FREDA PAYNE
She was born in Detroit on September 9, 1942. Payne grew up hearing jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. In her teens, she went to the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts, found work singing radio ad jingles, and participated in local TV and radio talent shows. She won quite a few of them, too.
Payne relocated to New York City in 1963 and worked with performers such as Quincy Jones, Pearl Bailey, and Bill Cosby. The following year, she released a jazz LP, After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!!, on the Impulse label. She toured Europe in 1965, recording an album in Sweden with Don Gardner and Begnt-Arne Wallin. The year 1966 saw Payne’s second American LP, How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore, on MGM. It, too, was a jazz release. She also made guest appearances on TV programs like The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Beginning in 1967, Payne took to the theater. She was Leslie Uggams’ understudy in Hallelujah Baby, and appeared at the Equity Theatre in Lost in the Stars.
In 1969, Payne heard from her old friends in Detroit, Lamont Dozier and brothers Eddie and Brian Holland. They had written and produced many hits for Motown, but left the company over royalty disputes in 1967. Two years later, they started their own label, Invictus, and offered Payne a recording contract. Her Invictus debut, “The Unhooked Generation,” came out in late 1969 and made the bottom rungs of Billboard magazine’s Soul Singles chart.
In early 1970, Eddie Holland offered Payne a song he had co-written with Ronald Dunbar and Edythe Wayne. “Band of Gold” became a solid smash, reaching #3 in the pop market and #1 in England. In the R&B market, though, it topped out at a more modest #20. The single did, however, spend four months on the Soul chart. It was also Payne’s first gold record, with estimated global sales of two million. Invictus would subsequently release a Band of Gold album.
While Payne never duplicated the success of her signature hit, she remained on the Soul and pop charts well into 1971 with hits like “Deeper and Deeper,” “Cherish What Is Dear to You,” “Bring the Boys Home” (her second gold record), and “You Brought the Joy.” Along with Band of Gold, Invictus released three more albums on Payne: Contact (1971), The Best of Freda Payne (1972, a compilation), and Reaching Out (1973).
The year 1973 saw Freda Payne leave Invictus for ABC/Dunhill and later Capitol, but commercial success eluded her at those labels. While at Capitol, she recorded a duet with labelmates Tavares, “I Wanna See You Soon.” The label further put out three disco albums on her.
In 1974, Payne appeared on the cover of Jet magazine after the Prince of Romania made her a Dame of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
In 1981, she briefly hosted a talk show, Today’s Black Woman. Payne also acted in different movies, on Broadway, and in other theater productions throughout the ‘80s. In 1982, she recorded the single, “In Motion,” for the New York-based Sutra label. Four years later, she and Belinda Carlisle (formerly of the Go-Go’s) teamed up on a remake of “Band of Gold,” which made #26 on the Dance chart.
In 1990, Payne recorded three songs for Ian Levine’s UK-based Motorcity label. In the mid ‘90s, she released three albums for Dove Music. She also acted in the films Private Obsession (1995), Ragdoll (1999), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), and Fire & Ice (2001).
In 2001, Payne released the album Come See About Me on Volt Records. The title track was remake of the Supremes’ 1964 hit. Two years later, she and Darlene Love performed in the show Love & Payne. It played at both New York’s Regency and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, to rave reviews.
In 2002, Payne appeared with numerous additional R&B performers on the “Rhythm, Love and Soul” edition of the PBS series, American Soundtrack. She also sang “Band of Gold” on the April 22, 2009, episode of American Idol. In early 2010, Payne took part in “We Are the World for Haiti Relief.” In 2011, she and Cliff Richard teamed up for the duet, “Saving a Life,” which turned up on Richard’s Soullicious album. Payne also joined Richard on his Soullicious tour that fall. In 2017, Freda Payne was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. And in January 2018, she performed “A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” at the Lackland Performing Arts Center in New Jersey.
From 1976-79, Payne was married to singer Gregory Abbott, whose “Shake You Down” was a #1 hit in 1987. Their son, Gregory Abbott, Jr., was born on Payne’s 35th birthday. She was later in a relationship with Edmund Sylvers, lead singer of the Sylvers (“Boogie Fever,” 1976). He produced Payne’s 1982 single, “In Motion.”
Rock critic Dave Marsh included “Bring the Boys Home” in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
Charted singles:
“The Unhooked Generatiom” (1969) R&B #43
“Band of Gold” (1970) R&B #20, Pop #3, UK #1
“Deeper and Deeper” (1970) R&B #9, Pop #24, UK #33
“Cherish What Is Dear to You” (1971) R&B #11, Pop #44, UK #46
“Bring the Boys Home” (1971) R&B #3, Pop #12
“You Brought the Joy” (1971) R&B #21, Pop #52
“The Road We Didn’t Take” (1972) Pop #100
“Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right” (1973) R&B #75
“It’s Yours to Have” (1974) R&B #81
“Love Magnet” (1977) R&B #85
“In Motion” (1982) R&B #63
