Freda Payne discusses new show 'A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald' coming to Bucks County Playhouse

NEW HOPE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- An award-winning artist is singing from her icon's songbook.

Freda Payne is coming to the Bucks County Playhouse next week for a 10-show run called "A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald."

"Anybody that loves good music, the Great American songbooks, Bebop music, they will love my show," Payne said.

Payne earned two gold records at the start of her career in the early 70s.

Her first hit, Band of Gold, sent her soaring.

In her new show, she's saluting her musical icon, Ella Fitzgerald.

"She was my favorite singer of all time, from the time I was 12 years old," Payne says. "Ella is the Queen of Jazz and the best scatterer of all time."

People compliment Payne on how she taps into that technique.

"No one will ever be as good as Ella," she said. "Ella was the boss."

Payne said this show is a "songfest" of Ella's best, a tribute to her life and her stories.

This is Payne's first time performing at the Playhouse, and she can't wait to get back in front of a live crowd.

"It'll be good to get back and get back in the saddle again, start doing what I feel I do best, and receive the love from the audience," she said. "I'm just thrilled because I feel like this is my calling. This is my calling."

Freda Payne's "Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald" is at the Bucks County Playhouse from August 26 through September 5.

After each performance, Payne is also signing copies of her new album called "Let There Be Love."