Payne was born James L. Payne in Garrard County, Kentucky. He and his sister, Imogene Payne (born 1934), sang together when they were five and six years old. He sang and played the mandolin 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 on WHIR in Danville.\n', '

In 1951, Payne went on the road playing bluegrass music with Charlie Monroe for a time. After he returned home, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was drafted into the Army 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 and The Strangers. Payne also was on recordings with Hank Snow, Tanya Tucker and Leon Russell.\n', '

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.\n', '

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