Songwriter Dave Richardson co wrote this song after his then girlfriend (and first wife) returned from her shift as a Nurse after losing 2 of her patients that night. He heard her crying in another room and it was the impetus to write this song. What a great song it is! RIP Dave Richardson/Donny Gerrard.
The other day I read an article (that I now can't find) that IIRC said that David Foster was ready to quit music just before his first wife BJ Cook organized Skylark. The noted hit maker and music director Rosalie Trombley of CKLW Windsor (and Detroit area) steered the song to the top of the charts. Many years later, Skylark lead singer Donny Gerrard lent vocals to producer Foster's Canadian contribution to African relief Tears are Not Enough. Speaking of which Tears are Not Enough should have a reaction. The making of Tears are Not Enough is quite interesting, Mike Reno of Loverboy steals the show as a good Canadian boy. Jay's favourite Corey Hart came aross pretty good as well.
Dave Richardson was a police officer in a municipality local to me - he died in 2019. David Foster is also a local celebrity. I live in Victoria BC.😊 And yes, the story is true...
Dave Richardson didn't hear her crying in the other room. He stopped by her apartment, they were supposed to go on a date that night. They talked about her day and she excused herself, to go to get ready for their date. He sat watching television, after a while he realized that it had been a while, he went and opened the door to her room and found her on the bed sleeping. He covered her with a blanket, and decided that after her rough day, he would just go home. He went home and wrote the song. Thus the line in the song - "be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken...and sleeps the only freedom that she knows." The Wildflower is considered by many to be the beginning (first) power ballad.
Hard to argue, another 70s masterpiece courtesy of David Foster, modern music's master impressario. This singer's voice is so powerful and soulful. Indeed, one of the most beautiful songs ever.
here in 2024, after two divorces, and at 69 yrs old, I connected with an old schoolmate, who just lost her husband/partner of almost 40 yrs. She's battling the loss hard, and is slowly coming back. I pray for her, and dedicate this lovely song to her.
When this song came out, I was a very lonely, hurt teenager who had trouble living life. This song is me, it was me, at age 16. I wondered who it was who could see inside my soul and write these lyrics. The music is haunting and hypnotic. This song will always be special to me. I'm so happy you reacted to this beautiful song. Thank you, and thank you for loving it. ✌️💙🎶
@MisterWondrous and we have survived! Whenever I hear a simple song like "Blackbird" by the Beatles, I think, "Yeah, I took those broken wings and learned to fly." Good for us.
David Foster was part of this band and has since gone on to be a huge successful composer / producer with many grammys to his name. He is currently married to Kathrine McFee. (a good song on female friday would be Katherine doing "Somewhere" with David on the piano). Donny Gerrard was the vocalist and passed away at 75 last year. This is a great song! Thanks - Mark
"Be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken And sleep's the only freedom that she knows And when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe The way she's always paying For a debt she never owes.." 😢 Everytime!! Beautiful, heartrending lyrics. I saw and felt you hearing and understanding those lyrics, Amber ❤
I requested this a couple of years ago. So glad you got to it. Had a picture-music montage for my wife's funeral and this was the second song. This WAS her life. Impossible to think how someone could bear all that she did before we met and still be so sweet, loving, and innocent. Thank you for the mist in my eyes.
TY. Your name made me respond. Her dad's nickname for her was Lulubell. She had been raped at 12 and left unable to have children. She had been physically, emotionally, and financially abused by most of the men in her early life. her soul was STILL so pure. I lost her almost 8 years ago and still love her more each day. The amazing thing is, she loved me back.@@Cindrbell
So beautiful! I cried after reading your post. I'm so sorry for your tremendous loss, it doesn't get easier each day, it just changes. I pray you are moving through your journey with a little more joy each day. ❤
The most beautiful song ever. The lyrics, his voice, everything. When it came out in 1972 i cried listening to it. Today i cried again. This always happens. It comes so close to home. Thnx guys❤❤
Holy cow! I haven't heard this song in at least 40 years. Back in the old days, 7-11 use to sell albums and had the current top 40 hits on them and I bought one that had this song on it. Great choice and thanks for bringing back a pretty good memory for me.
Год назад+14
A very under rated classic. Donny Gerrard was a guy with a bit of stage fright, but man o man he could sing.. his timbre is very unique, so glad you to got to experience this great tune. Band named matched his quality - joyously divine.
I was 13 when I first heard this song. My parents divorced when I was nine. My dad left for his first tour of three tours he would have in Vietnam. My mom did a great job with four kids. My oldest brother went to live with my grandparents to helpthem out and my momma took us to Colorado. Me and my younger brother and sister missed our home but myom did an Awesome job. This song has always reminded me of her since I was 13. She died this year. I miss her like crazy. I have lost my daughter, my mom, my dad and my younger brother and sister. This song brings back all those changes and sweet memories.
This song has a local connection for me. Lyrics are based on a poem written by Dave Richardson, a Saanich Police Officer for his then girlfriend, and later wife who was a nurse at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria BC after a difficult shift. Dave had given the poem to his friend David Foster who was the keyboard player in Skylark. Dave’s brother Doug became the chief of police in in Victoria whose wife was also a nurse at the same hospital. Dave Richardson sadly passed away in 2019. The story behind the song appears in the local newspaper the Victoria Times-Colonist on August 27th, 2019.
Skylark is a one-hit wonder, but what a hit! Beautiful and soulful, remember it being huge in early 70’s when released. Played often by AM radio stations, but musically needed FM for the melody and guitar work. Sweet, awesome song and reaction. Donny Gerrard’s voice was outstandingly powerful and so very soulful. His voice is reminiscent of Teddy Pendergrass or Luther Vandross. I’m surprised he didn’t have other hits.
I had suggested this song a few times over the last few years. I was 6 when it came out. As a kid, I just thought it was a sad song. Fast forward 35 years and my sister was trying to remember the name of the song. So I Googled some of the lyrics and found the title and remembered how much I liked the song. Eight years later, I was diagnosed with a rare incurable genetic disease that would require me to do weekly treatments for the rest of my life. Ten months after that I was diagnosed with leukemia. I now have multiple incurable diseases. I listen to this song several nights a week as it now has a deep personal meaning to me. Honestly, it feels like I have lived each verse of this song over and over. “She's faced the hardest times, you could imagine And many times her eyes fought back the tears And when her youthful world, was about to fall in Each time her slender shoulders Bore the weight of all her fears And a sorrow no one hears Still rings in midnight silence, in her ears.” Thank you for this reaction. ❤
I first heard the New Birth version of this song back in 1973 when I was 10 years old. I have never forgotten this song. Another song from New Birth is dream merchant. It’s from the same time period. It’s funny how some songs really get to you even though you’re only 10 years old.
Omg one of my all time favorites. I read that it was written by man dating a nurse. She had lost a patient during her shift. He did not want to disturb her brief moment of sleep. When we fell in love in 70s, we fell hard. There was more vulnerability in men's music back then than now. Oh how I pray this expressiveness comes back. Thanks young people.
I was a ROCK-n-ROLLER in my youth. And my youth was a LONG time ago. However, I remember when this song came out, and I was STUNNED by how beautiful it was. It was nothing like what I would have normally listened to, but I was spellbound by every aspect of the song. Incredible singer, great guitar work, fantastic arrangement. And the emotion it delivered was overwhelming. This song made me pause, and reconsider just how narrow my listening choices were. I was ignoring so many great songs out there, from ALL different genres. This song opened a door, to the REST of the music universe, for me. I am glad you found it.
This song is fire and the gentleman singing, if I'm not mistaken, recently passed away. I recall seeing about his passing online. New Birth and The Ojays have good versions of this song too
Back in 1973 my sister turned 18, and a good friend sang this song to her and it became her song. She really was a wildflower, beautiful, gentle, and free. Less than 4 years later she was taken from us by violence, 10 days before her 22nd birthday, her birthday would have been 7-7-77 that year. For years our family couldn't listen to this song, it hurt too much. 46 years later it still leaves me in tears because of how closely the lyrics describe her. She was slender, had so many bad things happen to her, and sleep really was the only freedom she knew for the longest time. We are all consoled because we know she was finally happy when she was taken from us. Thank you for your lovely reaction to this beautiful and touching song.
I remember hearing the New Birth version of this song in 1973 when I was 10 years old. Sorry to hear about your sister passing away at such a young age
Thanks for bringing that song back for us to hear. I remember how enchanting the song was in 1973. We used to wear the record out on the jukebox at the local cafe, a local hangout for us small-town kids in Missouri.
This is one of the most beautiful songs, I have ever heard. You are two beautiful of God's children so beautifully complimentary and appreciative...and so we all together as one. Howdy
Ok, now I have ESP. I was just thinking about this rare gem about an hour ago. Skylark was an interracial group, and a one-hit wonder in the USA. This went to #9 in 1973.
I absolutely adore this song!! The band, the backup echos, and the lead are all on point! And the lyrics. My favorite line is, "when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe the way she's always paying for a debt she never owes..."
Oh my gosh I forgot all about this wonderful song. TYSM for the great reaction. I was tearing up right with you, Amber! Reminds me of my childhood. Happy tears.❤❤❤
Quite simply, it is one of the best records ever produced. The voice, the music, and the sentiment all collide with a message of love that should be an example to all of us. It correctly pronounces the words of someone deeply in love with their person. It's too bad this kind of love has been forever lost in the past. We certainly could use some these days. Watching Jay sink down in his chair as the song progressed tells me he has someone in mind. Amber, perhaps? Yes, it describes her soft, gentle, and warm nature to a tee. Thanks, guys, for sharing a part of your relationship and time with us.
So glad you decided to honor such a beautiful song!!! You have yet to explore Toronto's Amanda Marshall who entered the music scene in the mid - to - late 90's... Her successes are "Let it Rain", "Beautiful Goodbye", "Believe in You", and my favorite lyrics "If I Didn't Have You".
Thanks for finally playing this I have watched you everyday since first time a young Jordan started this great journey to experiencing the journey through rock and roll. I am a very Adevoted fan and follower from the beginning. You have come so far both of you. And amber my fave band ha bee Pink Floyd because they are gifted and it is so magical and trippy. I am with you Sister.
The Wildflower lyric was written in 1970 by Dave Richardson, then a young policeman in Saanich, BC, as a poem about his girlfriend who worked as a nurse at Royal Jubilee Hospital. He passed it along to his young musician friend David Foster, who was forming the band Skylark. Guitarist Doug Edwards fished the lyric out of a stack and composed the melody on organ in about half an hour - about as long as it took Richardson to write the words. Wildflower was the third single from Skylark's self-titled first album for Capitol Records. The arrangement is built around a basic track featuring Doug Edwards on guitar, Steve Pugsley on bass and Duris Maxwell on drums - a first take run-through serendipitously captured by producer/engineer Eirik "the Norwegian" Wangberg. Every subsequent version emulates Edwards' haunting guitar solo and Donny Gerrard's passionate vocal.
This was all over the radio in the winter of 1973. It was a pop and R&B hit. Skylark was a Canadian interracial band featuring a then-unknown David Foster.
“Man” I’d almost forgotten about this one and that almost feels like a sin cause man, every time that song would come on the radio, me and most everyone else who was around would say “Awe man I love this song 🤭😆 When y’all were about to start rollin’ it, I was thinking I know I’m gonna know this one just because of the the band name and the title and that picture also rang a bell! I don’t know if I saw it in the record store or what but it looked familiar as well! But as soon as I heard the first few notes I was like “OH YEAH THAT ONE!!!!”🤣 That’s always been one of “the most” beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard to this day!! Thanks a bunch for that one y’all!!! ❤✌️🫶🎶
I went to Junior High School and had a young man named Kenny Gerrard in my grade and his older brother named Donny Gerrard sang this song. I actually sang back up on this song. MrDonnyvGerrard moved from Vancouver to the US South and had some success but never to this level. Sadly Donny passed while living there. He was solful singer and a real nice young man. He was the first black family attending my school and we hung it. My boyfriend late my husband knew him nd that is how I me my husband who was one of those true musical genius who could play every instrument 🎷 his face was Sax, andhe bought me my first guitar in 1971 and taught me how to play. I love music but was not a first time yo pick up a guitar wh just came naturally. I had to practice every song. Except for singing. That I could do . Many happy memories in this song. I had a right childhood and my husband did a version of this song for me as I am a survivor. We married in 1973 in the Beach House in Stanley Park English Bay on Valentine's Day and I sewed my own wedding dress and it was white velvet and my younger sister I sewed he dress in red velvet for Valentine's Day. Ah young Romance and hope for the future.
One of my favorite Love Songs from the 70's. Absolutely Beautiful Lyrics and Harmonies. Skylark was a Canadian Band and the guy who wrote the majority of this song was a Cop and a part time musician at the time.
One of my favourite songs of all time featuring David Foster on keys, and Donny Gerrard doing lead vocals. Thanks for reviewing it. Stay safe and keep up the great reviews.
My uncle. He’s passed on. Skylark has a star on Granville St in Vancouver Canada. David Foster was a big part of this band, married to BJ Cook the female lead singer.
There's so many great elements to this song, but I think perhaps the best of all, was the backup vocals. They pull some pretty amazing stuff and are such a large part of the song, even if unnoticed.
This is a song that for me is a love song to someone who I only barely know but I love. The guitar is using a leslie speaker (rotating horn like what hammbond B3 organs use). That with the great molody, lyrics, singing and orchestration make this one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. I heard it when it came out. I love the violin arpeggio going up and down at the very very end. Bravo!
A good video? Kentucky head hunters they got a suncoat walks off Oxofley's a smoothie and I got a video kentucky head hunters Kentucky head hunters walk softly on s fully I don't know so hard of mine😅😅😅
My wife was going through a tough time When this came out. I was giving all I could to help and this song helped me. She didn't listen to much pop music and so I don't think she ever heard this. So now that she's gone (breast cancer in 1997) it makes me even sadder.
I was just a kid when this song came out in 1972 and I had totally forgotten the group's name and the title of the song, but I sure remember the song itself.
It never ceases to amaze me how some songs get so many plays and others just don't. The Rob Squad audience is just an enigma. Anyway...I think the Pink Floyd-ish feel Jay gets is from the tempo and the drums. I'd have to dig out my metronome, but there is something magical about this particular tempo. I don't know what it is.
Hear ya, I was so excited to see them react to this but audience reaction was just "meh". Oh well. That Pink Floyd-ish vibe he's getting IMO also comes from the strings (or string synth) outro on the bridge, just before the "be careful how you touch her" verse. I can hear a few David Gilmour-ish notes on that lead guitar, too. It's a masterpiece of a song and always will be.
Good choice, what a great song! Donny Gerrard's vocals are so soulful and meaningful. There were cover versions by New Birth and the O'Jays, but this one is the best.
I remember I was in college 1974 came back home and my brother introduced me to this song the original artist Skylark sang it man I was hook. Then the group new birth came out and sang it boy did they put a better spin on it like the dramatics sang me and Mrs. Jones the song Billy Paul sung wow took that song to another level level.And now Tyrese is singing it (wildflower) did an excellent job. Hats off to him
“Be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken And sleep's the only freedom that she knows And when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe The way she's always paying For a debt she never owes” This song is poetry about a woman’s strength and vulnerability. It’s such a beautiful song.
Wow, I sing this song frequently, as I'm walking down the street. I've always interpreted this about a girl who lost her sight. Try Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, LTD., "Black Pearl," fom 1969.
Songwriter Dave Richardson co wrote this song after his then girlfriend (and first wife) returned from her shift as a Nurse after losing 2 of her patients that night.
He heard her crying in another room and it was the impetus to write this song.
What a great song it is!
RIP Dave Richardson/Donny Gerrard.
The other day I read an article (that I now can't find) that IIRC said that David Foster was ready to quit music just before his first wife BJ Cook organized Skylark. The noted hit maker and music director Rosalie Trombley of CKLW Windsor (and Detroit area) steered the song to the top of the charts. Many years later, Skylark lead singer Donny Gerrard lent vocals to producer Foster's Canadian contribution to African relief Tears are Not Enough. Speaking of which Tears are Not Enough should have a reaction. The making of Tears are Not Enough is quite interesting, Mike Reno of Loverboy steals the show as a good Canadian boy. Jay's favourite Corey Hart came aross pretty good as well.
I heard a totally different story.
@@SaverioP This is the popular story....but you never know.
Dave Richardson was a police officer in a municipality local to me - he died in 2019. David Foster is also a local celebrity. I live in Victoria BC.😊
And yes, the story is true...
Dave Richardson didn't hear her crying in the other room. He stopped by her apartment, they were supposed to go on a date that night. They talked about her day and she excused herself, to go to get ready for their date. He sat watching television, after a while he realized that it had been a while, he went and opened the door to her room and found her on the bed sleeping. He covered her with a blanket, and decided that after her rough day, he would just go home. He went home and wrote the song. Thus the line in the song - "be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken...and sleeps the only freedom that she knows." The Wildflower is considered by many to be the beginning (first) power ballad.
One of the top 10 most beautiful songs ever.Lyrically,musically,and production wise.Just all around a masterpiece.
Hard to argue, another 70s masterpiece courtesy of David Foster, modern music's master impressario. This singer's voice is so powerful and soulful. Indeed, one of the most beautiful songs ever.
The arrangement of this song is mesmerizing. Music at its very finest, courtesy of the most magical music decade, the 1970s.
here in 2024, after two divorces, and at 69 yrs old, I connected with an old schoolmate, who just lost her husband/partner of almost 40 yrs. She's battling the loss hard, and is slowly coming back. I pray for her, and dedicate this lovely song to her.
This man’s voice is unbelievable! A great song ❤
When this song came out, I was a very lonely, hurt teenager who had trouble living life. This song is me, it was me, at age 16. I wondered who it was who could see inside my soul and write these lyrics. The music is haunting and hypnotic. This song will always be special to me. I'm so happy you reacted to this beautiful song. Thank you, and thank you for loving it. ✌️💙🎶
Me too.....I'm in a bad way now....several medical injuries, lost family young with tragedies...the US is a disaster...
Sky,lark was with the DOOBIE BROTHERS FOR A FEW YEARS UNTIL HEALTHP ROBLEMS HIT HIM.
I too can relate. My heart goes out to the 16 yr old u. 🧡
I think I was looking for you, at roughly the same age. This song always resonated with me.
@MisterWondrous and we have survived! Whenever I hear a simple song like "Blackbird" by the Beatles, I think, "Yeah, I took those broken wings and learned to fly." Good for us.
David Foster was part of this band and has since gone on to be a huge successful composer / producer with many grammys to his name. He is currently married to Kathrine McFee. (a good song on female friday would be Katherine doing "Somewhere" with David on the piano). Donny Gerrard was the vocalist and passed away at 75 last year. This is a great song! Thanks - Mark
I never knew that. Thank you for sharing. 😮💛
David robbed the cradle to get her.
Yeah that's your certain style
"Be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken
And sleep's the only freedom that she knows
And when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe
The way she's always paying
For a debt she never owes.." 😢 Everytime!! Beautiful, heartrending lyrics.
I saw and felt you hearing and understanding those lyrics, Amber ❤
Almost criminal that this has less than 20k views after two weeks! Such a powerful, polished, and beautiful song!
One "like" is just not enough for this masterpiece. Gorgeous! ❤
I requested this a couple of years ago. So glad you got to it. Had a picture-music montage for my wife's funeral and this was the second song. This WAS her life. Impossible to think how someone could bear all that she did before we met and still be so sweet, loving, and innocent. Thank you for the mist in my eyes.
Hugs to you. ❤
What a beautiful comment. It sounds like she finally got the love she deserved. ❤
Idk what to say. Compelled to say something. My heart goes out to u. She was beautiful. By ur comment, no doubt. Much peace to u. 🧡❤️💚
TY. Your name made me respond. Her dad's nickname for her was Lulubell.
She had been raped at 12 and left unable to have children. She had been physically, emotionally, and financially abused by most of the men in her early life. her soul was STILL so pure.
I lost her almost 8 years ago and still love her more each day. The amazing thing is, she loved me back.@@Cindrbell
So beautiful! I cried after reading your post. I'm so sorry for your tremendous loss, it doesn't get easier each day, it just changes. I pray you are moving through your journey with a little more joy each day. ❤
The most beautiful song ever. The lyrics, his voice, everything. When it came out in 1972 i cried listening to it. Today i cried again. This always happens. It comes so close to home. Thnx guys❤❤
Holy cow! I haven't heard this song in at least 40 years. Back in the old days, 7-11 use to sell albums and had the current top 40 hits on them and I bought one that had this song on it. Great choice and thanks for bringing back a pretty good memory for me.
A very under rated classic. Donny Gerrard was a guy with a bit of stage fright, but man o man he could sing.. his timbre is very unique, so glad you to got to experience this great tune. Band named matched his quality - joyously divine.
I was 13 when I first heard this song. My parents divorced when I was nine. My dad left for his first tour of three tours he would have in Vietnam. My mom did a great job with four kids. My oldest brother went to live with my grandparents to helpthem out and my momma took us to Colorado. Me and my younger brother and sister missed our home but myom did an Awesome job. This song has always reminded me of her since I was 13. She died this year. I miss her like crazy. I have lost my daughter, my mom, my dad and my younger brother and sister. This song brings back all those changes and sweet memories.
😢
Great song, great vocals from 1973. The 70s were the best decade❤❤❤❤
I couldn't agree with you more. Blessed to grow up in the 70's.
Amazing how you can grow up with a song and really hear it for the first time MANY years later….
This song has a local connection for me. Lyrics are based on a poem written by Dave Richardson, a Saanich Police Officer for his then girlfriend, and later wife who was a nurse at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria BC after a difficult shift. Dave had given the poem to his friend David Foster who was the keyboard player in Skylark. Dave’s brother Doug became the chief of police in in Victoria whose wife was also a nurse at the same hospital. Dave Richardson sadly passed away in 2019. The story behind the song appears in the local newspaper the Victoria Times-Colonist on August 27th, 2019.
Man, wow, I haven't heard this song in years. Thank you for this reaction!!
Same here I still think it sounds great🙋🏻♀️
Same.
…beautiful, heartfelt vibes that tell the story of my life 💔 …and oh that guitar!!
Mine too but I didn't want to say it. ✌️❤️🦋
Y’all, this song has always been a favorite of mine. Makes me teary but gosh it is so beautiful! Thank you! 🙏🏻❤️
Skylark is a one-hit wonder, but what a hit! Beautiful and soulful, remember it being huge in early 70’s when released. Played often by AM radio stations, but musically needed FM for the melody and guitar work. Sweet, awesome song and reaction. Donny Gerrard’s voice was outstandingly powerful and so very soulful. His voice is reminiscent of Teddy Pendergrass or Luther Vandross. I’m surprised he didn’t have other hits.
I had suggested this song a few times over the last few years. I was 6 when it came out. As a kid, I just thought it was a sad song. Fast forward 35 years and my sister was trying to remember the name of the song. So I Googled some of the lyrics and found the title and remembered how much I liked the song.
Eight years later, I was diagnosed with a rare incurable genetic disease that would require me to do weekly treatments for the rest of my life. Ten months after that I was diagnosed with leukemia. I now have multiple incurable diseases. I listen to this song several nights a week as it now has a deep personal meaning to me. Honestly, it feels like I have lived each verse of this song over and over.
“She's faced the hardest times, you could imagine
And many times her eyes fought back the tears
And when her youthful world, was about to fall in
Each time her slender shoulders
Bore the weight of all her fears
And a sorrow no one hears
Still rings in midnight silence, in her ears.”
Thank you for this reaction. ❤
Sending positive thoughts to you ❤
God Bless you and yours during this Holiday season, Zebra. I was touched by your story and truly pray for God’s restorative powers for you.
I'm over 60 years old and these lyrics still send shivers down my spine. How these guy's are a one-hit-wonder is a mystery to me.
One hit wonder? Those are fighting words!
@@mofun5315 Yep. Only one hit here in America.
@@justjack0715
Skylark - Vancouver BC - members Donny Gerrard, David Foster - yes him
One of the best songs ever. The live version on the Midnight Special is magical. RIP Donny Gerard.
Oh you found this one. I'm so glad 😀 Greetings from Canada.
Doug Edwards's guitar work on this is simply sublime.
I first heard the New Birth version of this song back in 1973 when I was 10 years old. I have never forgotten this song. Another song from New Birth is dream merchant. It’s from the same time period. It’s funny how some songs really get to you even though you’re only 10 years old.
Omg one of my all time favorites. I read that it was written by man dating a nurse. She had lost a patient during her shift. He did not want to disturb her brief moment of sleep. When we fell in love in 70s, we fell hard. There was more vulnerability in men's music back then than now. Oh how I pray this expressiveness comes back. Thanks young people.
I was a ROCK-n-ROLLER in my youth. And my youth was a LONG time ago. However, I remember when this song came out, and I was STUNNED by how beautiful it was. It was nothing like what I would have normally listened to, but I was spellbound by every aspect of the song. Incredible singer, great guitar work, fantastic arrangement. And the emotion it delivered was overwhelming. This song made me pause, and reconsider just how narrow my listening choices were. I was ignoring so many great songs out there, from ALL different genres. This song opened a door, to the REST of the music universe, for me. I am glad you found it.
The guitar player and composer of the music for "Wildflower" was Doug Edwards. Doug also played Bass for another Vancouver based band "Chilliwack". 🎸😎
One of the most soulful songs ever.
I totally loved this song from the very first time I heard it.
This song is fire and the gentleman singing, if I'm not mistaken, recently passed away. I recall seeing about his passing online. New Birth and The Ojays have good versions of this song too
Back in 1973 my sister turned 18, and a good friend sang this song to her and it became her song. She really was a wildflower, beautiful, gentle, and free.
Less than 4 years later she was taken from us by violence, 10 days before her 22nd birthday, her birthday would have been 7-7-77 that year.
For years our family couldn't listen to this song, it hurt too much. 46 years later it still leaves me in tears because of how closely the lyrics describe her. She was slender, had so many bad things happen to her, and sleep really was the only freedom she knew for the longest time.
We are all consoled because we know she was finally happy when she was taken from us.
Thank you for your lovely reaction to this beautiful and touching song.
I remember hearing the New Birth version of this song in 1973 when I was 10 years old.
Sorry to hear about your sister passing away at such a young age
So blessed to grow up in the 70's.
Thanks for bringing that song back for us to hear. I remember how enchanting the song was in 1973. We used to wear the record out on the jukebox at the local cafe, a local hangout for us small-town kids in Missouri.
We did have so many great musicians and songs back then of many genres ! Loved this song. thank you
Amber this songs always brings a tear to my eye as well. One of my favorites.
This is one of the most beautiful songs, I have ever heard. You are two beautiful of God's children so beautifully complimentary and appreciative...and so we all together as one. Howdy
One Of Favorite Songs,Ever!! You Two Are So Wonderful and Enjoyable!!
Ok, now I have ESP. I was just thinking about this rare gem about an hour ago. Skylark was an interracial group, and a one-hit wonder in the USA. This went to #9 in 1973.
I absolutely adore this song!! The band, the backup echos, and the lead are all on point! And the lyrics. My favorite line is, "when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe the way she's always paying for a debt she never owes..."
Oh my gosh I forgot all about this wonderful song. TYSM for the great reaction. I was tearing up right with you, Amber! Reminds me of my childhood. Happy tears.❤❤❤
One of the members of Skylark is the famous producer David Foster.
Wow I had no idea! Thank you for that!
I love this song but I didn't know who sang it. Thank you so much for playing it. Simple beautiful. 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇
Quite simply, it is one of the best records ever produced. The voice, the music, and the sentiment all collide with a message of love that should be an example to all of us. It correctly pronounces the words of someone deeply in love with their person. It's too bad this kind of love has been forever lost in the past. We certainly could use some these days.
Watching Jay sink down in his chair as the song progressed tells me he has someone in mind. Amber, perhaps? Yes, it describes her soft, gentle, and warm nature to a tee. Thanks, guys, for sharing a part of your relationship and time with us.
So glad you decided to honor such a beautiful song!!! You have yet to explore Toronto's Amanda Marshall who entered the music scene in the mid - to - late 90's... Her successes are "Let it Rain", "Beautiful Goodbye", "Believe in You", and my favorite lyrics "If I Didn't Have You".
Agreed! Give the people what they want, peeps! 🙏
Donny Gerrard passed last year, and is the one giving us those SWEET and SOULFUL vocals on this BEAUTIFUL, TIMELESS song!
I think this is one of the most beautiful love songs of all. Still gives me goosebumps. 🎶🎶🎶❤️❤️
For DECADES I thought this was an American soul/R&B group!!! WOW!!! Such a wonderful, sadly beautiful song!!
Thanks for finally playing this I have watched you everyday since first time a young Jordan started this great journey to experiencing the journey through rock and roll. I am a very
Adevoted fan and follower from the beginning. You have come so far both of you. And amber my fave band ha bee Pink Floyd because they are gifted and it is so magical and trippy. I am with you Sister.
The Wildflower lyric was written in 1970 by Dave Richardson, then a young policeman in Saanich, BC, as a poem about his girlfriend who worked as a nurse at Royal Jubilee Hospital. He passed it along to his young musician friend David Foster, who was forming the band Skylark. Guitarist Doug Edwards fished the lyric out of a stack and composed the melody on organ in about half an hour - about as long as it took Richardson to write the words.
Wildflower was the third single from Skylark's self-titled first album for Capitol Records. The arrangement is built around a basic track featuring Doug Edwards on guitar, Steve Pugsley on bass and Duris Maxwell on drums - a first take run-through serendipitously captured by producer/engineer Eirik "the Norwegian" Wangberg. Every subsequent version emulates Edwards' haunting guitar solo and Donny Gerrard's passionate vocal.
This was all over the radio in the winter of 1973. It was a pop and R&B hit. Skylark was a Canadian interracial band featuring a then-unknown David Foster.
Music was best in the 60’s and 70’s. It was such a great time to grow up with songs like this on the car radio.
“Man” I’d almost forgotten about this one and that almost feels like a sin cause man, every time that song would come on the radio, me and most everyone else who was around would say “Awe man I love this song 🤭😆 When y’all were about to start rollin’ it, I was thinking I know I’m gonna know this one just because of the the band name and the title and that picture also rang a bell! I don’t know if I saw it in the record store or what but it looked familiar as well! But as soon as I heard the first few notes I was like “OH YEAH THAT ONE!!!!”🤣 That’s always been one of “the most” beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard to this day!! Thanks a bunch for that one y’all!!! ❤✌️🫶🎶
"I will pick her from the garden to be mine" ❤. Missed you two!
I went to Junior High School and had a young man named Kenny Gerrard in my grade and his older brother named Donny Gerrard sang this song. I actually sang back up on this song. MrDonnyvGerrard moved from Vancouver to the US South and had some success but never to this level. Sadly Donny passed while living there. He was solful singer and a real nice young man. He was the first black family attending my school and we hung it. My boyfriend late my husband knew him nd that is how I me my husband who was one of those true musical genius who could play every instrument 🎷 his face was Sax, andhe bought me my first guitar in 1971 and taught me how to play. I love music but was not a first time yo pick up a guitar wh just came naturally. I had to practice every song. Except for singing. That I could do . Many happy memories in this song. I had a right childhood and my husband did a version of this song for me as I am a survivor. We married in 1973 in the Beach House in Stanley Park English Bay on Valentine's Day and I sewed my own wedding dress and it was white velvet and my younger sister I sewed he dress in red velvet for Valentine's Day.
Ah young Romance and hope for the future.
One of my favorite Love Songs from the 70's. Absolutely Beautiful Lyrics and Harmonies. Skylark was a Canadian Band and the guy who wrote the majority of this song was a Cop and a part time musician at the time.
One of my favourite songs of all time featuring David Foster on keys, and Donny Gerrard doing lead vocals.
Thanks for reviewing it. Stay safe and keep up the great reviews.
Powerful and poignant, fabulous singing. Fifty years later still wonderful.
A really beautiful and moving song, great voice and backing-Colin Ward
Thank you guys so much for reacting to this song. I love this song. Aloha.
My uncle. He’s passed on. Skylark has a star on Granville St in Vancouver Canada. David Foster was a big part of this band, married to BJ Cook the female lead singer.
There's so many great elements to this song, but I think perhaps the best of all, was the backup vocals. They pull some pretty amazing stuff and are such a large part of the song, even if unnoticed.
I loved this song back in the 70s.
This is one of the best written and sung songs of all time
This is a song that for me is a love song to someone who I only barely know but I love. The guitar is using a leslie speaker (rotating horn like what hammbond B3 organs use). That with the great molody, lyrics, singing and orchestration make this one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. I heard it when it came out. I love the violin arpeggio going up and down at the very very end. Bravo!
Beautiful song. An anthem for us. Thanks. Aww, Amber.. Nice reaction.
Song is so good it should be illegal.
This song came out it was played on every station whether R&B or Classic Rock back in the day.. Classic man..
You gotta love hawaiian started to white at guitar
A good video? Kentucky head hunters they got a suncoat walks off Oxofley's a smoothie and I got a video kentucky head hunters Kentucky head hunters walk softly on s fully I don't know so hard of mine😅😅😅
It's a smoothie they're smooth and white boys are smooth or not
Are you familiar with the group Newbirth’s version of this song. They had a version in the 70’s of this song & it’s a wonderful version.
This is the most soulful song. It's been forgotten. Thanks for doing it.
..."Class of 76"...Another radio classic, thanks! Oh and btw...that sound was provided by rear deck mounted wedge pioneer speakers...
Oh my God, what a great, heartfelt memory from my early teen years. So incredibly beautiful. Thanks for this.
My wife was going through a tough time When this came out. I was giving all I could to help and this song helped me. She didn't listen to much pop music and so I don't think she ever heard this. So now that she's gone (breast cancer in 1997) it makes me even sadder.
Hey guys. This was a beautiful ballad from the 70's with Donny Gerard singing lead. Sadly he passed in 2022. Check out his solo song he did " Words "
I remember this beautiful song from my childhood here in Canada.
A beautiful paean to flower children like Amber who is a free and gentle flower growing wild.
Always loved this song. Happy Autumn y'all!
“The way she’s always paying; for a debt she never owes...” Hardest hitting line in my opinion.... 😔
Amber listens to the words...always. And this song has beautiful words.
ALWAYS loved this beautiful song!💞💞💞
I've always loved this song. It brings tears to my eyes. It's so beautiful!!
Yes, so beautiful.
I was just a kid when this song came out in 1972 and I had totally forgotten the group's name and the title of the song, but I sure remember the song itself.
Love his mournful voice "calling Wildflower".
Suggestion for late 60's group: The Lovin' Spoonful. Start with: Darling Be Home Soon.🥰
This is some of the most beautiful lyrics wrapped around harmonies and great guitar work
It never ceases to amaze me how some songs get so many plays and others just don't. The Rob Squad audience is just an enigma. Anyway...I think the Pink Floyd-ish feel Jay gets is from the tempo and the drums. I'd have to dig out my metronome, but there is something magical about this particular tempo. I don't know what it is.
Hear ya, I was so excited to see them react to this but audience reaction was just "meh". Oh well. That Pink Floyd-ish vibe he's getting IMO also comes from the strings (or string synth) outro on the bridge, just before the "be careful how you touch her" verse. I can hear a few David Gilmour-ish notes on that lead guitar, too. It's a masterpiece of a song and always will be.
Good choice, what a great song! Donny Gerrard's vocals are so soulful and meaningful. There were cover versions by New Birth and the O'Jays, but this one is the best.
Oh the lyrics just get me every time I hear this song ❤
I heard this song when I was younger and never realized the beautiful guitar 🎸 work is combined with vocals and backing vocals I love ❤️ this song!!!
One of my all time favourites..many days through life I have felt this song..
One of my favs in my young teens!! SO heartfelt....GREAT lyrics....JUST AWESOME!!! ....and, WHAT A VOICE!! 🤍☮
Amber was that a tear? Your show of emotion in front of us is so sweet. It permits us to cry too.
I remember I was in college 1974 came back home and my brother introduced me to this song the original artist Skylark sang it man I was hook. Then the group new birth came out and sang it boy did they put a better spin on it like the dramatics sang me and Mrs. Jones the song Billy Paul sung wow took that song to another level level.And now Tyrese is singing it (wildflower) did an excellent job. Hats off to him
Thanks for sharing this beautiful wonderful sweetest of songs. Loved it ever since 1972 (I think it was). Amber, sweet to see this song touching you.
“Be careful how you touch her, for she'll awaken
And sleep's the only freedom that she knows
And when you walk into her eyes, you won't believe
The way she's always paying
For a debt she never owes”
This song is poetry about a woman’s strength and vulnerability. It’s such a beautiful song.
Love this song. One of the most beautiful songs ever.
I was little girl listening to this song in Montreal, Quebec. Canada 🇨🇦. This song can still put me back at that time in my life.
Actually, Jamie Foxx sampled the New Birth version for his song "Unpredictable"...you can hear the horns in the sample...
This is one of my favorite songs; it takes me back to when I was a teenager and in love with my first girlfriend. I love everything about this song. 💕
Love this song. Takes me back to the 70's.
I haven't heard this in years, but immediately started singing along. Remembered all of the high notes.
Tears, every single time. This song is really special--so glad you finally got to hear it!
Wow, I sing this song frequently, as I'm walking down the street. I've always interpreted this about a girl who lost her sight. Try Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, LTD., "Black Pearl," fom 1969.