- Jackie Payne
Jackie Payne ( - ) is an American
blues singer. He was nominated in both 2007 and 2008 for theBlues Music Award (formerly theW. C. Handy Award s) for Best Male SoulBlues Artist; an album he recorded withJohnny Otis was nominated for aGrammy Award in 1993.Early career
Payne was born in
Athens, Georgia . His original birth name was William, and he was known as Willie during childhood. He trained as a singer in his father'sgospel choir and learned the blues from his uncle, Neal Pattman, who playedharmonica . By the age of 13, he was singing professionally with the Allen Swing Band in Atlanta. He later joined anR&B group called The Serenaders. He moved toHouston, Texas in 1963, at the age of 17, and recorded his first regional hit, "Go Go Train" b/w "I'll Be Home" on the Jetstream label in 1965. The success of that single led to a 45-city tour with theStax revue, which at the time featured headliners likeOtis Redding (to whom Payne's voice has sometimes been compared),Sam & Dave ,Rufus Thomas , andCarla Thomas . His career was checked when he entered theUnited States Army in 1968. He then settled inCulver City, California , performing at The Cover Girl Club withPee Wee Crayton . cite web | url = http://www.luckymojo.com/shadesofblues.html | title = Jackie Payne, "The New Boss of the Blues" | accessdate=2008-08-28]The Johnny Otis years
Payne was the lead singer for the
Johnny Otis Show for fifteen years. He recorded several albums with Otis's band and appeared for many years on the Johnny Otis Saturday morning liveradio radio show broadcast onKPFA-FM . "Spirit of the Black Territory Bands," recorded by The Johnny Otis Orchestra, featured Payne on vocals and was nominated for a 1993 Grammy Award. Payne's 1998 CD, "A Day In the Life of a Blues Man," was produced byKenny Ray for the BritishJSP Records label.The Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band
Payne and his current musical partner, the blues guitarist Steve Edmonson, formed the Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band in the late 1990s. The band, which is based in the
San Francisco Bay Area , has recorded two CDs, "Partners in the Blues" on the Burnside Records label, and "Master of the Game" on the Delta Groove label. The band won the Contemporary Blues Award for Best Soul Blues Album of 2006 for the "Master of the Game."cite web | url= http://home.comcast.net/~edmoblues/index2.html | title= Jackie Payne! The Man with Too Much Soul to Control | accessdate=2008-08-28]References
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