Sugarloaf, Green-Eyed Lady | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 190th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Green-Eyed Lady” by Sugarloaf. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 190^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Green-Eyed Lady” performed by Sugarloaf.

“Green-eyed lady, lovely lady / Strolling slowly towards the sun,” Jerry Corbetta  (1947 – 2016) sings, continuing, “Green-eyed lady, ocean lady / Soothing every raging wave that comes.” Fittingly, the song is named “Green-Eyed Lady”.  Could it be named anything else, given the fact that this green-eyed lady is mentioned in every verse? Corbetta was the lead singer and keyboardist for the Colorado progressive rock, psychedelic, and jazz-rock band, Sugarloaf.  “Green-Eyed Lady,” the opening track from their 1970 album, Sugarloaf, earned the rock band their biggest hit.  It peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Corbetta penned the record alongside David Riordan and J.C. Phillips. 

So, who was this green-eyed lady? Corbetta’s girlfriend, Kathy.  Makes sense.  “Green-eyed lady feels life I never see,” Corbetta sings in the second verse, adding, “Setting suns and lonely lovers free.” In the final verse, he asserts she’s “Dressed in love, she lives for life to be.”  As intriguing as the lyrics and Corbetta’s vocals are, the instrumental shines on “Green-Eyed Lady.” The riff is classic.  How did it materialize?  Simple: from a scale in a book.  Beyond the riffs, the organ soloing (Corbetta) is ear-catching. With some psychedelic vibes, the organ fits the bill.  Even when soloing isn’t happening, that organ sounds mean! Also, the guitar solo deserves a shout-out.  This is rock, after all! There are two versions of “Green-Eyed Lady”. One is the shorter version, which clocks in under four minutes, while the album version runs nearly seven.  Both versions are S-I-C-K 🤘!

Sugarloaf // Sugarloaf // Capitol // 1970

Sugarloaf, Green-Eyed Lady: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 190 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Capitol; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]