The Paynes trace their origins back to 1972 when Mike Payne started singing at the Glorious Church of God in Grafton, Ohio. After Mike’s brothers Mark (drums) and Keith (bass guitar/vocals) and wife Loreen joined the group, they became known as the Glorious Gospel Heirs. Mike began writing songs in the late 1970s. Groups like the Singing Cookes and Cathedrals recorded his music. "If God Before Us," "God Delivers Again" and "That Same Spirit" are examples of songs written by Payne that were reco...
The Paynes trace their origins back to 1972 when Mike Payne started singing at the Glorious Church of God in Grafton, Ohio. After Mike’s brothers Mark (drums) and Keith (bass guitar/vocals) and wife Loreen joined the group, they became known as the Glorious Gospel Heirs.
Mike began writing songs in the late 1970s. Groups like the Singing Cookes and Cathedrals recorded his music. "If God Before Us," "God Delivers Again" and "That Same Spirit" are examples of songs written by Payne that were recorded by other groups. Before the group signed with Windchime Records around 1981, they changed their name to The Paynes.
The Paynes’ first album on Windchime was titled Ready Or Not. It released in early 1982 and featured their first chart song by the same title. The group released their second album later that year titled It's Out of this World. The title song garnered them their first number one song on the Singing News chart. It stayed at the top of the charts for four months in late 1983 and early 1984. I'm a Jesus Fan released in 1984. The songs "Jesus Fan" and "The Conversation" charted in the Top Ten. Both songs were also made into concept videos, which was trend setting for Southern Gospel at the time.
In April 1985, the group recorded what was probably their most popular album, Fire on Stage...Live, in Dayton, Ohio. It garnered them another four month run at the number one position on the Singing News charts with "Angels Step Back." Their next album Rapture also produced several popular songs including "Just in Case of Rapture" and "Waiting for the Son to Shine." This album was released on the short-lived record label called Eagle One. The group then signed with Riversong and released two recordings, This is War (1988) and God Wants You (1989).
The Paynes disbanded in the early 1990s. Mike Payne traveled the next few years as a soloist and had some success with songs like "I'm Still Dancin',” "The Lord Himself,” and "Workin' Like the Devil for the Lord.” He formed a new version of the Paynes with his wife and daughter during the late 1990s. They released two recordings on the Daywind label, Storms and Made New. The family got back together for a reunion concert and released a live recording titled 30th Anniversary Reunion in 2001. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
