Background
She was born to an African American mother, a concert pianist. And a Filipino father.
She was born to an African American mother, a concert pianist. And a Filipino father.
She spent most of her early life in San Francisco, California, where she moved with her family at a young age. She stands 4" 11". Johnny Otis discovered DeSanto in 1955 and did some touring with The Johnny Otis Revue. Otis gave her her stage name.
From 1959 to 1960, she toured with The James Brown Revue.
In 1960, DeSanto rose to national prominence when her single "I Want to Know" reached number four on Billboard"s Hot Rhythm & Blues chart. Among her recordings at Chess were "Slip-In Mules", "Use What You Got", "Soulful Dress" (her biggest hit at Chess), and "I Don"t Wanna Fuss".
DeSanto participated in the American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe in 1964, and her lively performances, including wild dancing and standing back flips, were widely appreciated. In 1965 DeSanto, under the name Peylia Parham, began a writing collaboration with Shena DeMell.
lieutenant was followed up by a 1966 DeSanto-James duet, "In the Basement".
DeSanto"s next song, "Go Go Power", did not chart, and DeSanto and Chess parted ways. Sugar Pie DeSanto kept on writing songs and recorded for a few more labels without much success. She eventually moved back to the Bay Area, settling in Oakland.
Though it had often been said that her stage performances far surpassed her studio recordings, a full-length live recording, Classic Sugar Pie, was not released until 1997.
DeSanto was given a Bay Area Music Award in 1999 for best female blues singer. In September 2008, she was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.