Born in New York on October 16, 1935, to a Filipino father and an African-American mother, Peylia Marsema Balinton (Sugar Pie DeSanto) made a career in rhythm'n'blues, scoring a hit in 1961 with the song "I Want to Know". She grew up in San Francisco and rubbed shoulders with Etta James in her youth, when singer and bandleader Johnny Otis discovered her in 1955 and cast her in his revue, giving her the nickname "Sugar Pie" in the process. In 1958, she met and married Alvin "Pee Wee" Parham, with whom she formed a duo that recorded two singles. After touring with James in 1959-1960, she recorded her husband's song "I Want to Know", which she performed alone for Velvetone Records. The radio-programmed song proved to be a national hit, reaching #4 on the R&B charts in 1961. Moving to Chicago, she signed with Chess Records and enjoyed a string of hits, including "Slip-In Mules", "Soulful Dress" and "Use What You Got" (1964), then, in duet with Etta James, "Do I Make Myself Clear" (1965) and "In the Basement - Part 1" (1966). Her song-and-dance show toured as far afield as Europe, but subsequent singles such as "Go Go Power" failed to achieve the success she had hoped for, either with Chess or other labels by the end of the decade. The singer settled in Oakland and continued to perform in the San Francisco Bay Area, recording the album Sugar Is Salty in 1993, followed by A Slice of Pie in 2000. In 2006, her apartment was destroyed in a fire that claimed the life of her second husband, Jesse Earl Davis. Honored with a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 2008, Sugar Pie DeSanto received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Goldie Awards in 2009, and an Arhoolie Foundation Award in 2010, before being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2024. On December 20, 2024, Sugar Pie DeSanto died at the age of 89.
