Skylark was a Canadian pop and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

active from 1971 to 1973 and based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. "Wildflower" is their biggest hit.

History

Skylark formed in 1971 from one of

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

's backup groups and signed with Capitol Records, releasing a self-titled album in 1972 which spawned three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

."Wildflower Co-Writer Succumbs to Cancer"
''The Music Express'', November 14, 2016, Keith Sharp The group, whose alumni include composer/ arranger

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, disbanded after the lukewarm reception of their second album, ''2''; its members achieved mixed success in other projects. Their biggest single, "

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

", was a 1972 number #1

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in Canada on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart; it reached number 10 on the Canadian RPM singles chart and then peaked at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following spring, selling over a million copies.CANOE -- JAM! Music - Pop Encyclopedia - Skylark
. Jam!. Retrieved on October 11, 2009. It was

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

by guitarist Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson, who was a

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

police officer at the time. The song's popularity was boosted by frequent play on CKLW-AM radio after its initial release. Donny Gerrard was amongst the Canadian musicians who recorded the 1985 charity single for African famine relief entitled "

Tears Are Not Enough "Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles reco ...

". He sang his solo line with

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

. Doug Edwards died on November 11, 2016. Donny Gerrard died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in February 2022, at the age of 75.

Former members

* B.J. Cook,

Donny Gerrard Donald Bradford Gerrard (March 19, 1946 – February 3, 2022), known professionally as Donny Gerrard was a Canadian singer. He was a member of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, and in later years performed and recorded as a baritone backup si ...

, & Flip Arellano - vocals *

- keyboards * Carl Graves - percussion * Robbie King -

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

* Eddie Patterson,

Doug Edwards Douglas Edwards (born January 21, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round (15th pick overall) of the 1993 NBA draft. Edwards played for the Hawks and Vancouver Grizzlies ...

, &

Gaye Delorme Gaye James Delorme (March 20, 1947 – June 24, 2011) was a Canadian songwriter, composer and guitar player. Biography :"Although his name is generally first associated as the writer of 'The Rodeo Song', an expletive-filled cowboy anthem made ...

- guitars * Steven Pugsley - bass *

Duris Maxwell Duris Maxwell (15 June 1946 – 25 November 2020), also known as Ted Lewis, was a Canadian drummer who had played with many bands, including Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, Powder Blues Band, Doucette, The Temptations, Jefferson Airplane, and Sk ...

- drums * Brian Hilton - drums (replaced Maxwell) * Kat Hendrikse - drums (replaced Hilton) * Norman McPherson - guitar (replaced Edwards) * John Verner - guitar (replaced McPherson in 1972) * Allan Mix - guitar (replaced Verner in 1973)

Discography

Charted singles

Albums

1972 - ''Skylark'' (Shanachie/Capitol)

(number 53 in Canada)

Track listing

;Side 1 # "Brother Eddie" – (Howie Vickers, Joe Fahrni, Robbie King) - 4:31 # "What Would I Do Without You" - (Ernie Shelby, Phillip Mitchell) - 3:29 # "A Long Way to Go" - ( Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 3:46 # "Suites for My Lady" - (

) - 2:06 # "I'll Have to Go Away" - (

Kerry Chater Kerry Michael Chater (August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian musician and songwriter who was best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, but he was a successful Nashville songwriter for many years. Musician Chater was ...

, Renée Armand) - 5:07 ;Side 2 #

"The Writing's on the Wall" - (Don Troiano) - 3:01 # "Twenty-Six Years" - (

, Donny Gerrard, Linda Patterson) - 4:55 # "

I'm in Love Again ''I'm In Love Again'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle in 1983. It was released by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment on November 25, 1983, in the United States. LaBelle's commercial breakth ...

" - (

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

) - 3:18 # "

" - (David Richardson, Doug Edwards) - 4:08 # "Shall I Fail" - (Carolyn Borsman, Doug Edwards) - 1:27

Personnel

* Donny Gerrard -

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and backing vocals * B. J. Cook -

and backing vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Kitty Ditto -

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Patrice Holloway Patrice Yvonne Holloway (March 23, 1951 – October 3, 2006) was an American soul and pop singer, and songwriter. Career Patrice Yvonne Holloway was born on March 23, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, the youngest of three children born to Wade ...

* Doug Edwards -

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic guitars *

- acoustic and

pianos, harpsichord, Moog synthesizer, string

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

(all but 3) * Steve Pugsley - bass *

- drums,

* Bobby Torres - congas *

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely ...

- string

(3) * Robbie King - organ (8),

(8)

1974 - ''2'' (Capitol)

# "You Remind Me of a Friend" (B.Russell - B.Gordon) 3:20 # "Love's a River Flowing" (R.Nichols - J.Bettis) 3:58 # "It's a Wonder" (Alexandra Wangberg) 3:14 # "Wingless Bird" (D.Edwards - C.Borsman) 5:07 # "Wildflower" (D.Richardson - D.Edwards) 4:08 # "If That's The Way You Want It" (D.Lambert - B.Potter) 3:38 # "Foster Frees" (David Foster) 6:19 # "The Love Affair Is Over" ( Bob Ruzicka) 3:15 # "

One More Mountain to Climb "One More Mountain to Climb" is the 14th Diamond Records single for Ronnie Dove. Background Released in 1967, this single peaked at #45 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was his first single since 1964’s Hello Pretty Girl to miss the Billbo ...

" (N.Sedaka - H.Greenfield) 5:04

Personnel

*Produced and Engineered by Erik The Norwegian. *Arrangements and Production Coordination by David Foster Members of Skylark: *Donny Gerrard - lead vocals, backing vocal arrangements *B.J. Cook Foster - lead and backing vocals *David Foster - piano, electric piano, Moog and pipe organ Other musicians: *Steve Pugsley - bass *Alan Mix - guitar *Brian Hilton, Duris Maxwell - drums *Carl Graves - backing vocals, percussion *Gabriel Delorme - acoustic guitar *Robbie King - organ (tracks 2,6,7) *William Smith - organ (track 9) *Bobby Taylor - backing vocals

1996 - ''Wildflower: Golden Classics Edition'' (Collectibles)

References

External links

Skylark on Pacific Northwest Bands

Wildflower on Nettwerk.ca

Article at canadianbands.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skylark Capitol Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Musical groups from Vancouver Canadian pop rock music groups 1971 establishments in British Columbia 1973 disestablishments in Canada

History

Former members

Discography

Charted singles

Albums

1972 - ''Skylark'' (Shanachie/Capitol)

Track listing

Personnel

1974 - ''2'' (Capitol)

Personnel

1996 - ''Wildflower: Golden Classics Edition'' (Collectibles)

See also

References

External links