He began singing at local dances at the age of 12 and, after service in World War II, sang with several bluegrass bands and then as a solo act on numerous radio shows, including the "Mid Day Merry Go Round" on WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The following year, the Butlers were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, and the exposure provided by the show helped them push "Don't Let Me Cross Over" to number one.
[1] The Butlers were also among the earliest supporters of Dolly Parton, with whom they had worked in Knoxville in the 1950s, and they helped to get her established in Nashville in the early 1960s.
(Parton, in turn, paid tribute to the Butlers when she included "Don't Let Me Cross Over" on Treasures, a 1996 album of covers of some of her favorite songs.)
The Butlers continued to record throughout the 1970s but essentially retired to their ranch, "Crossover Acres", near Franklin, Tennessee, in the early 1980s.