Freda Payne

Freda Payne - Deeper & Deeper

Taken I think from the Barbara McNair Show in the early 70's. Freda made some nice albums in the same period, I have most of them! Bill Randal and myself made a 2 hour special radio show for PCRL with Freda in the late-90's.

Freda Charcelia Payne (born September 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer and actress best known for her 1970 hit song, "Band of Gold". Freda is the older sister of former Supremes member Scherrie Payne.

At an early age, Freda Payne grew up listening to different jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. As a teenager, she attended the Institute of Musical Arts; she soon began singing radio commercial jingles and took part in (and won many of) local TV and radio talent shows.

In 1963, she moved to New York City and worked with many different entertainers including Quincy Jones, Pearl Bailey, and Bill Cosby. During that same year, her debut album, a jazz recording entitled After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!, was released on the Impulse! label. Three years later, she released her second album (another jazz effort) How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore, for MGM Records. She also made occasional guest appearances on different television shows including The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

She even added theatrical credits to her repertoire; she understudied Leslie Uggams for the Broadway show Hallelujah Baby in 1967 and appeared with the Equity Theatre in a production of Lost in the Stars. Although she was doing well at supporting herself in the business, none of these things helped her break into stardom.

In 1969, her old friends back home in Detroit, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr., persuaded her to sign with their newly-formed record label Invictus. She had a big hit with Band Of Gold & Bring the Boys Home an anti Vietnam song.
In 1973 she left Invictus and recorded albums for ABC/Dunhill and Capitol, but she never found the commercial success she had with Invictus. She recorded a duet "I Wanna See You Soon" with Capitol stablemates Tavares, which was a radio airplay hit in the UK in 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 eighties. Although she was concentrating more on acting by that time, she never gave up music; in 1982,

In early 2003, she performed a show called "Love & Payne" with Darlene Love at Feinstein's at the Regency in New York City and at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles getting excellent reviews.
She was a Dame of Malta. - edited version from Wikipedia

No comments:

Post a Comment