Freda Payne (born September 19, 1942) – Bring The Boys Home (1971)

One of the most powerful and commercially successful anti-war songs ever recorded, it was banned from the military's radio network but still went gold.

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Freda Payne is a singer and actress who first shot to fame with her classic single “Band of Gold” in 1970, which sold two million copies worldwide.

Born and raised in Detroit, her younger sister is Scherrie Payne, who was a member of the Supremes in the mid-seventies. Freda knew by the time she was a teenager that she wanted to be a jazz singer like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. She moved to New York City to pursue a career in music, and released her first albums in the early sixties on the jazz label Impulse! and later, MGM Records. Payne then acted on Broadway before former Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland convinced her to return home and sign with their newly-formed Invictus label in 1969. The four of them were old friends, having all grown up together in Detroit.

“Band of Gold” was her second single for Invictus, released in 1970. It lived up to its title by going gold after shooting to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it only reached #20 R&B. In the UK, it spent six weeks at #1 on the singles charts, selling an estimated two million copies worldwide.

The year after “Band of Gold” made her a star, Payne was back with another gold record, one of the most powerful and commercially successful anti-war songs ever recorded. “Bring The Boys Home” (1971) was produced by Greg Perry, who co-wrote it along with Angelo Bond and General Johnson of Chairmen of the Board.

It reached #4 R&B and #12 on the Hot 100, although it was banned by the US Command from being played on the military’s American Forces Network of radio stations.

The single’s B-side was the upbeat jam “I Shall Not Be Moved,” co-written by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. Both tracks were included on Contact, Payne’s second full-length album for Invictus, which dropped in 1971.

Two legendary producers teamed up for her seventh studio album and debut LP on Capitol Records in 1977. Stares and Whispers was a Frank Wilson / Tony Camillo co-production, one of the only times they produced together. Four singles were released, but only one charted, the anthemic upbeat disco jam “Love Magnet” which hit #85 R&B. It was co-written by singer/songwriter Nancy Wilson, and Payne memorably performed it on Soul Train and the Dutch TV show TopPop. The LP did not chart at all, despite containing a superb extended album version of “Love Magnet.”

The album’s superb advance single “I Get High (On Your Memory)” was first released in late 1976. It was co-written by lyricist Pam Sawyer and Marilyn McLeod, the songwriting duo who co-wrote “Love Hangover” for Diana Ross. McLeod was Alice Coltrane’s sister, and her grandson is the producer Flying Lotus. The song has been sampled many times by hip hop artists, including Madlib and Freddie Gibbs, and served as the cornerstone for Styles P’s debut single “Good Times,” released in 2002.

Happy 81st Birthday to the great Freda Payne.

#soul #disco #FredaPayne