Donny Gerrard, who scored a hit with “Wildflower” as the vocalist of the group Skylark, has died. He is 75 years old.
Gerrard died on Thursday and is receiving hospice care amid his battle with cancer, says journalist Bill Carpenter The Hollywood Reporter. Adam Ayers from Red Light Management said: “Our dear brother Donny passed away early this morning at home, peaceful and surrounded by family,” Adam Ayers from Red Light Management said in a statement. The statement was published on Thursday.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, on March 19, 1946, Gerrard is the singer of the band Skylark in the early 1970s, with producer David Foster as a keyboardist. Their 1972 breakout ballad “Wildflower” peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later sampled in Jamie Foxx’s 2005 platinum-certified hit “Unp Predict”.
In 1975, Skylark split and Gerrard focused on a solo career. He signed with Elton John’s Rocket Record Company and dropped the single “(Baby) Don’t Let It Mess Your Mind”, in addition to providing backing vocals for John’s 1975 album. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
Soon after, Gerrard signed with Greedy Records, and in 1976 he recorded his self-titled debut album, with “Words (Are Impossible)”, which became his highest-charting solo track.
He went on to provide session vocals on recordings for many of the top artists of the ’80s, including Bette Midler, Neil Diamond, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt, BB King, and Dusty Springfield.
Gerrard would collaborate again with Foster on the 1985 charity single “Tears Are Not Enough,” which featured a long list of famous singers. Gerrard and Bryan Adams performed a duet for a song that Foster co-wrote and co-produced and was included on an album produced by Quincy Jones. We are the World.
More recently, Gerrard has released Romantica 2000 pop standard album and performed vocals on Mavis Staples’ 2010 Grammy-winning album You’re not alone.
He is survived by his wife Myra, sons Cooper Gerrard and Traie Payne, sisters Dale Peck and Yvonne Gerrard and brother Kenny Gerrard.
