Gerald Anthony James Corbetta (September 23, 1947 – September 16, 2016)Jerry A. Corbetta Obituary
/ref> was an American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and organist, record producer, best known as a frontman for the Colorado rock band

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...

, best known for their classic rock hit " Green-Eyed Lady". Corbetta also toured for nearly five years with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as the "fifth season" nicknamed "Guido" by Frankie Valli.

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. The band, upon signing to Liberty Records, changed the name to Sugarloaf. 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 An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' (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. 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. At one time, he was also a keyboardist of a gathering of 1960s and 1970s artists, the Classic Rock All-Stars. During his career, he played organs with Velvet Chain (their ''

Asteroid Belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...

'' album). He co-wrote "You're Lookin' Like Love to Me", along with

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons. As a songw ...

, included on the 1983 '' Born to Love'' studio album of duets between

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

. Corbetta also co-wrote "Come Back to My Love", along with

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the ban ...

, recorded by

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (August 11, 1949 – March 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit " Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a so ...

, and included on his 1984 eponymous ''

''. Most notable is the

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart hit, " On Your Knees" by

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

(No. 28 in 1979), written by D.C. LaRue and Corbetta. 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 A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...

to the song. Although 'You Can't Fool Me' was intended to be a series, only the first volume was released.You Can't Fool Me - Christian Spiritual Immunization
/ref> In 2012 Sugarloaf was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Corbetta had been diagnosed with

Pick's disease Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also called frontotemporal degeneration disease or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of the brain's frontal and temporal lobes. Men ...

in 2010. Treatment forced him to retire. He died from the disease in a hospice in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

on September 16, 2016, at the age of 68.Jerry Corbetta, Lead Singer for Sugarloaf, Dies
/ref>

Solo discography

* ''Jerry Corbetta'' (1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbetta, Jerry 1947 births 2016 deaths American male singer-songwriters American keyboardists Deaths from Pick's disease Deaths from dementia in Colorado The Four Seasons (band) members Singers from Denver Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from Colorado American people of Italian descent