Dave & Sugar

Formed in 1975, the vocal trio Dave & Sugar emerged under the leadership of Dave Rowland, a magnetic Los Angeles studio vocalist who had previously worked as a sideman for Charley Pride. Alongside Rowland, co-lead singers Jackie Frantz and Vicki Hackman, who later performed under the name Baker, created a polished, soul-infused sound that earned the group the tag “the country ABBA” at the peak of their popularity. Though their run proved far briefer than that of the Swedish quartet, Dave & Sugar matched them in the creation of infectious melodies, glossy studio craft, and layered vocal blends that alternated male and female leads.

Rowland brought formal training and road experience to the project, having performed with Pride, the quartet the Four Guys, and the Stamps Quartet, whose members supplied backing for Elvis Presley and other artists. Once the act aligned with Pride’s management, their debut single, the propulsive and richly produced “The Door Is Always Open,” climbed directly to the top of the country chart by weaving Rowland’s deep baritone around the soaring harmonies of Frantz and Baker. The follow-up releases “I’m Gonna Love You,” another chart-topper, and “Don’t Throw It All Away” applied the same approach and scored major successes across 1976 and 1977.

Those tracks joined eight additional numbers, among them the emotive “Queen of the Silver Dollar,” on the group’s self-titled debut album. Although later singles achieved moderate chart traction and were gathered on a late-’70s Greatest Hits collection, Dave & Sugar never repeated the scale of their opening streak; despite issuing several strong pop-country hits, they came to be viewed primarily as a one-hit act. Dave Rowland passed away on November 1, 2018, at age 74 after suffering a stroke.