Jerry Corbetta
Gerald Anthony James Corbetta | |
---|---|
Birth name | Gerald Anthony James Corbetta |
Born | September 23, 1947 Denver, Colorado |
Died | September 16, 2016 Denver, Colorado | (aged 68)
Genres | rock, psychedelic rock |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Keyboard, Organ |
Gerald Anthony James Corbetta (September 23, 1947 – September 16, 2016)[1][2] was an American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and organist, record producer, best known as a frontman for the Colorado rock band Sugarloaf, best known for their classic rock hit "Green-Eyed Lady".
Corbetta also toured for nearly five years with
Biography
Corbetta was born on September 23, 1947, in Denver, Colorado. He began his career locally playing drums. As a teenager, he started playing keyboards and joined a few Denver-based bands. The Moonrakers was one of them, and in '67-'68 Jerry led a locally popular five piece band "The Half Doesn't" that drew crowds in Denver's "3.2" beer bars like the "La Pichet" that served up 3.2% / low-alcohol beer and live music to Colorado's 18-year-olds.
In 1968, Corbetta and guitarist Bob Webber formed the band Chocolate Hair, along with drummer Myron Pollock and bassist Bob Raymond.[3] The band, upon signing to Liberty Records, changed the name to Sugarloaf.[4] The singles "Green-Eyed Lady" and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" hit the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 in 1970, and No. 9 in 1975 respectively, while their eponymous debut album (1970) reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Both "Green-Eyed Lady" and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" were co-written by Corbetta.[5]
He fronted Sugarloaf through 1978. In early 1980s, he joined Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as their singer and musical director, and remained with them through 1984.[3][5] At one time, he was also a keyboardist of a gathering of 1960s and 1970s artists, the Classic Rock All-Stars.[6]
During his career, he played organs with
In 1993 Jerry contributed a song and performance to the Christian VHS series 'You Can't Fool Me'. He was featured lip syncing and playing along with a keytar to the song. Although 'You Can't Fool Me' was intended to be a series, only the first volume was released.[7]
In 2012 Sugarloaf was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.[6]
Corbetta had been diagnosed with
Solo discography
- Jerry Corbetta (1978)
References
- ^ "Find a grave: Jerry Corbetta". Find a Grave. Find A Grave, Inc. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ Jerry A. Corbetta Obituary
- ^ a b Beaudin, John (17 September 2016). "Jerry Corbetta Lead Singer & Keyboardist Of Sugarloaf Dead At 68 #JerryCorbettaDead". SmoothJazzNow.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ a b Jerry Corbetta, Lead Singer for Sugarloaf, Dies
- ^ a b "Jerry Corbetta, Sugarloaf Singer, Dies at 68". Best Classic Bands.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Sugarloaf frontman Jerry Corbetta dead at 68". The Denver Post. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ You Can't Fool Me - Christian Spiritual Immunization