Jerry Corbetta, the voice of Sugarloaf’s ’70s hits “Green Eyed Lady” and “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You,” passed away Friday, a week shy of his 70th birthday. He died of a neurological disorder that forced his retirement seven years ago.
“Green Eyed Lady” was the band’s breakthrough in the fall of 1970. Cut down from a seven-minute-long album track to a single less than half the length, it was a tour-de-force for Corbetta’s keyboard skills. The hit put the Colorado rockers on the map and landed them on American Bandstand months later. Sugarloaf later also performed on The Midnight Special.
Originally billed as Chocolate Hair, the band’s label Liberty Records was uncomfortable with the name, fearing it might have a racial connotation, and asked the group to change it. Jerry and his partners chose Sugarloaf for the famed Utah mountain.
The Denver native also backed Frankie Valli in an early ’80s version of The Four Seasons and toured with Rare Earth alumnus Peter Rivera and Mike Pinera of Blues Image in The Classic Rock All-Stars. (VintageVinylNews)
