Evanston Singer, Songwriter’s Tune Featured in 'The Butler'

John Cusack isn’t the only famous Evanstonian represented in The Butler, a movie about a White House butler who worked with seven American presidents.

Listen closely, and you’ll hear the catchy song “Tell Him,” which was written by Evanston resident Carlton Black and sung by former Evanston resident Patti Drew, according to the Evanston Review.

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Black wrote the song while working in a glass factory on Emerson Street, and it ultimately reached No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100 R&B chart in 1967, the Evanston Review reports.

Drew was still attending Evanston Township High School when she recorded the song along with Black and her two sisters, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

She ultimately signed on as a solo act for Capitol records from 1967 to 1970, recorded four albums and toured the United States, the Shorefront Journal reports. Local appearances included the 1623 Club in Evanston and the Pussycat Lounge, the Backroom, the Caraville and other Chicago clubs, according to the Shorefront Journal.