Butler Twins

About Butler Twins

"Not only the 'Butler Twins' by band name, Clarence and Curtis Butler were born seconds apart on January 21, 1942. They grew up with 16 siblings in Florence, Alabama, spending their early years in a very poor, rural society with nothing but their minds and their music for entertainment. They lived in an area and time that 'had the blues.' It was embedded in the landscape; it was on the people's minds; it was everywhere. The Twins formed their first band at age 14 and started touring southern towns by age 16. They came to Detroit in the mid-1950s to work in the auto factories, just in time to experience the 'Black Bottom' days of Detroit, which produced such blues men as Bobo Jenkins, John Lee Hooker and Eddie 'Guitar' Burns, among many others. The Twins met Uncle Jessie White in 1974, just after the blues had all but disappeared from the streets. 'It wasn’t until the Attic Bar started booking Uncle Jessie on Saturday nights (1986),' Curtis recalls, 'that the blues started to come back (to Detroit).' Curtis Butler backs up the band with a smooth, crisp, clean yet warm-sounding rhythm guitar. Clarence speaks rhythmic melodies through his harmonica. And when he sings an original tune, the lyrics have a definite impact. Their sound is layered like a warm bowl of soup ... when you taste the music you simply know that it is good."