The multi-talented Freda Payne is best known for her singing career, yet she has also performed in musicals and acted in movies over the years, and briefly was the host of her own TV talk show.  Born Freda Charcelia Payne, in Detroit, Michigan, Payne developed an appreciation of music at a young age due to such early influences as sultry jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday.  Payne's own musical career blossomed when she began singing radio commercial jingles, which brought the young vocalist to the attention of music heavyweight Berry Gordy, Jr. who attempted to sign Payne to his then-burgeoning record company, Motown.  Duke Ellington employed Payne as the featured singer with his renowned orchestra for two nights in Pittsburgh, resulting in Ellington offering the teenager a ten-year contract.  But in both cases, Payne's mother turned them down, stating she wanted young Freda to continue with her education.  

During the early to mid-'60s, Payne established herself as a fine jazz vocalist, touring the country with both Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, and issuing a jazz/big band-based album in 1963, “After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!”  In addition to a sophomore effort released three years later, “How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore,” Payne enjoyed further exposure via appearances on such TV shows as Johnny Carson, David Frost, and Merv Griffin.  But, it wasn't until Payne signed on to the Invictus label in 1969 (headed by longtime friends, former Motown songwriters/producers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland) and issued the album “Band of Gold,” that she scored her breakthrough hit single, the album's title track, which peaked at number three in the U.S. and topped the chart in the U.K. in 1970.  Several other successful singles followed “Band of Gold” in the early ‘70s: “Deeper and Deeper,” “Cherish What’s Dear to You,” “You Brought the Joy,” and the Vietnam protest song “Bring the Boys Home.” 

After finding such great success in the music business, the next logical move for the entertainer was the big screen.  With her movie star beauty and charisma that make her a natural in front of the camera, Payne landed the role of Kelly Simms opposite Philip Michael Thomas in the film “Book of Numbers.”  In the ‘80s, Payne switched her attention from music to TV, as she hosted her very own talk show in 1981, “Today’s Black Woman.”  The '90s saw Payne return to her musical roots with such albums as “An Evening With Freda Payne” and “Christmas With Freda and Friends.”  During the ‘90s, Payne also landed roles in such movies as “Private Obsession” and “Ragdoll.”  Payne continued to balance an acting and music career during the early 21st century.  Her performances in such feature films as the Eddie Murphy comedy “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” and “Deadly Rhapsody,” and the made-for-TV movie “Fire and Ice” gained her recognition as more than just a ‘70s soul singer.