Scherrie Payne

b. 14 November 1944, Detroit, Michigan, USA. The sister of soul singer Freda Payne, Scherrie forsook her teaching position at Detroit’s Grayling Observatory to join the Glass House. This short-lived band enjoyed a series of minor US hits, the most notable of which was ‘Crumbs Off The Table’, a US R&B Top 10 entry in 1969. Several unsuccessful solo singles followed upon the unit’s demise, but Payne achieved a higher profile upon replacing Jean Terrell in the Supremes. She remained with the trio between 1973 and 1977, contributing to The Supremes (1975), High Energy (1976), and Mary, Scherrie & Susaye (1976). After the break-up of the Supremes, Payne made one unsuccessful album with fellow ex-Supreme Susaye Greene, in 1979, before resuming her own career with the single ‘Incredible’. She enjoyed club hits in the early 80s with ‘I’m Not In Love’ and ‘One Night Only’, and in 1986 recorded a solo album for the Superstar International Records label, which included the minor R&B hit ‘Incredible’ (with Phillip Ingram). The same year she joined Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence and toured as the Former Ladies Of The Supremes (FLOS), a project that proved surprisingly popular and led to the trio finding regular work on the cabaret circuit over the next three decades. In addition to her work with FLOS, Payne recorded several disco sides with UK producer Ian Levine in 1989 on the Motor City label, and at the start of the new millennium joined Diana Ross for the poorly received Return To Love hits tour.