Sugar Pie DeSanto: Down in the Basement - The Chess Blues Original Recordings (1989)

This is a sizzling collection of stunning R&B from one of Oakland's finest soul singers, Sugar Pie DeSanto, a pint-sized hellraiser who had a wild, bluesy snarl and a great set of pipes. She didn't have huge success on the charts, but you can tell from the raw energy on these recordings –and the video below!– that she must have blown the roof off any gig she played live. Although typecast as a blues singer, she also takes care of business on the soul end of things and is a convincing jazz vocal stylist as well. That would be enough to gain most singers a reasonable slice of glory, but DeSanto also happens to be a hilarious comedienne, a show-stopping dancer, and a superb and highly original songwriter whose compositions have been cut by Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Little Milton and Minnie Riperton, among others. This 12-song set was originally an LP that came out in 1989 and it is, amazingly, still the only above-board collection of her vintage material for the Chess and Checker labels. There are half-a-dozen songs, including the slinky, joyful ‘Down in the Basement’ and the explosive ‘Do I Make Myself Clear’ (both with cousin Etta James). I added myself 12 bonus tracks (including the sassy funk classics ‘Git Back’ and ‘Do the Whoopie’), which makes a total of 24 songs. If you like raw, pure, rockin' blues, you owe it to yourself to discover what Sugar Pie DeSanto sounded like in her prime .~ http://www.answers.com/

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Sugar Pie DeSanto performing Rock Me Baby. Live in England, 1964.