Payne was born in Detroit, Michigan,[4] and grew up listening to jazz singers, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.

[4] In 1963, she moved to New York City and worked with many entertainers, including Quincy Jones, Pearl Bailey, and Bill Cosby.

[4] She added theatrical credits to her repertoire: she understudied Leslie Uggams for the Broadway show Hallelujah Baby in 1967,[5] and appeared with the Equity Theatre in a production of Lost in the Stars.

33 in the UK at the end of 1970; "You Brought the Joy", and the Vietnam War protest song "Bring the Boys Home" (U.S.

[11] In 1981, she briefly hosted her own talk show Today's Black Woman,[6] and also found work acting in different movies, Broadway and other theatre productions throughout the 1980s.

[8] In 1990, she recorded three songs for Ian Levine's UK Motorcity label: another remake of "Band of Gold", "Memories and Souvenirs", and "Only Minutes Away".

[4] She also continued her acting career appearing in the films, Private Obsession (1995), Ragdoll (1999) as the character Gran,[14] Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), and Fire & Ice (made-for-TV, 2001).

[4] In early 2001, Payne released a new album entitled Come See About Me for the Volt Records label (the title track is a remake of the Supremes' hit).

[4] In late 2002, Payne appeared with many R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the PBS series American Soundtrack.

[16] In February 2010, Payne joined Kanye West, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Barbra Streisand and many more on We Are the World for Haiti Relief.

[17] In 2011, Payne recorded a duet, "Saving A Life", with British pop star Sir Cliff Richard for inclusion on his Soulicious album.

[23] In 1974, she made the cover of Jet after she was appointed a Dame of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem by the Prince of Rumania.