Tag: Van Halen

My sister was a high school student when this came out and would sometimes skip school. I was 8 years behind her and sometimes she would take me where ever she went. I was sworn to secrecy and I thought it was cool to hang around my big sister and her pretty friends who made a fuss over 7-8 year-old me. We would go to a state park and hang out and I would have fun. On one of those adventures I remember this song clearly…it was playing over the AM radio station here that was WLAC at the time. And no…I never gave the secret away to mom or she would have killed my sister.

This group is known for the song “Green Eyed Lady” which hit number 1 in 1970. Don’t Call Us is the song I remember the most. It peaked in 1975 at #9 on the Billboard 100 and #5 in Canada. The song is about frustration in the music business. After Green Eyed Lady it was hard for them to get another record contract which makes no sense.

One of the labels that turned down the band was CBS Records. Sugarloaf got revenge 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 its number.

Another funny thing was at the end of the song, there is 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.

They actually play the Beatle’s “I Feel Fine” riff in the song and sang the lyric that sounded like John, Paul, and George (And it sounds like, uh, John, Paul and George). Included also is the rift from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and a Wolfman Jack imitation so they picked a lot from everyone.

Van Halen would cover this song in their early years before they got a record contract.

Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You

A Long distance, directory assistance,
Area code 212.
Say, hey, A and R this is Mister Rhythm and Blues.
He said, “Hello,” and put me on hold.
To say the least the cat was cold.
He said, don’t call us, chil’,
We’ll call you.

I say, “You got my number.”
He say yeah, “I got it when
You walked in the door.”
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

I got your name from a friend of a friend,
Who said he used to work with you.
Do you remember the all night creatures,
From Stereo Ninety-Two?
“Yeah,” I said, “Could you relate
To our quarter track tape?
You know the band performs in the nude?”
He said, “nUh-uh, don’t call us, chil’,
We’ll call you.

Listen, kid, you paid for the call,
You ain’t bad but we’ve heard it all before,
And it sounds like, uh, John, Paul and George.

Anyway, we cut a hit and we toured a bit,
With a song he said he couldn’t use.
And now he calls and begs and crawls,
It’s telephone deja vu.
We got percentage points and lousy joints,
And all the glitter we can use,
Mama, so, uhh don’t call us,
Now we’ll call you.

Listen kid you paid for the call,
You ain’t bad but I heard it all before.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
[Fade.]
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.