancer "Take Me To The Bootlegger" is not
about music bootlegs but old school hooch. Butler cheats on "Who
Said The Grass Is Not Greener On The Other Side" and is cheated on
in "I Lost My Woman To A Woman". Meanwhile "Juke Joint Shack" checks
the box for the requisite "Hole In The Wall" jam. While "The Blues
In Me" is a bit uneven overall and is occasionally generic
production-wise (endemic of the genre) it is more than enough to
announce that Butler has a bright future in this ever (hopefully)
expanding market.
1 Down in the Kuntry |
"Back To Basics" (Stan Butler Productions 2016)
"The Blues In Me" (Stan Butler Productions 2017)
"The Truth About The Blues" (Stan Butler Productions 2023)