GILROY
– Robert Butler wants to inspire people.
The Christian singer from Gilroy wants to spread the word about
Jesus Christ, but he doesn’t want to be pushy about it.
GILROY – Robert Butler wants to inspire people.
The Christian singer from Gilroy wants to spread the word about Jesus Christ, but he doesn’t want to be pushy about it.
So he tries to win them over through music. Butler has released some of that music on his fourth CD, “Messages from Heaven.”
“My goal is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ,” he said. “I think it gives people more positive options to use. I don’t try to push religion down anyone’s throat, but I find for myself that the music is inspiring.
“They’re not all Jesus lyrics – they’re about issues,” he added.
From the up-tempo first track “Be Like Jesus,” to the 16th song, “The Lord Bless You,” taken from Butler’s first recording in 1974, a soulful jazzy feel pervades the CD.
“He has a very nice baritone voice – he can be tenor too – and I really like his style,” said Adrienne Lee, the creative arts and choir director at Cathedral of Faith in San Jose, where Butler sings. “If I had to compare it, I’d say it’s kind of like Al Jarreau – wonderful ad-libbing and a real vibrant on-stage presence.”
Butler sings with the choir at Cathedral of Faith, and is an occasional soloist, singing his own songs, Lee said.
Lee said Butler’s onstage presence draws people in to his performance, and that Butler is good to work with as an artist.
“I work with a lot of different talents, and some are easy to work with and some are less easy,” she said. “And he’s very easy to work with.”
Butler wrote 10 of the songs on the CD himself and took three from his first recording, “Let the World Join In.”
“It’s like a 30-year anniversary album,” he said. “That was my first-ever recording. I was 17 at the time.”
Butler called this most recent recording his “best work ever.”
Butler is the father of two daughters, ages 18 and 20, and has been teaching for 23 years and has lived in Gilroy for 20 years. He teaches math and drama at Ida Price Middle School in San Jose.
Butler draws on a lifetime of church-going for his music.
“My parents took me to church all the time,” he said. “And I’ve been singing the whole time.”
Butler’s belief has helped him through some difficult times in his life, and he hopes his work will help others find comfort and fulfillment.
“I think knowing Jesus has made my life more fulfilled, and I think it’s also saved my life in a lot of situations,” he said. “I think if I had not known him, I would have made a lot of wrong decisions.”
Butler organized the Gilroy Gospel Music Festival which was held at Christmas Hill Park. The festival isn’t being put on anymore, but Butler said organizers are hoping to bring it back next June.
Butler has also brought his love of music to his television program called “Inspire,” on Channel 20. It’s a music talk show in which Butler introduces new Christian musicians and they talk shop. He has done 40 shows so far, and the program is currently in reruns.
Butler’s CD is on sale now at Wize Owl in Gilroy and Berean Bookstore in San Jose.
