Everyday Creation
This show has to do with different kinds of creation: human, divine, and a third kind that connects the two. Our human creativity is easy to talk about because clearly we're prolific creators. We make music, we write, we cook; we establish businesses, we design gardens, we invent things. The list goes on and on. Another kind of creation is divine. We feel its presence when, for example, we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose, or have a quiet realization that there's something bigger than us. The third kind is perhaps a little more difficult to grasp and yet, with a little practice, it's easy to put into action. This is the personal power each of us has to direct our thoughts, words and actions every day toward what we want in our life and world, rather than what we don't want.
This sounds heavier than it is. For me, this show is an acknowledgment that while we're all here to learn and grow and do our best, there's still plenty of opportunity to relax, laugh, love, and enjoy this playground we call life. So my hope is that you'll get some enjoyment and illumination out of these episodes. Here you'll find interviews with delightfully creative individuals; short stories about some who have passed away; and essays about personal power.
I'm Kate Jones, host and creator of Everyday Creation. Thank you for following my show.
Everyday Creation
Small in Stature, Sugar Pie DeSanto Stood Tall with Talent, Athleticism and Songwriting Ability
Sugar Pie DeSanto was just under 5 feet tall, yet she had a powerful voice and a daring stage presence. She'd do back flips, splits, and stunts that included jumping off pianos.
Signing with Chess Records led to DeSanto collaborating with major R&B and soul artists, including Etta James and James Brown. She toured with The James Brown Revue for two years.
Her original name was Peylia Marsema Balinton, but Johnny Otis gave her a new name that was easier to pronounce.
DeSanto also was a prolific songwriter, penning over 100 songs such as "Slip-in Mules," "Use What You Got," "Soulful Dress," and her first hit "I Want To Know," which reached #4 on Billboard's R&B chart in 1960.
You can go here to listen to DeSanto sing "I Want To Know." The image in this episode's thumbnail is the cover of her album "Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles 1961-1966." In the chapters, there are a couple of other images: the cover of another album, "A Little Bit of Soul 1957-1962," and a photo of DeSanto performing in August 2006. The latter is credited to Michael Albov and is available on Wikimedia Commons under the license CC BY 2.0.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Sheldon:
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Peylia Marsema Balinton was 20 years old when she
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became Sugar Pie DeSanto.
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Johnny Otis, an R&B do-it-
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all, gave her the name because it was
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easier to pronounce.
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The name stuck through a career that spanned
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six decades.
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DeSanto died December 20 in Oakland, California,
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where she'd lived most of her life.
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Her brother on social media said she died
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of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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and congestive heart failure.
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She was 88.
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The Song of the Day is paying tribute
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to singers, songwriters and musicians
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who died in 2024.
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DeSanto played with some of the biggest
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R&B and soul stars, but she never
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gathered the same fame.
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She grew up and later wrote and sang
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with Etta James.
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She traveled with The James Brown Revue for
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two years.
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DeSanto was diminutive.
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She stood an inch under 5 feet, but
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her voice and attitude
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defied her height.
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She was a daredevil on stage.
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She'd do backflips and splits with James Brown.
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She'd often end their shows with them jumping
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off a piano,
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according to her New York Times obituary.
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A story
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in the SFGATE after her death
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talked about how she would call a large,
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handsome man from the audience
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and climb on the man, wrap her legs
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around his waist, and dangle.
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She once wrapped her legs around a man's
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neck.
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She was more than a daredevil. She wrote
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more than 100 songs, including "Slip-in Mules,"
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"Use What You Got,"
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"Soulful Dress,"
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and "I Want To Know."
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It was her first hit reaching #4
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on Billboard's
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R&B chart in 1960.
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The song led her to Chess Records where she
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wrote and sang with some of the biggest
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R&B acts of the 1960s.
Kate:
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That was Song of the Day creator Sheldon
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Zoldan.
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And I'm Kate Jones, host of Everyday Creation.
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Thank you for joining us today.
