Decades of music and memories died in Key West on Feb. 1, 2022, when the legendary Lofton “Coffee” Butler passed away at the age of 93. Though his absence leaves an unfillable void, Butler’s songs, smile and showmanship will live forever in Key West’s heart and history.
Lofton Ambrose Butler, a Key West native, got his nickname when a friend mispronounced “Loffy” as Coffee and it stuck. Decades later, in the 1990s, when Butler was playing regular gigs at the old Hukilau, a Polynesian restaurant on North Roosevelt Boulevard, the owner’s girlfriend decided the story behind his nickname had to be embellished. From then on, Butler was called Coffee because “he was so stimulating,” photographer and writer Ralph DePalma writes in his book “Soul of Key West” that details Key West’s music scene and the musicians who make it what it is.
“I’d been trying to prepare myself for the day this news came, but there’s no way to do it,” DePalma told the Keys Weekly on Feb. 2 after learning the night before that Butler had died around 9:35 p.m. in Miami, where he had been living with his son and grandchildren for the past month or so.
“There are no words to describe the deep sadness felt today all over Key West. Our legend has passed. Lofton Ambrose Butler, more affectionately known as Coffee Butler, has peacefully passed away surrounded by his family and his loving son Dennis,” De Palma said. “A Coffee Butler performance was a treasure to cherish forever and knowing the man himself was indeed an honor. Rest in peace, my friend.”
DePalma and others found comfort in the thought of Butler finally being reunited with the love of his life, his wife of more than 60 years, Martha, who died in 2011.
“When Martha died, Coffee literally cried his eyes out,” DePalma said. “Honestly, he had to see a doctor in Miami for a blocked tear duct. So at least they’re together again.”
“I think the lack of music killed him,” DePalma told the Keys Weekly. “He was stuck at home during the pandemic, especially before the vaccines, and I think that brought on the end.”
“Coffee lived for live music; he lived to entertain,” De Palma added, recalling a benefit concert for the Boys & Girls Club in June 2021 at Sunset Green in Key West. “Coffee had seemed so weak during rehearsal that we only planned for him to do two songs. Then, on the day of the show, he played nine songs and had a ball. You could see it completely revive him. And even at 90 years old, when he released his final album, I’d walk into his house and hear him playing his keyboard in the back room. He was always trying to get better. Always.”
Fortunately, Key West didn’t wait to recognize the music man posthumously, but rather named the city’s new amphitheater for Butler in June 2020. City Commissioner Greg Davila suggested the honor while the venue was still under construction at Truman Waterfront Park. His fellow commissioners immediately and unanimously approved.
The short man with a larger-than-life sparkle was 91 when the city dedicated the Coffee Butler Amphitheater. The consummate entertainer smiled broadly to friends and relatives, his fingers dancing deftly over the keys. Butler played for the crowd, as always, but kept glancing shyly at the gleaming white sign that bears his name and stands taller than the man himself.
But Butler’s first love was baseball, according to “Soul of Key West” and everyone who knew him.
“He was an outstanding shortstop and revered Jackie Robinson,” De Palma writes. “After graduating in 1948, he tried out with the Negro League’s Kansas City Monarchs. Eventually, he played in the Florida/Cuba League for the Palm Beach Rockets, traveling between Miami, Tampa and Cuba in 1950 and 1951.”
In 1952, it wasn’t a baseball team, but the U.S. Army that drafted Coffee Butler. He would return to Key West and play music at the Hukilau and a host of other venues and events around town. Playwright Tennessee Williams once shared Butler’s piano bench, along with Tallulah Bankhead. He even played a set with the Beatles when a 1964 hurricane rerouted the Fab Four to Key West, De Palma writes.
If Heaven has a piano, Coffee Butler is on its bench, tickling the ivories with his mischievous grin and singing, “Who put the pepper in the Vaseline?” with Martha by his side. Rest in peace, friend. Thank you for the music and memories.
