Sugar Pie DeSanto
Born Umpeylia Marcema Balinton, this artist was given her stage name as well as her recording debut by rhythm and blues ubermensch Johnny Otis. He dubbed her "Little Miss Sugar Pie" in 1955, and not because she had a sweet tooth or liked to bake. "While we were in the studio he named me Sugar Pie," DeSanto recalled in an interview, "Because I was so little. I wore a size three shoe and I weighed about 85 pounds. I was very tiny." She's a half-pint in size, true, but in talent or voice assuredly not. Although typecast as a blues singer, she also takes care of business on the soul end of things and is a convincing jazz vocal stylist as well. That would be enough to gain most singers a reasonable slice of glory, but DeSanto also happens to be a hilarious comedienne, a show-stopping dancer, and a superb and highly original songwriter whose compositions have been cut by Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Little Milton, Bobby McClure, Minnie Riperton, Jesse James, the Dells, and the Whispers.
Otis discovered her performing at the Ellis Theater, the venue which she feels was sort of a birthing ground for her musical style. Otis dropped by one of the venue's regular talent shows only to observe DeSanto walking off with first prize. He promptly offered her a contract to come to Los Angeles to cut her first record ever. From the late '50s onward she performed regularly at rhythm & blues havens such as the Apollo in New York, the Regal in Chicago, and the Howard in Washington, D.C. At the Apollo she made quite an impression on the so-called "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, leading to her becoming his opening act for two years.
In 1964, DeSanto was the only female performer on a touring American Folk Blues Festival bill with a lineup that would make a blues fan soak the concert program with drool, including Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Clifton James, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Sonny Boy Williamson II, also known as Rice Miller. She has written some 100 songs and prefers to perform her own material. On a series of four excellent compact discs on the Jasman label, only two songs are not written by her. Classic Sugar Pie, released in 1997, was the first full-length live recording by this artist whose on-stage workout has always totally bypassed her record releases in terms of creativity and intensity. This recording reveals that advancing age isn't stopping her from continuing to expand her talent base: she branches out into country & western.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Classic Sugar Pie
Soul - Released by Jasman Records - SUGO Music Group on 20 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In The Basement: The Chess Recordings
Pop - Released by Geffen on 26 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Idoles Américaines Du Rhythm and Blues: Sugar Pie DeSanto, Vol. 1
Blues - Released by Mpm on 1 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Remastered)
R&B - Released by Master Tape Records on 18 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Down in the Basement
Blues - Released by Lucas RecordsDigital on 15 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All Blues, Sugar Pie Desanto
Blues - Released by LucasRecords on 9 Nov 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sugar Is Salty
Soul - Released by Jasman Records - SUGO Music Group on 20 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Feelin's Too Strong / Be Happy (Digital 45)
Soul - Released by Essential Media Group on 17 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Refined Sugar
Soul - Released by Jasman Records - SUGO Music Group on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Little Bit of Soul (1957-1962)
Soul - Released by Jasmine Records on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jasman Presents: Miss Sugar Pie Desanto
Soul - Released by Jasman Records - SUGO Music Group on 20 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Sugar Pie DeSanto - Platinum Selection
R&B - Released by Retro Music Box on 18 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Open Your Heart: 1958-1962
Soul - Released by Poppydisc on 24 Mar 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sugar Pie DeSanto - Vintage Sounds
R&B - Released by Retro Music Box on 17 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sugar Pie DeSanto - The Selection
Soul - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 3 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo