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Sugar Pie DeSanto has been called a great R&B singer as
you will hear on her three CDs, "Sugar Is Salty" (1993), "Classic
Sugar Pie" (1997) and "A Slice of Pie" (1999),
all on the Jasman Records label. Yet, DeSanto, born Umpeylia
Marsema Balinton in San Francisco, who was dubbed "Little
Miss Sugar Pie" by bandleader Johnny Otis when she made
her recording debut with him for Federal Records in 1955, is
far more than a great blues singer. She's also a first-class
soul. singer, a commanding jazz stylist, an uproarious comedienne,
a show-stopping dancer and an expert tunesmith.
In 1959 Sugar Pie recorded "I Want To Know" on Bob
Geddins, Sr.'s Veltone label and which rose to the No. 3 slot
in Billboard Magazine charts and earned her a contract with Chess
Records and a nationwide tour. At that time, Chess Records artists
included Etta James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and
Bo Diddley.
She made over twenty appearances at the Apollo in New York
and appeared regularly at The Regal in Chicago and The Howard
in Washington, D.C. It was at the Apollo where she was spotted
by "The Godfather of Soul", James Brown and became
his dynamic opening act for the next two years.
Over the years she has written in excess of 100 tunes two of
which she recorded as a duo with Etta James ("Do I Make Myself Clear" and "In the
Basement" reissued by MCA, the latter being included in the soundtrack of
the 1999 movie "The Hurricane"). Other songs of hers
have been recorded by Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Little Milton,
Bobby McClure, Minnie Riperton, Jesse James, The Dells and The
Whispers.
DeSanto was the only female act on the bill with the
American Folk Blues Festival that toured Europe in 1964. Other
headliners included Willie Dixon, John Henry Barbee, Sleepy John
Estes, Clifton James, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Lightnin
Hopkins and the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson. This Lippmann
and Rau Production was publicized as "featuring the best Blues Artists of America."
The song "Hello, San Francisco" is the latest chapter
in a prolific career that has taken Sugar Pie from her hometown
to Chicago (where she wrote and recorded many classic slides
for Checker) and back again. Her latest albums magnificently
demonstrate that she is one of the most talented and versatile
artista that has ever come out of the San Francisco Bay Area
-- or anywhere, for that matter.
While Sugar Pie has made some memorable records over the years
such as "I
Want to Know", "Slippin' Mules" and "Soulful Dress",
it is her live performance that people particularly never forget.
DeSanto's awards include "Best Female Live Blues Performer" from Canada's
Real Blues magazine in 1997 and 1998, a 1999 Bay Area Music Award for "Outstanding
Blues Artist" and was honored in 2003 as a Blues Legend by the California
Music Awards. She was also a contributor to the book Harlem of the West - The
San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era by Elizabeth Pepin and Lewis Watts.
"Saturday. singer Sugar Pie DeSanto, who scored only a
handful of minor hits in the early 1960s, proved that at the
age of 62 she has even more raw talent and sex appeal than most
popular female vocalists half her age. The 4-foot-11 dynamo took
the stage, kicked of her shoes and immediately won the crowd
over with her earthy stage presence and powerful voice. Performing
her own song, "Slip-In Mules" (written as a woman's
answer to "High-Heal Sneakers"), DeSanto exuberantly
jumped down from the raised Main Stage, boogied in the snow-fenced
photographers' area for a moment and then bolted into the crowd
to pump the energy level of the audience even higher." St.
Louis Post
For more information, visit www.jasmanrecords.com/ |
