Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf originated in Denver during 1969 when singer and keyboardist Jerry Corbetta joined guitarist Bob Webber to launch a new project drawn from the recently dissolved Moonrakers, whose lone album had appeared the previous year. They recruited fellow ex-Moonrakers Bob MacVittie on drums and Veeder Van Dorn on rhythm guitar, along with bassist Bob Raymond. Initially operating under the name Chocolate Hair, the group parted ways with Van Dorn within months after he departed for Mescalero Space Kit. Liberty Records signed the band on the basis of its demo recordings and insisted on a name change to Sugarloaf, taken from a well-known Colorado ski destination, to avoid any racial connotations attached to the earlier moniker. Their debut album, recorded in 1970 and issued under the band’s own name, spawned the single “Green-Eyed Lady,” which Corbetta had co-written by adapting a scale exercise from a practice manual; the track gradually gained traction across radio markets before reaching number three on the national pop chart.

For the follow-up, Spaceship Earth, released in 1971, Sugarloaf brought in guitarist and songwriter Bob Yeazel, previously a member of the Denver group the Beast on two albums. The record failed to generate any chart success, prompting disputes regarding production choices. Yeazel exited before the 1973 release of I Got a Song, which appeared on the smaller Brut imprint and included former Beast drummer Larry Ferris. The band resurfaced on Claridge in 1975 with its fourth and final album, Don’t Call Us — We’ll Call You, whose title track finally delivered a second hit; shortly afterward the group dissolved. Corbetta later issued a solo album on Warner Bros. and contributed as a writer, producer, and session musician to projects by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.