This week’s featured Great Song of the ’70s became a hit, but only after a long and annoying search for a new record company finally paid off. Here’s the story:

Back in 1970, the group Sugarloaf had a #3 hit called “Green-Eyed lady” for Liberty Records, and the group’s future looked sunny and bright—until Liberty folded, and Sugarloaf became a group without a contract.

Now You’d think that finding a new label would be easy after charting a Top 3 hit, but you’d be wrong.

Sugarloaf called in favors, made connections, knocked on doors, made a lot of phone calls, and sent out audition tapes…all no avail.

At one point, Columbia Records turned them down, calling them unoriginal and derivative—which REALLY ticked them off. ,

1Finally, in 1975, Polydor Records signed them up—and for their first single, Sugarloaf lead singer Jerry Corbetta was ready with a song that could easily be subtitled “Revenge is a Dish Served Solid Gold.”

”Don;t Call Us, We’ll Call You” was all about Sugarloaf’s struggle—slamming Columbia Records in particular—especially the “too derivative” insult –without actually mentioning them by name. (They did, however, show how they COULD be derivative–if they felt like it! Listen carefully! 🙂

The song spent 21 weeks on Billboard’s Hot :100, peaking at #9.
But wait…if they didn’t mention Columbia Records by name, how did anyone know Sugarloaf was actually singing about them?

Well, In a stroke of sneaky record industry genius, the intro of the song featured a touch-tone phone…calling the actual unlisted number of Columbia Records in New York!
“Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” by Sugarloaf: a Great Song of 1975!

For the stories behind more than 2,100 Great Songs of the ’70s and ’80s, visit my Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/