Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer and actress. Payne is best known for her career in music during the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. Her most notable record is her 1970

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" Band of Gold". Payne was also an actress in musicals and film, as well as the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

of a TV

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

. Payne is the older sister of Scherrie Payne, a former singer with the American vocal group

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

Biography

Early life and career

Payne was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and grew up listening to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singers, such as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

. As a

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

, she attended the

Detroit Institute of Musical Arts The Detroit Institute of Musical Arts (DIMA) was a music conservatory in Detroit, Michigan that was actively providing higher education in music from 1914-1970. History The Detroit Institute of Musical Arts was founded by several Michigan based mu ...

; she soon began singing radio

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s, and took part in (and won many) local TV and radio

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

s. In 1963, she moved to New York City and worked with many entertainers, including

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

, and

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

. The next year, her debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, a

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

with arranger

Manny Albam Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 – October 2, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, record producer, and educator. Early life A native of the Dominican Republic, Albam grew up in New York City. He was attracted to jazz at an ea ...

entitled ''

After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!! ''After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!'' is the debut album of Freda Payne, released in 1964. Duke Ellington's "Blue Piano" makes its first album appearance, while the majority of the songs on this album are cover songs and jazz standard ...

'' was released on the

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

. (This album was re-issued on CD in Japan in early 2002, and again in the United States in 2005.) In 1965 she toured Europe for the first time recording an album in Sweden with

Don Gardner Donald Gardner (May 9, 1931 – September 4, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and drummer. His records included the 1962 pop hit " I Need Your Lovin'", with Dee Dee Ford. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Gardner star ...

and

Bengt-Arne Wallin Bengt-Arne Wallin (13 July 1926 in Linköping – 23 November 2015) was a Swedish jazz composer, arranger, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player who played jazz influenced by Swedish traditional folk music. He also wrote film scores. Biography Betwe ...

. In 1966, she released her second American album, again in the jazz idiom, ''How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore'', for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. She also made occasional guest appearances on television shows including ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...

'' and ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

''. She added theatrical credits to her repertoire: she understudied

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show ''Hallelujah Baby'' in 1967, and appeared with the Equity Theatre in a production of ''Lost in the Stars''. In 1969, her old friends back home in Detroit,

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

, and

Edward Holland, Jr. Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

, persuaded her to sign with their newly formed record label

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

. During that same year, her first Invictus single, "Unhooked Generation" (a minor R&B hit), was released. Shortly thereafter, Eddie Holland offered her a song entitled " Band of Gold", which he along with Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier co-wrote (under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Edythe Wayne) with Ronald Dunbar. In early 1970, the song became an instant pop smash reaching #3 in the US and #1 in the UK for six consecutive weeks; it also gave Payne her first

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

record. Global sales were estimated at two million. An album of the same name proved to be fairly successful as well. Other Invictus singles included "Deeper and Deeper", which reached #24 in the US and #33 in the UK at the end of 1970; "You Brought the Joy", and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

protest song "

Bring the Boys Home "Bring the Boys Home" is a song recorded by rhythm and blues singer Freda Payne in 1971 during the Vietnam War era. It was an anti-war song that was aimed at the sending of troops to fight in an increasingly unpopular war. Background The song wa ...

" (

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

''Billboard'' Hot 100 #12, 1971), her second gold record. Her other Invictus albums were ''Contact'' (1971), ''The Best of Freda Payne'' (1972, a

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

which included four new, unissued songs), and her last Invictus album ''Reaching Out'' (1973). Freda Payne 1970

In 1973, she left Invictus and recorded albums for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

/Dunhill and

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, but she never found the commercial success that she had enjoyed with Invictus. She recorded a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

"I Wanna See You Soon" with Capitol stablemates

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

. She released three disco albums for Capitol from 1977 to 1979, ''Stares and Whispers'', ''Supernatural High'' and ''Hot''. The first one features the disco hit "Love Magnet" produced by Frank Wilson (1977). In 1981, she briefly hosted her own talk show ''Today's Black Woman'', and also found work acting in different movies, Broadway and other theatre productions throughout the 1980s. Although she was concentrating more on acting by that time, she never gave up music; in 1982, she recorded a single entitled "In Motion" for the Sutra label in New York, and in 1986, she recorded a remake of her old hit "Band of Gold" with

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

. In 1990, she recorded three songs for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

's UK Motorcity label: another remake of "Band of Gold", "Memories and Souvenirs", and "Only Minutes Away". In the mid-1990s, she released three albums for Dove Music: ''The (Unauthorized) I Hate Barney Songbook: A Parody'' (1994), ''An Evening with Freda Payne: Live in Concert'' which featured her sister Scherrie Payne on

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

, and her first (and only) Christmas album ''Christmas with Freda and Friends'', which featured a duet between Freda and Scherrie (both 1996). She also continued her acting career appearing in the films, '' Private Obsession'' (1995), ''

Ragdoll The Ragdoll is a breed of cat with a distinct colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker developed Ragdolls in the 1960s. They are best known for th ...

'' (1999) as the

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

Gran, '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000), and '' Fire & Ice'' (made-for-TV, 2001).

Later career

In early 2001, Payne released a new album entitled ''

Come See About Me "Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a Fade (audio engineering), fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording. The song became third ...

'' for the

Volt Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

label (the title track is a remake of

' hit). In early 2003, she performed in a show called ''Love & Payne'', with

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

at Feinstein's at the Regency in New York, and at the Cinegrill in the

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. It opened on May 15, 1927, and is the oldest continually operating hotel in Los Angeles. History The hote ...

in Los Angeles, getting excellent reviews. During the early 2000s, the following

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s of her music were released: ''Lost in Love'' (which includes nine of her post-Invictus recordings), ''Band of Gold: The Best of Freda Payne'' (both 2000), '' Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings'' (2001), and ''The Best of Freda Payne: Ten Best Series'' (2002). In late 2002, Payne appeared with many R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the PBS series American Soundtrack. Her performance of "Band of Gold" was included on the accompanying live album that was released in 2004. On April 22, 2009, Payne appeared on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' and sang " Band of Gold". In February 2010, Payne joined

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

and many more on

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album ''We Are the World''. Wit ...

for Haiti Relief. In 2011, Payne recorded a duet, "Saving A Life", with British pop star Sir

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

for inclusion on his '' Soulicious'' album. She joined Richard on his " Soulicious" tour of the UK in October of the same year. She sang the new duet with Richard along with her own hit "Band of Gold". In January 2018, she performed "A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald", in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center, in

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 10,248. Hackettstown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 9, 1853, from portions of Inde ...

Personal life and honors

Payne was married to American singer

Gregory Abbott Gregory Joel Abbott (born April 2, 1954) is an American singer, musician, composer and producer. Although he continues to record to date, he is best known for his singles in the mid-1980s including his platinum single, "Shake You Down", from h ...

from 1976 until 1979. Payne and Abbott had a son, Gregory Abbott, Jr., who was born on September 19, 1977, Payne's 35th birthday. Payne later had a relationship with American musician

Edmund Sylvers Edmund Theodore Sylvers (January 25, 1957 — March 11, 2004) was an American singer–songwriter, actor and musician. Sylvers was best known as the lead singer of the American family disco/soul music vocal group The Sylvers, which had popular su ...

(lead singer of

the Sylvers The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were a popular act during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever", and "Hot Line (song), Hot Line". Prior to bec ...

) from 1979 until January 1983. Sylvers wrote and produced her 1982 single "In Motion". In 1974, she made the cover of ''

Jet magazine ''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazi ...

'' after she was appointed a Dame of Justice of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

by the Prince of Rumania. In 2017, Payne was inducted into the 2017 class of the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, in her hometown of Detroit.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

* 1965: ''Freda Payne in Stockholm' with

Quintet with Dee Dee Ford and Jimmy Ricks'' (Swedish release 1965, USA release 1971) * 1996: ''An Evening with Freda Payne: Live in Concert'' * 1999: '' Live in Concert''

Compilations albums

Singles

As a lead artist

As a featured artist

Filmography

Concerts

* 2006: ''Flashbacks: Soul Sensation'' – Compilation * 2009: ''Freda Payne: High Standards'' with

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion dur ...

and

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with Ch ...

* 2009: ''Live in Concert'' with

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...

As an actress

* 1973: ''

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...

'' * 1997: ''Sprung'' * 1999: ''Ragdoll'' * 2000: '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' * 2001: ''Deadly Rhapsody'' * 2007: ''Cordially Invited'' * 2014: ''Ella: First Lady of Song'' * 2014: ''The Divorce'' * 2017: '' Kinky''

Notes

;Biography ;Discography

References

External links

*
Freda Payne biodata
mackavenue.com. Accessed April 3, 2022. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Freda 1942 births Living people African-American women singers American women pop singers American soul singers Dames of Justice of the Order of St John Actresses from Detroit Northern soul musicians Impulse! Records artists MGM Records artists Dunhill Records artists Capitol Records artists American film actresses African-American television talk show hosts American television talk show hosts American women television personalities 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Singers from Detroit 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers