Sugar Pie Desanto July 18, 2012

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.