MY WIFE SAVED ME’
How Jonathan Butler beat addiction to drugs
FOR Jonathan Butler, there is no such thing as jetting into his country of birth only to perform a few times and pocket the cash.
The 51-year-old Los Angelesbased jazz singer is not only in South Africa for his yearly tour, but especially for the official launch of the Jonathan Butler Music Foundation, that took place on Wednesday.
He played on Tuesday in Pretoria and will be on stage tomorrow night at the Rhema Auditorium in Randburg.
“I love my country and its people, hence I make my yearly pilgrimage to South Africa without fail. I was given an opportunity to share my singing talent here and will forever be grateful for the continued support.
“Hence my passion to give back to it by launching my foundation,” he says.
He says during his yearly visit to South Africa he spends time with his siblings and his wife’s family and friends.
“We braai, bond and just have a good time.”
The father of three and a grandfather to one says he knows how it feels to have nothing and nobody to turn to.
“I grew up as a last child in a family of 12 children and our family lived all over the country. Our family was povertystricken and music saved me from a life of suffering.”
It was during his teenage years that he started performing but also started using drugs. “I almost lost everything due to drug addiction.
“My wife of 30 years, Berenice, saved me. Her family took me in and introduced me to Christ my Saviour and I have been sober ever since.”
Though Butler did not complete his schooling he professes a deep commitment to empower the youth.
“For the past five years I have been giving back to the community of Eersterust, where I spent a significant part of my childhood, by run- ning music education workshops and helping young people develop.
“Though I do not have any college degree I believe in the importance of education.”
He keeps up-to-date about what is happening locally.
“The recent gang violence in Manenberg is a sore point. I interacted with gangsters while growing up and I knew even back then that violence doesn’t solve anything.
“Gangsterism stems from young people who lack ambition and recreational resources. As a society we must shift our focus from the problem to finding solutions.”
He says we should move away from a culture of focusing on material possessions to focusing on building a positive future. “It is about getting up and learning from our mistakes as a society.”
He says his latest jazz and gospel-inspired album,
released late last year, “was recorded to spread the message of faith, hope, courage and belief – the missing ingredients in our world.” –