"Green-Eyed Lady" is a popular single by the American 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, a r ...

. Written by

Jerry Corbetta Jerry A. Corbetta (September 23, 1947 – September 16, 2016) 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 � ...

, J.C. Phillips and

David Riordan David Riordan is an interactive media executive, producer and designer, a documentary television producer and a professional songwriter. He co-wrote the number-one hit " Green-Eyed Lady" for the band Sugarloaf in 1970, and released his first solo ...

, it was featured on the band's debut album, ''

'' and was their first single. It peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1970 and was ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' magazine's number one single for two weeks. It has been featured on dozens of compilation albums.

Single versions

The single was released in the United States in three different versions sharing the same catalog number (Liberty 56183), but different

matrix number A matrix number is an alphanumeric code (and on occasion, other symbols) stamped or handwritten (or a combination of the two) into the run-out groove area of a phonograph record. This is the non-grooved area between the end of the final band o ...

s on the record labels. The original single release (LB-2860-S) was a 5:58 version with no edits but an early fadeout, almost immediately after the last verse. This was edited down to 2:58 on the mono/stereo promotional single (LB-2860-DJ/LB-2860-S-DJ) for radio airplay in which the entire organ and guitar solos are edited out. When "Green-Eyed Lady" started climbing the charts, the recording was reworked one last time to include a shortened piece of the organ/guitar break on a single (LB-2860-S-RE) that has become the common 3:33 version used by radio stations today. Aside from other minor edits, the two shorter tracks begin with the opening's third bar and also end with early fadeouts. The album version ended with a cadence in the organ.

Critical reception

"Green-Eyed Lady" received generally positive reviews. One reviewer called it "jazzy and memorable", while John Laycock of the ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'' called it a "bewitching single".

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

Four years after the release of the single, Sugarloaf described the process of recording "Green-Eyed Lady" and selling it to the recording industry (namely the failed attempt to get

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

to distribute the record) in their song "

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" is a hit song by the American rock band Sugarloaf. Co-written by lead vocalist Jerry Corbetta, the song was featured as the title track of the band's fourth and final album. It was their fourth single and was recor ...

," which also became a hit. The song is featured in the 1997

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'', starring

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and

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References

{{authority control 1970 singles Liberty Records singles Songs written by Jerry Corbetta Sugarloaf (band) songs 1970 songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles