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News and Reviews
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A Taste of Sugar: The Sugar Pie de Santo Story
Public Radio Exchange (PRX)
Series: The Funk Show
From: Howard Burchette
Part 1: Listen HERE
Part 2: Listen HERE
Part 3: Listen HERE |
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On Monday, Nov. 9th, 2009
Sugar Pie will receive a Lifetime Achievement award from The Goldies at the 11 Minna Gallery
Doors open at 6:30 Awards at 7:30
Minna Gallery
111 Miina ,San Francisco
(On 2nd St between Mission and Howard)
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Sugar Pie, Aretha, Dionne, Bonnie and Jerry Butler wow at Phila.
R&B gala
By Dan DeLuca - Wed, Sep. 10, 2008
Inquirer Music Critic
The stage at Verizon Hall on Tuesday was filled with great singers. At various points over the course of the nearly four-hour Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards gala, Chaka Khan, Bonnie Raitt, Teena Marie, Jaguar Wright and Jerry "The Iceman" Butler all took their turn at the mic.
Read on HERE |
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Refined Recollections
Sugar Pie DeSanto - Unsquared
by Thurman J. Watts - August/September, 2006 - Blues Revue
It's a February evening at San Francisco's Biscuits & Blues, a hip, upscale joint renowned for its music and menu. Sugar Pie DeSanto's band, the All-Stars, hits the stage at 8:45 p.m. The core of the band that played on DeSanto's latest album, Refined Sugar --drummer Minor Williams, guitarist Steve Gannon..........
Read on HERE |
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Blues Musicians Heat Up Stage From High Noon to Full Moon
By Terry Perkins
Saint Louis Post
The second day of the St. Louis Blues Heritage festival began in the blazing heat of high noon Saturday with the sounds of acoustic delta blues, jazz, a gospel choir and electric urban blues playing on four stages at Buder Park. It ended a little after midnight, as a large crowd gathered under a full moon at the Main Stage to hear the deep soul serenading of Johnnie Taylor.
During the 12 hours in between, blues fans who braved the humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s discovered great music in all shades of the blues-much of it by performers who don't have national name recognition in the world of music.
A prime example was Arthur Adams, a singer/guitarist who has recorded only one album during three decades as a professional musician. But as Adams proved after a mid-afternoon Main Stage performance, he has the talent and charisma to rival any of the brightest stars in the blues world. Backed by an all-star collection of St. Louis talent led by pianist Johnnie Johnson, Adams ripped through high-speed runs on the guitar and sang with a strength and fervor that soon had his white shirt drenched in sweat.
As rock and R&B legend Chuck Berry watched from the side of the stage, Adams led the band through exhilarating versions of Berry classics such as "Johnnie B. Goods" (written for Berry's former keyboardist, Johnson) and "No Particular Place to Go." Despite the energy-sapping conditions, Adams had the crowd on its feet, dancing and cheering for more.
Other performers known only to dedicated blues and R&B aficionados also made a major impact at the festival Saturday. Singer Sugar Pie DeSanto, who scored only a handful of minor hits in the early 1960s, proved that at the age of 62 she has even more raw talent and sex appeal than most popular female vocalists half her age. The 4-foot-11 dynamo took the stage, kicked of her shoes and immediately won the crowd over with her earthy stage presence and powerful voice. Performing her own song, "Slip-In Mules" (written as a woman's answer to "High-Heal Sneakers"), DeSanto exuberantly jumped down from the raised Main Stage, boogied in the snow-fenced photographers' area for a moment and then bolted into the crowd to pump the energy level of the audience even higher. Although she was performing in a lengthy set called "Sisters of Soul" that also featured the talents of Bettye Lavette, Mable John and Laura Lee, it;s a good bet the other vocalists were more than happy to have DeSanto as the closing act. Not many performers could-or would want to-follow her on stage.
And although most of the late arrivals in the crowd came specifically to hear the soulful singing of Johnnie Taylor, who closed the Main Stage, they were treated to another electrifying performance by a relative unknown, Aaron "Little Sonny" Willis, a Detroit-based harmonica player and singer. Little Sonny and his band burned through a set of incandescent urban blues that soon had many in the audience on their feet and swaying to the tempo wail of Little Sonny's searing harmonica solos. Little Sonny certainly primed the crowd for Johnnie Taylor, who wrapped up the evening by teasing the crowd with the typical drawn-out introduction of soul tradition and the slow removal of coat and vest to the squeals of females in the audience. But Taylor also rewarded his fans with sterling renditions of classic 60s hits such as "Who's Making Love" and more contemporary fare such as "Last Two Dollars"-proving that his distinct nasal vocals and seductive delivery can still captivate a crowd.
But despite the proven star power of Taylor, the real attraction of Saturday's Blues Fest lineup was the chance to hear the lesser known but highly talented musicians such as Adams, DeSanto, LaVette, John and Lee Robinson performed solo in the heritage set, accompanying his acoustic guitar with the jingle of cowboy spurs on his boots-and captivating the crowd with a distinctive blend of blues, soul and country influences.
Although the crowds at Buder Park were clearly held down Saturday by the unfamiliarity with the new location and the stifling weather conditions, day two of the festival was an unqualified artistic success.
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