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A young record producer, arranger, and visionary named Johnny Otis would discover and groom a young Umpeylia Balinton, soon becoming Sugar Pie DeSanto. A hit single perked the ears of record impresarios Phil and Lenard Chess at the famed Chess Records where they signed her and her cousin Etta James. For a decade, not only did Sugar record for the Chess Brothers, but went on to produce and become a staff writer for the label for artists like The Radients, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, and Mitty Collier.