Skylark (Canadian band)

This article is about Canadian pop/rock group. For Italian power metal band, see Skylark (Italian band). For other uses of the same word/name, see Skylark.
Skylark
Origin Vancouver, Canada[1]
Genres Pop rock, blue-eyed soul
Years active 1971–1973
Labels Capitol
Past members Former members

Skylark was a former Canadian pop/rock band, active from 1971–1973, based in the Pacific Northwest.

History

Skylark formed from one of Ronnie Hawkins' backup groups and signed with Capitol Records, releasing a self-titled album in 1972 which spawned three singles. The group, whose alumni include renowned composer/arranger David Foster, disbanded after the lukewarm reception of their second album, 2, and its members achieved mixed success in other projects.

Their biggest single, "Wildflower", was a 1972 number one hit in Canada on their RPM Adult Contemporary chart, reached #10 on the Canadian RPM singles chart and then peaked at #9 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart the following spring, selling over a million copies.[1] It was written by guitarist Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson, who was a Victoria police officer at the time. "Wildflower" is an early example of the power ballad, featuring a strong, emotional lead vocal, a blend of electric guitar, strings and harp, distinctive "slow dance" percussion, and almost-gospel background vocals. It has since been covered by Johnny Mathis, The New Birth, The O'Jays, Kenny Rogers, Aaron Neville, Gary Morris, Color Me Badd, Phil Perry, Lisa Fischer, Hong Kong superstar Sandy Lam, Lana Wolf and sampled by Tupac Shakur and Jamie Foxx. This song was also covered by Jodeci and Elliott Yamin.

Donny Gerrard was amongst the Canadian musicians who recorded the 1985 charity single for African famine relief entitled Tears Are Not Enough. He sang his solo line with Bryan Adams.

Former members

Discography

Singles

Albums

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "CANOE -- JAM! Music - Pop Encyclopedia - Skylark". Jam!. Retrieved on October 11, 2009.

External links