Remembering Ronnie Butler, Bahamian music legend dies at 80

#Bahamas, November 23, 2017 – Nassau – The Bahamas sings a solemn farewell to a music legend who early on Sunday (Nov 19) quietly exited life’s stage to take his rest.   Ronnie Butler, at the age of 80 years old is gone from us now… a music pioneer who framed some of the most dramatic and controversial times and traditions of The Bahamas in songs which have endured and created generations of fans.

Ronnie Butler defied the odds, becoming what no one could have dreamed, not even him… starting out on the drums and evolving to being one of the most recognizable voices in The Bahamas.   Butler even outdid the doctor’s estimates by years ago beating prostate cancer and then surviving all of last week, despite the prognosis that he had only days to live when he took a turn for the worst last weekend.

Opposition Leader, Phillip Brave Davis calls him a National Treasure.   In 2003, he was honoured through the Bahamas by the Queen of England with an Member of the British Empire or MBE and in 2014, Magnetic Media nominated him to be inducted into the Caribbean Hall of Fame; it happened that October and was announced in a ceremony in Kingston Jamaica.

Here is a bit of our time with Ronnie Butler once we learned he had achieved the Caribbean Hall of Fame Induction, he was sweetly humbled and spoke candidly about his life’s work.

Ronnie Butler also spoke of death, he was not afraid of it and at the time, at age 77, he counted himself fortunate to have lived so long.

“I do believe that there has never been and there will probably never be another Bahamian that is as much loved as I am by my Bahamian people, and let me tell you, I love them back.”