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

Butler was born inBrooklyn, New York,^[1] and learned to play various instruments includingpiano,clarinet anddrums as a child. He attendedErasmus Hall High School.^[2] At the age of 13, he auditioned forHenry Glover ofKing 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.^[1][3][4]

By the early 1960s he was working as an assistant atBell Sound Studios inNew York City, where he met songwriters and record producersJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He began working for them in theBrill Building, initially as a pianist and then as an arranger. He contributed to records byThe Drifters and others before, in 1964, arranging his first hit, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" byThe Jaynetts, on which he claims to have played all the instruments except guitar.^[5] He co-wroteAlvin Robinson's "Down Home Girl" with Leiber (quickly covered in 1965 byThe Rolling Stones), and later in 1964 joined the team working with songwritersJeff Barry andEllie Greenwich. He arranged and contributed keyboards to several hits onRed Bird Records, includingThe Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)",The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love," andThe Ad Libs' "The Boy from New York City." He also arrangedNeil Diamond's early releases, including "Solitary Man" and "Cherry, Cherry," andJanis Ian's "Society's Child".^[1][6]

In 1967 he moved toLos Angeles. The following year he started work forA&M Records, where he worked withjazz musicians includingHerbie Hancock, and contributed keyboards onJoe Cocker's hit "Feelin' Alright".^[1] He then went freelance, and suggested toLouis 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 ofABC Records PresidentLarry Newton.^[7] From the 1970s onwards, Butler arranged many commercially successful records, includingThe 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", andDionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again".^[1] In 1987 he co-wrote, with lyricist Phyllis Molinary, "Here's to Life", intended for and first performed byPeggy Lee,^[8] but first recorded in 1990 byShirley Horn and later byBarbra Streisand.^[9] He has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums during his career.^[10]

In the 1970s he began working on films, creating the scores forThe Love Machine (1971),What's Up Doc? (1972),The Harrad Experiment (1973), the TV movieWonder Woman (1974),For Pete's Sake (1974),Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975), theDisney filmThe Rescuers (1977),Sextette (1978),Sultan and the Rock Star (1980), andO'Hara's Wife (1982). In 1992, he was nominated for anEmmy award for theCBSminiseriesSinatra. In 2004 he worked with Mike Stoller on astage musical,Laughing Matters, which premiered in New York in 2006,^[1] and in 2011 worked again with Stoller and lyricistIris Rainer Dart on the musicalThe People in the Picture.^[11]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(November 2019)

• Official website
• Artie Butler atAllMusic
• Artie Butler discography atDiscogs
• Artie Butler atIMDb
• "The Rock Arranger - A Necessity, But What Does He Actually Do?",Billboard, November 6, 1971, p. 28, including comments by Butler

• 1942 births
• Living people
• American music arrangers
• American pianists
• American organists
• 20th-century American keyboardists
• Musicians from Brooklyn
• Erasmus Hall High School alumni
• Songwriters from New York (state)

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