Sugarloaf: West Of Tomorrow

Now I know many of us can remember where we were when we heard a piece of important news or even heard a hit record for the first time, but I may be one of the few that can remember hearing a flipside for the very first time. It was August 1970 and our family had returned from a trip to Chicago visiting relatives. On the return trip, I clutched my transistor radio to my ear and listed to top 40 stations all the way back home.

I can remember hearing a number of songs that I liked as we drove across Indiana and Ohio. After we returned to Pittsburgh, I set out for the local record store and purchased three singles: Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” Status Quo’s “Down the Dustpipe,” and Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady.” A few weeks later, my brother Chuck had come back home from Lexington, KY and I played for him the three singles that I added to my collection.

One simple question changed the way I listened to singles from that point forward. He asked. “Well, what do the flipsides sound like?” My reply, “I dunno.” Then he suggested, “You should always listen to the flipside as it may be better than the hit.” So we flipped the records and one of the three I really liked and that was the flip of Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady” – “West of Tomorrow.” Now, it may be your first opportunity to her this song as we feature it as our Friday Flipside.