During the early to mid-'60s, Freda established herself as a jazz vocalist, touring the country with Quincy Jones and in 1969 she signed on to the Invictus label (headed by longtime friends/former Motown songwriters/producers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland) and issued the fine album Band of Gold that she scored her breakthrough hit single, the album's title track which peaked in the U.S. and topped the chart in the U.K. in 1970. During her long career, she has also made countless appearances on TV and in film.

In 2009 Freda appeared on American Idol and sang "Band Of Gold" and in 2010, Freda joined Kanye West, Jordan Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Barbra Streisand and many more on We Are The World for Haiti Relief.

In 2011 Freda sang a duet with Cliff Richard called ‘Saving A Life’ from his ‘Soulicious’ album and she toured England with Cliff in the fall of 2011.

This past April 2018 Freda returned to the stage with glowing reviews in ‘Ella: First Lady of Song’ at the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, Delaware.

Freda Payne’s prolific career will continue to flourish and prosper for as long as her creative juices keep flowing. Her indelible mark on the music industry is far from over.