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.