Musicians - Pretty Tony

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	Musicians - Pretty Tony

Pretty Tony was an influential '80s electro artist based out of Miami. Pretty Tony (real name: Tony Butler) recorded a string of popular club tracks on Power/Jam Packed and Sherman Neeley's Music Specialist label in the mid-'80s. Some say he defined the Florida electro sound (although many other Florida Electro artists disagree greatly), but more so, he defined the type of music known as freestyle (named after Butler's primary outfit).

Butler's tracks with his primary group Freestyle include such club staples as It's Automatic, Don't Stop the Rock and The Party Has Begun, but they are perhaps not as known as his production for Debbie Deb, including the tracks When I Hear Music and Lookout Weekend. After Debbie Deb, he tried to recreate that success with female vocalist Trinere, although it was to a much lesser degree. Butler's career abruptly stopped in 1986 when he and his financier Sherman Neely were jailed for drug dealing. Tony is paraphrased as once saying "making music is only a hobby; I make much more money other ways." After his release from jail, Pandisc Records' Bo Crane fostered him, even going so far as to build him a new studio (his old studio was purchased by Luke Skyywalker Records), but by the late 1980's and early 1990's, the sound of Miami had morphed from Electro into Miami Bass, and Tony had fallen behind, ending his stay at the top. His influence transcends to 1990's post-rave artists such as Autechre and Biochip C. Butler continues to live and record in Miami.

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