Don't Call Us, We'll Call You by Sugarloaf

Album: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You (1975)

Charted: 9

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

Sugarloaf, famous for their 1970 hit "Green-Eyed Lady," found themselves without a label in 1974. They made some calls, trying to find a taker, but couldn't get much interest. This song recounts that experience, using many industry clichés they heard along the way. A big part of the game was getting a foot in the door by buttering up the A&R guys at the label, with lines like, "I got your name from a friend of a friend." The reply is the classic blowoff: "Don't call us, we'll call you."

The group ended up getting signed to the Claridge label, which was rewarded when this song became a hit, reaching #9 in 1975.
One of the labels that turned down the band was CBS Records. Sugarloaf got retribution by revealing the unlisted phone number of the label in this song by playing the sound of the touchtones when the number is dialed. Listeners with good ears could identify which tone corresponded to each number, and called it to find out where it led. After the song became a hit, CBS changed their number.

At the end of the song, there's another set of tones; this one led to the main number at the White House. They didn't change their number, but the band got a visit from a State Department official trying to figure out why they were getting so many calls talking about Sugarloaf.
Sugarloaf frontman Jerry Corbetta wrote this song with John Carter, who co-wrote the Strawberry Alarm Clock hit "Incense And Peppermints."
This song kept Sugarloaf out of one-hit wonder territory, making them ineligible for all those playlists, specials and books on the subject. Accordingly, little is known about the band, which formed in Colorado and took their name from a nearby mountain.

Comments: 1

Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm {10-02-2017}
Frank Slay, who had a hit in 1961* with "The Flying Circle" (#45)-- his version of "Hava Nagila", died Saturday, September 30th, 2017 at the age of 87...
Frank is better known though, for co-writing "Silhouettes", "La Dee Dah" and "Tallahassee Lassie". He served as A&R director for Swan Records, produced "Incense And Peppermints" and owned Claridge Records, whose biggest hit was "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" by Sugarloaf...
May he R.I.P.
* "Flying Circle" entered Billboard's Top 100 chart on December 11th, 1961 at position #100, six weeks later on January 21st, 1962 it would peak at #45 {for 1 week} and it spent 9 weeks on the Top 100.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Anybody Seen My Baby?The Rolling Stones

k.d. lang is a credited writer on the Rolling Stones song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" because it sounds so much like her hit "Constant Craving."

Jailhouse RockElvis Presley

The name "Schoolhouse Rock," which was a series of educational cartoons, was a play on "Jailhouse Rock," the title of an Elvis Presley song.

Jay-Z's 2012 "Glory" features his daughter Blue Ivy Carter's cries and coos. At less than two days old, she became the youngest ever credited artist to feature on a Billboard chart when the song debuted on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #74.

Wrecking BallMiley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus didn't write "Wrecking Ball" but could very much relate to it. She was having problems in her relationship with Liam Hemsworth, so the theme of giving your love only to have it wrecked really resonated with her.

Everyday I Write The BookElvis Costello

Elvis Costello says "Everyday I Write The Book" is a knockoff of Nick Lowe's "When I Write the Book."

Paul RevereBeastie Boys

In Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere," the title refers to the name of a horse. They took it from a song in the musical Guys And Dolls where a character sings, "I got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere."