Sonny Payne facts for kids

Sonny Payne (born May 4, 1926 – died January 29, 1979) was a super talented American jazz drummer. He was most famous for playing drums with two very popular big bands: Count Basie's band and Harry James's band.

Sonny Payne's Early Life and Music Career

Sonny Payne's father was Chris Columbus, who was also a drummer for a musician named Wild Bill Davis. Sonny started learning drums early on with a teacher named Vic Berton.

In 1944, Sonny began playing music professionally in New York. He played with several bands, including the Dud and Paul Bascomb band, Hot Lips Page, and Earl Bostic. He also played with Tiny Grimes and Lucille Dixon.

Joining Count Basie's Famous Band

From 1950 to 1953, Sonny played with Erskine Hawkins' big band. He even led his own band for two years. But the biggest change in his career happened in late 1954. He joined Count Basie's big band.

Sonny was only asked to fill in for Basie's regular drummer, who was sick. But Sonny's drumming was so good! The audiences loved him, and the band loved him too. Because of this, he was hired to be Basie's permanent drummer right away. He stayed with the band for ten years, touring and recording many albums.

Count Basie himself wrote about Sonny in his autobiography. He said, "Sonny Payne came in there, and right away he touched off a new spark in that band, and we had to keep him." Basie also mentioned that it wasn't just Sonny's showmanship that made a difference. It was the amazing sound and feeling he brought to the music.

Playing with Other Jazz Legends

Sonny left Basie's band in late 1964. After that, he led his own music trio. He also toured with another jazz musician, Illinois Jacquet, in 1976.

Sonny was also the personal drummer for the famous singer Frank Sinatra. He played for Sinatra's live shows with Count Basie's big band in 1964, 1965, and 1966. If Sinatra sang with Basie in the 1960s, Sonny was always the drummer.

He rejoined Basie's band as the regular drummer for about eight months in 1965 and 1966. He also came back to Basie's band later from 1972 to 1974.

For most of the rest of his career, Sonny played with the Harry James big band. He joined them in December 1966.

Sonny Payne's Last Days

In December 1978, Sonny was overseas in Brazil with the Harry James band. When he came back to the United States in early January 1979, he got the flu. Sadly, he then got pneumonia and passed away at 52 years old.

Harry James, the bandleader, was very kind. He paid for all of Sonny's hospital bills and funeral costs.

Sonny Payne's Influence on Other Drummers

Sonny Payne was a big inspiration for many other drummers. Harold Jones, who was Count Basie's regular drummer from 1967 to 1972, said he learned a lot from Sonny. He said, "I am proud to say that I took everything that I could from Sonny Payne."

Butch Miles, another drummer for Count Basie, also looked up to Sonny. He said, "I took a lot of my cues and a lot of my drumming style from Sonny Payne." He even memorized Sonny's drumming tricks and used them in his own playing.

After Count Basie passed away, the band's leader, Frank Foster, was looking for a new drummer. He told a young drummer to go listen to all of Sonny Payne's recordings with Count Basie. He wanted the young drummer to learn from Sonny's amazing style.

Sonny Payne's Recorded Music

Sonny Payne played drums on many recordings. Most of his famous work was with the Count Basie Orchestra. Some of the albums he played on with Count Basie include:

• Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (1956)
• April in Paris (1956)
• The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957)
• Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (1962) with Frank Sinatra
• Sinatra at the Sands (1966) with Frank Sinatra

He also recorded with other jazz artists like Al Grey and Joe Newman.