Your classic song of the day that I always thought was from another band is “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” by Sugarloaf. Released in November of 1974, this track went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 early in 1975.
The song is about a band’s travails in trying to get a record contract, continually being rebuffed with that tired old phrase, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” It actually mirrors the band’s real-life experiences with CBS Records, where they were pretty much ignored until they had a hit (1970’s “Green-Eyed Lady”), after which the label couldn’t get enough of them. That’s the way the music industry works, folks.
The band Sugarloaf, by this time, was really just one guy, lead singer Jerry Corbetta, who also co-wrote this tune with producer John Carter. The band’s big hit, the aforementioned “Green-Eyed Lady,” was also co-written by Corbetta and went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #1 in Canada) late in 1970. At that time the band had a half-dozen members, all of whom went their own ways by 1974 when “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” was recorded. On that record, Corbetta was aided and abetted by studio musicians Ray Payne on guitar, Max Bennett on bass, and the legendary Paul Humphries on drums.
“Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” is bit of a laugh in the way it integrates different real-world elements into the recording. There’s the sound of a touch-tone phone dialing an actual number at CBS Records’ offices, the guitar lick from the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine”( while referencing “John, Paul, and George” in the lyrics), and a Wolfman Jack soundalike (disc jockey Ken Griffin) calling out radio station “Stereo 92.”
Perhaps it was those semi-comic elements that led me to think that “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” was released by another band, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. Dr. Hook’s band was known for crazy theatrics and a less-than-totally-serious demeanor; founder Ray Sawyer wore an eyepatch and cowboy hat, while lead singer Dennis Locorriere tended towards overly dramatic line readings of the band’s sometimes over-the-top-lyrics. One of their biggest hits was the self-referential “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” which went to #6 in 1972. I think it’s the similarity between that song (which was written by humorist Shel Silverstein) and “Don’t Call Us” that made me think Dr. Hook also did the latter, which they obviously didn’t.
Back to Sugarloaf. Jerry Corbetta toured with a bunch of replacement musicians for a few years, then in 1978 decided to retire the Sugarloaf name and pursue a solo career. He released just one album under his own name then joined Franki Valli and the Four Seasons in 1980. He later hooked up with the oldies tour as part of The Classic Rock All-Stars but was forced to retire in 2010 after contracting Pick’s disease. He passed away in 2016, aged 68.
