Nickel and a Dime

Sugar Pie DeSanto was a fireball of energy, discovered by Johnny Otis and later signed to Chess/Checker. Standing just under five feet tall, she had a massive, gritty voice perfectly suited for rhythm and blues. This track swings hard, featuring the Chess studio band. The blues thread is her vocal delivery: she rasps, pushes the beat, and commands the room with the swagger of Big Mama Thornton. It's an upbeat, brass-heavy track that bridged the gap between 1950s R&B and the emerging 1960s soul sound.