Tony Butala, Founding Member of The Lettermen, Dies at 87
Tony Butala, Founding Member of The Lettermen, Dies at 87
Tony Butala, the last surviving original member of the vocal group The Lettermen, died on Sunday, Nov. 1. He was 87. A representative for the group confirmed his death, and a statement issued on Tuesday, Nov. 3, announced his passing as a founding member.
The group announced the news on its official Facebook page on Nov. 1. It described Butala as an integral member of the Lettermen family. He died just days before his 88th birthday, according to WFMJ, the television station in his home region.
Butala was born in 1938 in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He formed the group as a trio in 1958 with Bob Engemann and Jim Pike. Their breakthrough came in 1961 with a recording of "The Way You Look Tonight," a song from the 1936 film Swing Time.
The trio went on to chart in the United States. "When I Fall in Love," and the single "Goin' Out of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes Off You," each reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, the main US singles chart that ranks songs by sales, radio airplay and streaming.
Butala had stepped back from performing by 2019. In 2020, he and the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the sidewalk plaque honouring people in entertainment. The Lettermen were also nominated for a Grammy Award, the music industry's best-known prize.
The group's official website names Donovan Tea, Bobby Poynton and Rob Gulack as the performers continuing its harmony. No cause of death has been reported.
For many listeners, the group's sound is tied to the early 1960s, when vocal trios were a staple of the pop charts. Butala's death leaves the Lettermen's history in the hands of the performers who now carry the name on stage.
