Representative Albums: "The Best of Sugarloaf", "Sugarloaf/Spaceship Earth", "Alive in America
Representative Songs: "Green-Eyed Lady", "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
Biography
Best known for their 1970 AM pop classic "Green-Eyed Lady," Sugarloaf was formed in 1969 in Denver out of the ashes of the Moonrakers, which had released an album in 1968. Singer/keyboardist Jerry Corbetta and guitarist Bob Webber founded the group, adding Moonraker mates Bob MacVittie on drums and Veeder Van Dorn on rhythm guitar, plus bassist Bob Raymond. Originally dubbed Chocolate Hair, the band lost Van Dorn after just a few months when he joined Mescalero Space Kit. On the strength of their demos, the band was signed to Liberty, and changed their name to Sugarloaf, after a Colorado mountain popular with skiers (the record company was concerned about the possible racial overtones of Chocolate Hair). Sugarloaf recorded their self-titled debut album in 1970, and the single "Green-Eyed Lady" -- co-written by Corbetta and based on a piece of a scale exercise in a practice book -- slowly became a nationwide hit, catching on in more and more markets until it finally peaked at number three on the pop charts. For the follow-up album, 1971's Spaceship Earth, Sugarloaf added guitarist/songwriter Bob Yeazel, who had previously played on two albums as part of a Denver band called the Beast. Spaceship Earth didn't produce any hits, and disagreements over the band's choice of producers followed. Yeazel wound up leaving prior to the release of 1973's I Got a Song, which appeared on the smaller Brut label and featured former Beast drummer Larry Ferris. Resurfacing on Claridge in 1975, Sugarloaf finally scored that elusive follow-up hit with "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" from their fourth and final album, Don't Call Us. However, they subsequently disbanded. Corbetta went on to release a solo album on Warner Bros., and later worked with Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons as a writer, producer, and backing musician. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
The band was originally known as Chocolate Hair. They changed their name to Sugarloaf, named after a mountain outside of Boulder, when they received their first recording contract.
They are best known for two songs, both of which hit the top 10charts in the United States: "Green-Eyed Lady" in the autumn of 1970 (their biggest hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard chart). Green Eyed Lady has been consistently played around the world for thirty=eight years and shows no signs of slowing down (a minor miracle of longevity in the music industry).
and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" in 1975 (US #9). Other songs which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 were "Mother Nature's Wine" (1971), "Tongue in Cheek" (1971), and "Stars In Our Eyes" (1976). In addition, "West of Tomorrow" and "Myra Myra" were not hitsingles, but received modest airplay at the time of their release on albumrockradio stations.
The 1975 album Don't Call Us, We'll Call You was a re-release of their 1973 album I Got A Song, with one of the tracks on the earlier album replaced by the title track of the later album, which had become a hit single.
The song "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" is notable because it contained a practical joke at the expense of CBS Records, which had just turned them down for a recording contract. The song includes the sound of a touch-tonetelephone number being dialed near the beginning and ending of the song. Those numbers were an unlisted phone number at CBS Records and a public number at the White House respectively. In addition, the recording includes snippets of the guitar riff of The Beatles' "I Feel Fine," Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," and a line of dialogue from Wolfman Jack stating the call sign of a radio station.
Corbetta later went on to perform with the group Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes (best known for their hit "Get Dancin'"). In 1980, he became a member of The Four Seasons. He currently performs with the group Classic Rock All Stars.