Bro Butch Edmonds – 2020 Inductee
For “Brother” Butch Edmonds, the fire for performing was lit in the 1940s when he would recite poems in church, much like a preacher might, and singing with his sisters in churches around Perry, Woodward, Adel, and Dallas Center. In his youth he also sang in various talent shows with his sister Darline and Charlene including the Bill Riley Talent Show on KRNT-TV.
In the 1960s “Brother” Butch Edmonds formed a group called the Extensions and performed in various places and even with the Ohio Players and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in Cleveland, Ohio. In the late 1960s, Butch moved to California and Las Vegas to perform. Buck Ram hired Butch to be the front man for the opening act for the Platters called Soul Patrol. They performed with the Platters at the legendary Flamingo in Las Vegas.
In the 1970s Butch left Las Vegas and returned to Des Moines to form a group call the New Establishipment of Soul and sang at various locations including the Elk’s Club and Robert’s Lounge. The New Establishment opened for James Brown at the RKO Theatre in Des Moines. After recording “Foolish Fools” with Grant Records, the band went to Georgia and joined the Bobby Marchan Show performing in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. While in Florida Butch recorded “My Day is Coming (I and II) with Tone Records. In 1977, he went tio California to perform on the Gong Show singing a song he wrote “Get Up, Get Down”.
Butch now lives in West Des Moines, IA, but “in the day”, Butch played all over the famed Center Street (Des Moines) in the 50s, 60s, and 70s and clubs across Iowa. He also played in the Soul Brothers and recorded with fellow Iowa Blues Hall-of-Famers George and Gill Davis.
