Odie Payne
Encyclopedia
Odie Payne was an American
Chicago blues
drummer
. Over his long career Payne worked with a range of musician
s including Sonny Boy Williamson II
, Muddy Waters
, Jimmy Rogers
, Eddie Taylor
, Little Johnny Jones
, Tampa Red
, Otis Rush
, Yank Rachell
, Sleepy John Estes
, Little Brother Montgomery
, Memphis Minnie
, Magic Sam
, Chuck Berry
, and Buddy Guy
.
, Illinois
. Payne was interested in music from an early age, and did not restrict himself to a narrow musical genre. He studied music in high school
and later drafted into the Army
, but upon his discharge
, Payne graduated from the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. By 1949 Payne was playing along with the pianist
Little Johnny Jones
, before meeting Tampa Red
and enlisting into his band. The association lasted for around three years before, in 1952, Payne and Jones joined Elmore James
's band, the Broomdusters.
Payne played with the Broomdusters for another three years, although his recording
association with them lasted through to 1959. In total he recorded thirty one singles
with them, including "The Sky Is Crying
". By this time Payne had become a favored session musician
appearing through that decade on the Cobra
label
, with Otis Rush
, Magic Sam
, and Buddy Guy
. His playing also can be heard on various Chess
records
, including the Chuck Berry
hit single
s "Nadine", "You Never Can Tell
", "Promised Land
" and 1964's "No Particular Place to Go
." All appeared on the Berry's 1982 compilation album
, The Great Twenty-Eight
.
Noted for his usage of the cowbell, bass drum pedal, and extended cymbal
and drum roll
s, Payne's double shuffle drumming technique was much copied and utilised by both Fred Below
and Sam Lay. The technique called for Payne to use both his hands to effect the shuffle effect.
Payne appears to have a songwriting
credit to his name for the song "Say Man," which was recorded by both Bo Diddley
and Willie Mabon
; although Payne's name certainly did not appear on every version published.
Odie Payne died in Chicago in March 1989, at the age of 62.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. Over his long career Payne worked with a range of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s including Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
, Eddie Taylor
Eddie Taylor
Eddie Taylor was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, United States, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to...
, Little Johnny Jones
Little Johnny Jones (pianist)
Little Johnny Jones was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, best known for his work with Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and Elmore James.-Life and career:Jones was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1924...
, Tampa Red
Tampa Red
Tampa Red , born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson Whittaker, was an American Chicago blues musician....
, Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, Yank Rachell
Yank Rachell
James "Yank" Rachell was an American country blues musician, dubbed an "elder statesman of the blues."-Career:...
, Sleepy John Estes
Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...
, Little Brother Montgomery
Little Brother Montgomery
Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer....
, Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
, Magic Sam
Magic Sam
Samuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American Chicago blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, and Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
.
Biography
He was born Odie Payne Jr. in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Payne was interested in music from an early age, and did not restrict himself to a narrow musical genre. He studied music in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and later drafted into the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, but upon his discharge
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
, Payne graduated from the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. By 1949 Payne was playing along with the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Little Johnny Jones
Little Johnny Jones (pianist)
Little Johnny Jones was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, best known for his work with Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and Elmore James.-Life and career:Jones was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1924...
, before meeting Tampa Red
Tampa Red
Tampa Red , born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson Whittaker, was an American Chicago blues musician....
and enlisting into his band. The association lasted for around three years before, in 1952, Payne and Jones joined Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
's band, the Broomdusters.
Payne played with the Broomdusters for another three years, although his recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
association with them lasted through to 1959. In total he recorded thirty one singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
with them, including "The Sky Is Crying
The Sky Is Crying (song)
"The Sky Is Crying" is a song that has become a blues standard. The song was written and recorded by Elmore James in 1959. Called "one of his most durable compositions", "The Sky Is Crying" became a R&B record chart hit and has been interpreted and recorded by numerous artists.-Original song:"The...
". By this time Payne had become a favored session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
appearing through that decade on the Cobra
Cobra Records
Cobra Records was an independent record label that operated from 1956 to 1959. The label was important for launching the recording careers of Chicago blues artists Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy and "signaled the arrival of a new generation of [blues] artists and a new sound .....
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, with Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, Magic Sam
Magic Sam
Samuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American Chicago blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
, and Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
. His playing also can be heard on various Chess
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, including the Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s "Nadine", "You Never Can Tell
You Never Can Tell (song)
"You Never Can Tell" also occasionally referred to as "C'est La Vie" is a rock and roll song by Chuck Berry. It was composed while he was in prison for intent to commit a sex crime. The song was originally released in 1964 on the album St...
", "Promised Land
Promised Land (song)
"Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Chuck Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in 1965, it was Berry's first single issued following his prison term...
" and 1964's "No Particular Place to Go
No Particular Place To Go
"No Particular Place to Go" is a song by American rock and roll icon Chuck Berry, released as a single by Chess Records in May 1964 and was released on the album St...
." All appeared on the Berry's 1982 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Great Twenty-Eight
The Great Twenty-Eight
The Great Twenty-Eight is a greatest hits album by classic rock and roller Chuck Berry, released in 1982. In 2003, the album was ranked number 21 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the second highest ranking compilation on the list, after Elvis Presley's The...
.
Noted for his usage of the cowbell, bass drum pedal, and extended cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
and drum roll
Drum roll
A drum roll is a technique the percussionist employs to produce a sustained sound on a percussion instrument. Rolls are used by composers to sustain the sound and create other effects, the most common of which is using a roll to build anticipation.- Snare drum roll :The most common snare drum roll...
s, Payne's double shuffle drumming technique was much copied and utilised by both Fred Below
Fred Below
Fred Below was a leading blues drummer, best known for his innovative work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. Nobody laid more of the Chicago blues rhythmic foundations, particularly its archetypal backbeat, than Fred Below.-Career:He was born in Chicago, and started playing drums...
and Sam Lay. The technique called for Payne to use both his hands to effect the shuffle effect.
Payne appears to have a songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
credit to his name for the song "Say Man," which was recorded by both Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
and Willie Mabon
Willie Mabon
Willie Mabon was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist.-Career:Born Willie James Mabon, and brought up in Hollywood, Memphis, Tennessee, he had become known as a singer and pianist by the time he moved to Chicago in 1942. He formed a group, the Blues Rockers, and in 1949 began recording...
; although Payne's name certainly did not appear on every version published.
Odie Payne died in Chicago in March 1989, at the age of 62.
