Fil-Am R&B crooner staying strong after 60 years in the industry

Johnny Otis, Little Richard, Big Mama Thornton. These are familiar names to any Filipino rhythm and blues fan. However, very few may know of a Filipino-American gem who up to this day still sashays through the same stadiums that featured the aforementioned greats.

Born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton, Sugar Pie DeSanto has a career spanning 60 years in the R&B scene. The 78-year-old still performs to this day, recently in Hell, Norway in 2013. She also does the rounds in various jazz halls in the United States.

From bitter gourd to sugar pie

Peliya might have been named after her Filipino father's mother, but her love for music was influenced by Alice Balington, her African-American mother.

Growing up in San Francisco, she got hooked into dancing and singing, even forming a group with sister Francesca and Jamesetta Hawkins, who would later be known as Etta James, a name given to her by American singer Johnny Otis. [See story.]

DeSanto herself received a new name from Otis when he discovered her in a San Francisco talent contest. She was named "Little Miss Sugar Pie" for her small stature, with her needing to stand on a phone book to reach the microphone during recording sessions. [See story.]

After recording a few singles and performing with the Johnny Otis revue, the singer became the opening act of the "Godfather of Soul," James Brown's own revue for two years. [See story.]

Backflips and high notes

With husband Pee Wee Kingsley, whom she left shortly afterwards, she recorded her first hit "I Want To Know." The attention she received from the song led to her signing a $10,000 deal with Chess Records, the same company that recorded Ike Turner and Muddy Waters. [See story.]

Her time in Chess produced her biggest hits, "Soulful Dress" and "I Don't Want To Fuss." Her live shows also became must-see for fans, and even earned her a spot at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1964 as the only female performer in the festival.

With backflips and wild dancing, DeSanto's live shows were considered better than her records. Though she managed to record a few singles and a duet with James, her last record with Chess, "Go Go Power," signaled the split with the recording company.

Staying strong through fire and age

While she lost the contract, DeSanto continued to write and perform songs, with her husband Jesse Earl Davis staying with her for 27 years. Their union was shattered when Davis perished in a house fire in 2006.

"I think he saved my life and gave his own up. I think he really did. He shoved me down the whole hallway. I think he died trying to save my life," DeSanto told news site SF Gate.

At the time of his death, DeSanto had to take antidepressant medication and sleeping pills to sleep, and lived on assistance and handouts. Though her life was bleak, she eventually recovered, and even received a Pioneer Award during the 20th anniversary of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 2008.

A year in the life of Sugar Pie

Because of her high energy performances but rather low-key profile, Kanankan Balintagos (the filmmaker formerly known as Auraeus Solito) is set to make a documentary on DeSanto's life.

Tackling her experiences as a performer and a songwriter, her problems with Chess Records, and her current life, "BitterSweet" is asking interested parties to donate and sponsor to make the project a reality.

While there is still little certainty in the movie's release, an album by country singer Martina McBride will pay tribute to the R&B singer in form of a cover. Fellow singer Kelly Clarkson will duet with McBride for "In the Basement," originally recorded by DeSanto and Etta James in 1966.

Entertainment website Ace Showbiz wrote that track will be included in McBride's upcoming album, "Everlasting," to be released later this year. — KBK, GMA News