John William "Sonny" Payne was born John William Payne in Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas, on November 29, 1925. Payne joined the US Army and served in the Seventy-fifth Signal Battalion.
After his military service, he worked as a touring musician. However, "Sunshine" Sonny Payne is best known for his long-running blues radio show, King Biscuit Time, which he began hosting in 1951 at Helena radio station KFFA.
A Blues Hall of Fame inductee, he has earned numerous awards, including a Peabody Award, the Pioneer Award from the Arkansas Broadcaster's Association, and the Keeping Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation.
Payne passed away on February 9, 2018.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Sonny Payne and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Sonny Payne as a young boy on a pony
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Sonny Payne as a young boy (right) with his brother, Troy (left), and his dog, Ponte
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Daisy Swope, grandmother of Sonny Payne (right) with her son, Raymond (left), and daughter, Gladys (center), mother of Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: King Biscuit Entertainers: Sonny Boy Williamson, Sam Carr, Frank Frost
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: King Biscuit Entertainers: Sonny Boy Williamson, Frank Frost, Sam Carr
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: King Biscuit Entertainers: Robert Nighthawk, Houston Stackhouse Sr., James Peck Curtis
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: King Biscuit Entertainers on tour; J. M. Countiss Jr. Store; Modoc, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Photo of DJ "Sunshine" Sonny Payne at the turntables; on display at the Delta Cultural Center
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Sonny Payne receiving an award with his wife, Josephine (seated), and Jim Howe in background
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Photo of DJ "Sunshine" Sonny Payne at the control board; on display at the Delta Cultural Center
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Josephine, wife of Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Sonny Payne with Jim Howe presenting an award to Robert Lockwood Jr. at the 1986 King Biscuit Blues Festival
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Sonny Payne at a KFFA remote broadcast
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Sonny Payne with Robert Lockwood Jr. at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Sonny Payne with his wife, Josephine, receiving the Arkansas Broadcasters Association Award in 1993
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Sonny Payne playing upright bass
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Sonny Payne broadcasting from the Delta Cultural Center Depot, September 23, 1996
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Sonny Payne with Robert Lockwood Jr. and Pinetop Perkins
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: King Biscuit Time 13,000 shows cake
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Sonny Payne with (left to right) Robert Lockwood Jr., Jeanne Webster, and James Morgan, 2002
© Photo by Bob Vorel
#24: Sonny Payne broadcasting from the KFFA studio in the Delta Cultural Center, 2002
© Photo by Bob Vorel
#25: Sonny Payne and Governor Mike Huckabee
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Sonny Payne and Louis Smith broadcasting at the Christmas Parade, 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Mike Huckabee presents street sign to Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Sonny Payne at the control board in the KFFA studio
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and Sonny Payne
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Sonny Payne at the KFFA studio, 2009
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: "Sunshine" Sonny Payne in the KFFA studio; Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Sonny Payne at the Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Sonny Payne at the Delta Cultural Center; Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
