(November 24, 2024) She emerged from Detroit to become one of the most celebrated singers of her generation. And while she created a number of 1970s R&B musical anthems, she has continued to enthrall fans of pop, soul and jazz for a half century since. We are pleased to announce that the great Freda Payne will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Awards, coming on December 9.
Drop-dead gorgeous and possessing a bright, clear singing voice, Freda Payne has carved a successful career on record, stage and screen since the 1960s. Payne began her career singing in local commercials in Detroit, though her passion was jazz music. She gained a reputation as a fine vocalist during her teen years, and was soon performing around the country with such legendary talents as Pearl Bailey, Quincy Jones, Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington. At age 19, she cut the jazz album After The Lights Go Down Low and Much More! for Impulse Records and followed it three years later with How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore. But real stardom came when she signed in 1969 with the fledgling Invictus label formed by Motown songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Her first release for Invictus was “Band of Gold,” an irresistible upbeat tune that shot to #1 on both the Pop and Soul charts. The song, about a new marriage gone sour, was lyrically vague enough to create quite a stir among listeners around the world who speculated as to the underlying meaning. Payne surprisingly found out that the earliest buzz on the song came from the gay community, where many interpreted the song as being the lament of a new wife finding out her husband is gay. Payne quickly followed “Band” with two more top 10 hits, “Deeper and Deeper” and the anti-Vietnam War song, “Bring the Boys Back Home,” the latter of which generated a fair amount of controversy.
Invictus (and its sister label Hot Wax) encountered serious financial trouble by the mid-70s, derailing the careers of most of its artists. And while Payne was snatched up by ABC/Dunhill and later by Capitol, her recordings over the remainder of the decade failed to approach the critical or commercial success of her early work on Invictus. One of her best but most underappreciated pieces of work during this period was the duet “I Wanna See You Soon” with Tavares, which became a moderate hit in Europe.
During this lull in her recording career, Payne refocused on the stage, taking major parts in the Broadway casts of Sophisticated Ladies, Ain’t Misbehavin’and Hallelujah Baby, as well as some movie roles and television performances. She then signed with Dove Records for a series of albums in the 90s, and in 2001 released the critically acclaimed Come See About Me on Volt Records, which included some classic soul covers as well as a nice duet with Ali Woodson.
In the new millennium she created a concert tribute to her idol Ella Fitzgerald that took her around the world. She even briefly played Fitzgerald (padding and all) in the stageplay “First Lady of Song” in 2004. She followed with On The Inside (2007) and Come Back To Me Love (2013). And then in 2021, Freda issued Let There Be Love, an excellent album of duets with stars ranging from Kenny Lattimore to Johnny Mathis. While many of her contemporaries have cut back or stopped performing altogether, Payne continues tirelessly. She works out, takes incredible care of her health, and performs regularly. She modestly says “survival” is her driving force, keeping her active and relevant.
Freda Payne continues to be an in-demand performer, looking and sounding fantastic six decades after she burst on the scene. And we are proud to present her with this year’s SoulTracks Lifetime Achievement Award.
By Chris Rizik
