Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during apartheid, Butler started singing and playing acoustic guitar as a child.

He began touring at the age of seven when he joined a travelling stage show, and was later signed up to perform on a string of hit recordings, turning him into a local teen idol.

His international breakthrough came in 1987 with his Grammy-nominated hit single, "Lies" which reached #27 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and his cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)" which he performed with Ruby Turner.

In 2006, Butler was a featured vocalist on the album Gospel Goes Classical, produced by University of Alabama at Birmingham music professor Henry Panion.

Also in 2008, Butler guest-starred on George Duke's Album Dukey Treats, alongside the late Teena Marie on the track Sudan, talking about the disasters of Darfur.