Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf was an American psych-rock band from Denver that made the 1970/71 Liberty albums Sugarloaf and Spaceship Earth, charting with “Tongue in Cheek” and the AM/FM staple “Green-Eyed Lady.” They reemerged on Brut with the 1973 album I Got a Song and scored a second Top 10 hit with the title-track to their 1975 Claridge release Don’t Call Us – We’ll Call You.

Members: Jerry Corbetta (vocals, keyboards), Rob Webber (guitar), Bob Raymond (bass), Bob MacVittie (drums, 1969-74), Bob Yeazel (guitar, 1971-73), Myron Pollack (drums, 1974-75)

Background

Sugarloaf originated in Denver in summer 1968 as Chocolate Hair when keyboardist–vocalist Jerry Corbetta approached Moonrakers bandmate and guitarist Bob Webber about a new quartet with bassist Bob Raymond and drummer Myron Pollock. Corbetta grew up in North Denver and played accordion and keyboards in the Half Dozen’t and the Brambles. The Moonrakers later placed Corbetta on drums because Dennis Flannigan occupied the keyboards, and Corbetta proposed Chocolate Hair as a return to keyboards.

Webber came through the Vaqueros and Surfin’ Classics, which developed into the Classics and then the Moonrakers, which released four singles on Tower and scored a Denver hit with “You’ll Come Back.” Webber later joined Beggars Opera Company, where he worked with Raymond and drummer Bob MacVittie. Raymond previously played bass in the Esquires and their successor, the Denver Soul Survivors, who recorded for Dot and topped local station KIMN with “Can’t Stand to Be in Love with You.” Pollock came from Super Band, a Denver group that recorded the 1967 Capricorn single “I Ain’t Got Nobody” (b/w “Acid Indigestion”).

Chocolate Hair worked four or five nights each week at clubs in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. In early 1969, the quartet appeared at the Party and the Exodus in Denver and maintained the regional circuit through the year. Producer Frank Slay knew Webber through earlier Moonrakers work and established a production arrangement with Corbetta and Webber. Chocolate Hair cut a seven-song demo in 1969, and Slay used the recordings to secure a contract with Liberty Records, which accepted the seven masters as the basis of the first album.

In September 1969, Pollack cleared out for ex-Moonrakers drummer Bob MacVittie. Moonrakers singer Veeder Van Dorn joined the album sessions as a guest vocalist. The group traveled to Original Sound Studios in Hollywood for one additional recording, “Green-Eyed Lady.” Liberty objected to the name Chocolate Hair because company staff considered the name racially suggestive. The musicians adopted Sugarloaf from Sugarloaf Mountain near Boulder, where Webber maintained an A-frame home. The seven demo masters and the Hollywood recording formed the self-titled Liberty debut.

Discography:

• Sugarloaf (1970)
• Spaceship Earth (1971)
• I Got a Song (1973 • Sugarloaf / Jerry Corbetta)
• Don’t Call Us – We’ll Call You (1975)

Resources and notes:

• Colorado Music Experience — Sugarloaf profile. This is the most useful single source because it contains Corbetta recollections on the Moonrakers, the formation logic, the seven-song demo, the Liberty deal, the name change, and the Hollywood addition of “Green-Eyed Lady.” (Colomusic)
• Bob Webber remembrance of Jerry Corbetta. Webber specifically places the conversation that created Chocolate Hair at his Sugarloaf Mountain home in summer 1968, names Corbetta, Raymond, and Pollock as the quartet, and states that Chocolate Hair worked four or five nights weekly across Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins. This is why I prefer 1968 over the later 1969 shorthand. (Legacy.com)
• Colorado Music Hall of Fame — Sugarloaf. Confirms Corbetta/Webber from the Moonrakers, Raymond and Pollock in Chocolate Hair, the Liberty deal from the demo, the Sugarloaf name source, MacVittie on the final album track, and Van Dorn as an album vocalist. (Colorado Music Hall of Fame |)
• Colorado Music Experience — Bob Webber interview. Supports Webber’s Moonrakers background, the Chocolate Hair formation, Corbetta returning from drums to keyboards, and the transition into Sugarloaf. (Colomusic)
• Randy Meisner Retrospective — Soul Survivors history/interview. Provides the strongest detail on Bob Raymond: the Esquires/Soul Survivors lineup, Dot recording activity, the Galaxy residency, and the local success of “Can’t Stand to Be in Love with You.” (Randy Meisner: A Retrospective)
• Colorado garage archive. Contemporary-poster material places Chocolate Hair at the Party and the Exodus in early 1969 and traces Webber, Raymond, MacVittie, and Pollock through the preceding Denver groups. The archive also identifies Pollock with Super Band and its 1967 Capricorn single. (PopBopRocktilUDrop)
• NTS Sugarloaf history. Useful corroboration for the 1969 demos, Slay/Liberty connection, Pollock departure in September, MacVittie replacement, Van Dorn guest vocals, and the Original Sound Studios session. (NTS Radio)