Odie Payne, Jr.
(August 27, 1926 – March 1, 1989)
Blues drummer, Odie Payne, Jr., was interested in music from an early age, and did not restrict himself to a narrow musical genre. He studied music in high school 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. He played with them until 1955, 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 singles "Nadine", "You Never Can Tell", "Promised Land" and 1964's "No Particular Place to Go." Noted for his usage of the cowbell, bass drum pedal, and extended cymbal and drum rolls, Payne's double shuffle drumming technique was much copied.