Freda Payne

Freda Charcelia Payne was born on September 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan and is a singer and actress best known for her 1970 hit song, 'Band of Gold'.

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. Her polished voice caught the attention of many different people including record producers. Berry Gordy wanted to give her a recording contract with Motown, and Duke Ellington (after allowing her to sing with his orchestra in Pittsburgh for two nights) also wanted to give her a contract. However, her mother did not permit these and wanted her to finish school first.

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. This album was reissued on CD in Japan in early 2002 and again in the United States in 2005. 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 with 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 Theater 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. During that same year, her first Invictus single, 'Unhooked Generation' (a minor R&B hit) was released. Shortly thereafter, songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland under the pen name Edythe Wayne and Ron Dunbar offered her a song entitled 'Band of Gold'. Almost immediately, in early 1970, the song became an instant pop smash reaching number three in the US and number one in the UK; it also gave Payne her first Gold record. An album of the same name proved to be fairly successful as well. Other Invictus singles included 'Deeper and Deeper', 'You Brought the Joy' and the Vietnam protest song, 'Bring the Boys Home' (number twelve in 1971; her second Gold record). Her other Invictus albums were Contact (1971), The Best of Freda Payne (1972, a compilation which included four new, unissued songs) and her last Invictus album Reaching Out (1973).

In 1973, being dissatisfied with her royalties (which were very low to begin with), 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 big 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 '80s. 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 hit 'Band of Gold' with Belinda Carlisle. In the mid-'90s, she released three albums for Dove Music.

She continued her acting career appearing in movies like Private Obsession (1995), Ragdoll (1999), The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) and Fire & Ice (made-for-TV, 2001). 

In early 2001, she released a new album of jazz, pop and R&B moulded into one, called Come See About Me for the Volt label.

In early 2003, she performed a show called 'Love & Payne' with Darlene Love at Feinstein's, the Regency in New York City and at the Cinegrill, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, receiving excellent reviews.

During the early part of the 21st century, the following compilations of her music were released: 

Lost in Love (2000, including nine of her post-Invictus recordings), Band of Gold: The Best of Freda Payne (2000), Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings (2001) and The Best of Freda Payne: Ten Best Series (2002, another collection of her Invictus songs).

She is the sister of Scherrie Payne, the final lead singer for the Motown act the Supremes.