The first bands that Colla was involved with from Fairfield, California, were The Furlanders, The Yewess Army and Cottonmouth.[2] In the early 1970s, he moved to Marin County, California and joined Sound Hole as a singer and saxophonist. Sound Hole was successful at a local level and became Van Morrison's backing band for a time. Other members of Sound Hole were drummer Bill Gibson and bassist Mario Cipollina, who also eventually joined with Huey and The News. Sound Hole was the major local competition to Huey's band Clover. After Sound Hole, Colla was enlisted as sax man/arranger with Sly and the Family Stone, recording and touring with Sly for a few years. In the late 1970s, Sound Hole and Clover alumni merged to form a new group, the American Express, which later became known as Huey Lewis and the News. For the News, Colla became saxophonist, rhythm guitarist, backing singer and songwriter.
Colla was drawn to San Francisco from the Sacramento Valley during the 1960s Summer of Love. Like many others, Colla patronized the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore Auditorium.
"I moved to Marin because that's where all the musicians moved after the San Francisco scene blew up. For a start-up musician in the 1970s, it was a hot-bed of musical activity; a great place to be and be heard." He says. "Then I beat the odds. We not only started a great band, but actually became successful at it!"
Colla co-wrote hit songs such as "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "If This Is It", "The Power of Love", and "Back in Time". Lewis and Colla co-produced the band's albums Plan B (2001) and Weather (2020).
Colla embarked upon a solo career, releasing his first solo album Lucky Devil in the mid 1990s. He released his second solo album, I Hear Voices, in 2012,[3] which takes a more vocal approach than Lucky Devil.
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