Consummate pianist and arranger, Benny Payne played with greats like
Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Chu Berry, and Fats Waller, but his
longest collaboration was with the lounge singer Billy Daniels; during
the 1950s, they were among the first African-American entertainers to
appear on national television. In 1964, Payne appeared on Broadway in a
revival of "Golden Boy" with Daniels and Sammy Davis, Jr.