Jody Payne (January 11, 1936 – August 10, 2013) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

musician and singer. He is best known as a longtime guitarist in

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

's band, '' The Family''.

Early life

Payne was born James L. Payne in

Garrard County, Kentucky Garrard County ( ) is a county located east-central Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 16,953. Its county seat is Lancaster. The county was formed in 1796 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from ...

. He and his sister, Imogene Payne (born 1934), sang together when they were five and six years old. He sang and played the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

for Imogene's first year graduation and that was the beginning of his music career. His next performance was when he was about 10 or 11, they sang with his father on a

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

on WHIR in Danville.

Professional career

In 1951, Payne went on the road playing

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

with

Charlie Monroe Charlie Monroe (July 4, 1903 – September 27, 1975) was an American country and bluegrass music guitarist. Charlie performed with his brother, Bill, as part of the Monroe Brothers. He later formed his own group, Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky ...

for a time. After he returned home, the family moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio. He was drafted into the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1958 and served two years. He was discharged in 1960 and, in the spring of 1961, went to Detroit, Michigan and started playing at the West Fort Tavern. He then toured with

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

and The Strangers. Payne also was on recordings with

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts betw ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

and

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

. Payne first met Willie Nelson in about 1962 in Detroit. Nelson was playing bass with Ray Price. Payne started working with Nelson in November 1973 and retired in 2008 from his band. Payne appeared in television and film including:

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Soundstage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

, Farm Aid '86, '97 and The Tenth Anniversary Concert,

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

, and Honeysuckle Rose. The final recording Payne played on was the 2012 Dallas Moore Band Live Album "Hank To Thank: Live at Historic Herzog Studio."

Personal life

Payne and country singer

Sammi Smith Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith (August 5, 1943 – February 12, 2005) was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 crossover hit " Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. Sh ...

married, but later divorced. They had one son, musician/singer/actor

Waylon Payne Waylon Malloy Payne (born April 5, 1972) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of the country singer Sammi Smith and guitarist Jody Payne. Early life Payne was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of guita ...

(born 1972). He and his second wife, Vicki, were married in 1980 and lived in

Stapleton, Alabama Stapleton is a small unincorporated community in northern Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, with a population of 51 It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area. Stapleton lies along U.S. Route 31 and State Route 59 and has ...

. They had a son, Austin Payne (born 1981). Payne remained active as a musician until his death. Payne died August 10, 2013, at a hospital from cardiac problems. He was 77.

References

External links

*
Featured Family Member: Jody Payne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Jody 1936 births 2013 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from Kentucky People from Baldwin County, Alabama People from Garrard County, Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Guitarists from Alabama Guitarists from Kentucky 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Alabama