Happy Birthday SCHERRIE PAYNE An American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature of only five-foot-two, she is sometimes referred to as the little lady with the big voice. Prior to her tenure with The Supremes, Scherrie Payne was the lead singer for a group known as The Glass House. Other group members included Ty Hunter (later with The Originals), Pearl Jones, and Larry Mitchell. This was a group signed to the Invictus Label, formed by former Motown songwriters Eddie and Brian Holland, and Lamont Dozier. Signed to the label in 1969, they were signed among other popular acts of the early 1970s, including Freda Payne (Scherries older sister who saw a #1 hit in 1970 with Band Of Gold), and Honey Cone, who saw a #1 hit with Want Ads. In an ironic twist of fate, Want Ads was originally recorded by Glass House with Scherrie on lead vocals. The Payne sisters together made a new version, but did not like the song and when Honey Cones lead vocalist Edna Wright walked by in the studio they suggested she should sing it. Unfortunately, The Glass House did not meet this same success. The group saw their biggest hit in 1969 with the Payne-led track Crumbs Off The Table which managed the Billboard top 10. Between the years of 1969 and 1972, The Glass House released 2 albums and 9 singles, including Scherries solo track, V.I.P. However, they never really repeated the success of their first single release. They quietly disbanded in 1972, after the release of their album, Thanks, I Needed That. As a new Supreme in an era when their popularity was waning, Payne often remained quiet during interviews with the group; mainly because four years later, reporters were still asking about Diana Ross. When she arrived, original Supreme Mary Wilson and 1960s Supreme Cindy Birdsong were the other two members of the group. Payne contributed powerful vocals and attitude to the group, with Birdsong and Wilson backing her up very well. Payne gained recognition for her vocals in Hes My Man taken from the album The Supremes. An accomplished songwriter, Payne was never able to write any special material for The Supremes, which reportedly disappointed her. Payne began to realize that Motown didnt really care as much about The Supremes as they had in the past, due to the changing musical tastes of the era and due to the fact that they were working to further the solo career of Diana Ross. Paynes contributions did enable The Supremes to enter the disco era, however, with such dance hits as Im Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking from the High Energy, Youre My Driving Wheel, Let Yourself Go, and Love I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good. While each of these disco gems landed in the Billboard Dance Top Five, they didnt perform as well on the pop and R&B charts. The single Im Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking was a #1 hit on the Disco charts, rose in the Billboard Top 40 to #25 on the R&B chart, and #40 on the Pop chart. The final three Supremes (Scherrie, Mary, and Susaye) officially disbanded in 1977 with a farewell concert in London, with Supremes founding member Mary Wilson announcing that she would embark on a solo career. Motown decided to officially retire The Supremes so Payne and Greene recorded an album together on the Motown label, Partners, under the name Scherrie and Susaye in 1979. The album received mixed reviews and the two decided to part in order to embark on solo projects. Prior to the release of Partners, Payne released a solo single for Motown called Fly b/w When I Look at Your Face in late 1977. In 1986, Payne joined former Supremes Jean Terrell and briefly, Cindy Birdsong, to form The Former Ladies Of The Supremes or FLOS. When Cindy left to pursue an acting career, Lynda Laurence took her place and they renamed themselves Jean, Scherrie, & Lynda of the Supremes, recording the excellent single Were Back, featuring Ali-Ollie Woodson from The Temptations. Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, they traveled the world upholding The Supremes legacy. When Terrell departed, the group continued with Laurences sister Sundray Tucker, who like Lynda was a former member of Stevie Wonders back-up group, Wonder Love, and this lineup worked prolifically with British record producer Steve Weaver, resulting in a catalogue of 40 new recordings, some of them re-recordings of the Supremes original hits. Payne and Laurence continue to tour under the FLOS name with third new member Freddi Poole, who joined the group in 1996 replacing Sundray Tucker. In 2000, Payne and Laurence backed Diana Ross on the Return To Love Supremes reunion tour, in which Diana allowed each of them to lead one of the classic Supremes songs. The FLOS celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2006 (with Birdsong, Tucker and Susaye Greene in the audience),[ In September 2009, Joyce Vincent, formerly of Tony Orlando & Dawn, Joined Scherrie and Lynda replacing Freddi Poole. Happy Birthday SCHERRIE PAYNE!!! An American singer. The younger sister of singer/actress Freda Payne, Scherrie Payne was the co-lead singer of The Supremes from 1973 to 1977, after Jean Terrell left the group in the fall of 1973. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature of only five-foot-two, she is sometimes referred to as the little lady with the big voice. Prior to her tenure with The Supremes, Scherrie Payne was the lead singer for a group known as The Glass House. Other group members included Ty Hunter (later with The Originals), Pearl Jones, and Larry Mitchell. This was a group signed to the Invictus Label, formed by former Motown songwriters Eddie and Brian Holland, and Lamont Dozier. Signed to the label in 1969, they were signed among other popular acts of the early 1970s, including Freda Payne (Scherries older sister who saw a #1 hit in 1970 with Band Of Gold), and Honey Cone, who saw a #1 hit with Want Ads. In an ironic twist of fate, Want Ads was originally recorded by Glass House with Scherrie on lead vocals. The Payne sisters together made a new version, but did not like the song and when Honey Cones lead vocalist Edna Wright walked by in the studio they suggested she should sing it. Unfortunately, The Glass House did not meet this same success. The group saw their biggest hit in 1969 with the Payne-led track Crumbs Off The Table which managed the Billboard top 10. Between the years of 1969 and 1972, The Glass House released 2 albums and 9 singles, including Scherries solo track, V.I.P. However, they never really repeated the success of their first single release. They quietly disbanded in 1972, after the release of their album, Thanks, I Needed That. As a new Supreme in an era when their popularity was waning, Payne often remained quiet during interviews with the group; mainly because four years later, reporters were still asking about Diana Ross. When she arrived, original Supreme Mary Wilson and 1960s Supreme Cindy Birdsong were the other two members of the group. Payne contributed powerful vocals and attitude to the group, with Birdsong and Wilson backing her up very well. Payne gained recognition for her vocals in Hes My Man taken from the album The Supremes. An accomplished songwriter, Payne was never able to write any special material for The Supremes, which reportedly disappointed her. Payne began to realize that Motown didnt really care as much about The Supremes as they had in the past, due to the changing musical tastes of the era and due to the fact that they were working to further the solo career of Diana Ross. Paynes contributions did enable The Supremes to enter the disco era, however, with such dance hits as Im Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking from the High Energy, Youre My Driving Wheel, Let Yourself Go, and Love I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good. While each of these disco gems landed in the Billboard Dance Top Five, they didnt perform as well on the pop and R&B charts. The single Im Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking was a #1 hit on the Disco charts, rose in the Billboard Top 40 to #25 on the R&B chart, and #40 on the Pop chart. The final three Supremes (Scherrie, Mary, and Susaye) officially disbanded in 1977 with a farewell concert in London, with Supremes founding member Mary Wilson announcing that she would embark on a solo career. Motown decided to officially retire The Supremes so Payne and Greene recorded an album together on the Motown label, Partners, under the name Scherrie and Susaye in 1979. The album received mixed reviews and the two decided to part in order to embark on solo projects. Prior to the release of Partners, Payne released a solo single for Motown called Fly b/w When I Look at Your Face in late 1977. In 1986, Payne joined former Supremes Jean Terrell and briefly, Cindy Birdsong, to form The Former Ladies Of The Supremes or FLOS. When Cindy left to pursue an acting career, Lynda Laurence took her place and they renamed themselves Jean, Scherrie, & Lynda of the Supremes, recording the excellent single Were Back, featuring Ali-Ollie Woodson from The Temptations. Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, they traveled the world upholding The Supremes legacy. When Terrell departed, the group continued with Laurences sister Sundray Tucker, who like Lynda was a former member of Stevie Wonders back-up group, Wonder Love, and this lineup worked prolifically with British record producer Steve Weaver, resulting in a catalogue of 40 new recordings, some of them re-recordings of the Supremes original hits. Payne and Laurence continue to tour under the FLOS name with third new member Freddi Poole, who joined the group in 1996 replacing Sundray Tucker. In 2000, Payne and Laurence backed Diana Ross on the Return To Love Supremes reunion tour, in which Diana allowed each of them to lead one of the classic Supremes songs. The FLOS celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2006 (with Birdsong, Tucker and Susaye Greene in the audience),[ In September 2009, Joyce Vincent, formerly of Tony Orlando & Dawn, Joined Scherrie and Lynda replacing Freddi Poole.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:54:56 +0000
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