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.