From his early days in Athens, young Jackie Payne found his voice in his father’s gospel choir, setting the stage for a remarkable musical legacy.
R&B singer Jackie Payne spent his adolescent years hanging out with his harmonica playing uncle, Neal Pattman, fellow Athens Music Walk of Fame star. Payne went on to start his professional singing career at just 13 years old with the Allen Swing Band based out of Atlanta, and he would later join The Serenaders. In 1965, Jackie Payne released his first regional hit “Go Go Train” on the Jetstream label, which lead to him being a tour opener for Otis Redding and James Brown. In 1993, Jackie Payne’s collaborative album with Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame member Johnny Otis was nominated for a Grammy. Payne released his latest album, I Saw the Blues, in 2015.