Born into a musical family of nine children, Butch was the oldest son of Rev. Henry Ingram, organist and choir director at First Nazarene Baptist Church. All of Henry and Vera’s children were required to take piano lessons, first from their dad, and later on, more formal lessons from Mr. Naper Hestor. Butch learned the art of recording and editing from his dad at a young age recording the Sunday service at Nazarene church.
While attending Garfield Elementary, Butch also learned to play the trumpet in the 4th grade, under the supervision of George Shaw. With a solid musical foundation acquired at the piano, Butch soon found himself sitting First Trumpet in the school band, and by the time he reached Woodrow Wilson High School, Butch was playing in the Concert Band, All-City Band and All-South Jersey Band. He achieved all of this while playing on the Basketball team and leading his team to a State Championship his senior year.
Butch then attended Temple University where he studied The Business of Music as well as Music Theory, Harmony and Sight-Reading, all of which made it possible for him to write scores and charts for recording sessions, and to do his own string and horn arrangements years later after his basketball career(playing professionally in the ABA, NBA and overseas) was over.
Butch is well-known for his accomplishments on the basketball court but he has been much morre successful in the music arena with Gold, Platinum and Diamond recording with Biggie Smalls ‘Life after death’ album. After initially getting into the music business to help his four brothers with their career as the family band, “Ingram”, Butch found he could make a living by producing many well-known acts like Ronnie Dyson, Barbarba Mason, Blue Magic, Roz Ryan, Major Harris and Odyssey, to name just a few.
Butch is also an award-winning studio engineer, receiving Gold and Platinum Records for his work on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack with Kool & The Gang. The Academy of Fine Arts recognized him for his outstanding work on the theme song for the Alzheimer’s Association, titled “If You Could Remember”, and he was conferred an Honorary Master’s Degree by Cambridge University for that same song.
Butch’s love and knowledge of music has taken him many places, from the orchestra pit on Broadway, with the play “Your Arms Too Short To Box With God”, starring legends Patti LaBelle and Al Green, to the London stage of Royal Albert Hall, performing to sold-out crowds with his brothers.
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