John William Payne (November 29, 1925 – February 10, 2018), better known as "Sunshine" Sonny Payne, was an American radio host, who had presented blues music as the host of the King Biscuit Time radio show on KFFA in Helena, Arkansas from 1951 until his death.
Later that year, he lied about his age and joined the U.S. Army, going on to serve in the 75th Signal Battalion in the Aleutian Islands and New Guinea.
[1] He left the armed forces in 1948 in San Antonio, Texas, and joined with guitarist friend Bud Davis to accompany Tex Ritter on tour.
The show's reputation grew over the years to international proportions, enhanced by Sonny Payne's off-the-cuff patter.
[3] Payne received the George Foster Peabody Award in 1992, for outstanding achievement in the field of radio and broadcast journalism.