Donny Gerrard, ‘Wildflower’ Singer, Dies at 75

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Donny Gerrard, who scored a hit with “Wildflower” as the lead vocalist for the group Skylark, has died. He was 75.

Gerrard died Thursday (Feb. 3) and had been under hospice care amid a battle with cancer, publicist Bill Carpenter told The Hollywood Reporter. “Our dear brother Donny passed away early this morning at home, peacefully, surrounded by family,” said Adam Ayers from Red Light Management in a statement released Thursday.

Born in Vancouver, Canada, on March 19, 1946, Gerrard was the singer for the early 1970s band Skylark, which counted producer David Foster as a keyboardist. Their 1973 breakout ballad “Wildflower” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later sampled on Jamie Foxx’s 2005 platinum-certified hit “Unpredictable.”

By 1975, Skylark had split up, 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 background vocals on 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, featuring “Words (Are Impossible),” which became his highest-charting solo track. It reached No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the 1980s, he provided backup vocals on recordings for numerous top-tier artists, including Bette Midler, Neil Diamond, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt, B.B. King and Dusty Springfield.

Gerrard would team up again with Foster on 1985 charity single “Tears Are Not Enough,” featuring a long list of renowned vocalists. Gerrard and Bryan Adams performed a line as a duet for the song that Foster co-wrote and co-produced and which was included on the Quincy Jones-produced album We Are the World.

More recently, Gerrard released The Romantic, a 2000 album of pop standards, and performed vocals on Mavis Staples’ Grammy-winning 2010 album You Are Not Alone.

He is survived by wife Myra, sons Cooper Gerrard and Traie Payne, sisters Dale Peck and Yvonne Gerrard and brother Kenny Gerrard.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

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Tyler, The Creator is getting copyright strikes lifted so fans can react to ‘Chromakopia’ on social media

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Tyler, The Creator has revealed that he’s trying to get copyright strikes lifted so that fans can react to his new album in full on social media.

Following the release of his latest album ‘Chropmakopia’ in late October, fans of Tyler, The Creator have been sharing their reactions to the record on social media. However, many of said fans have begun experiencing copyright strikes and blocked for their content, with either the sound being removed from their videos, or the videos and accounts being taken down completely.

Now, the rapper has assured a fan on Instagram that his team are working on getting the copyright strikes lifted so that complete reactions can be shared on social media without penalty. In response to one fan flagging copyright bans, Tyler commented, per SleepingOnGems: “Gonna make sure the block gets lifted man, hit my squad up early this am”.

The fan later responded saying: “Video is up and all blocks lifted. Appreciate you helping”.

 

Earlier this year, in the midst of their heated feud, both Kendrick Lamar and Drake had waived all copyright stipulations from their diss tracks targeted at each other, resulting in the mass reacting and sharing of their songs on social media.

In May 2023, Grimes criticised the use of copyright in regards to music: “Copyright sucks. Art is a conversation with everyone that’s come before us. Intertwining it with the ego is a modern concept. The music industry has been defined by lawyers, and that strangles creativity.

“I think everything about copyright is problematic,” Grimes added. “There’s too much top down control. In the early days of TikTok there was a lot of weird music going viral, but now the gatekeeping stranglehold means less interesting stuff coming out.”

Tyler, the Creator performs on stage during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on April 13, 2024. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Tyler, the Creator performs on stage during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on April 13, 2024. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

In the wake of the ‘Chromakopia’ release, Tyler has announced more dates for his massive ‘Chromakopia’ world arena tour. He’s added three shows in his hometown of Los Angeles, along with New York, Austin, and Seattle, while adding on to his European leg with another Paris date. Australia has also received three new shows on the tour.

In NME’s three-star review of ‘Chromakopia’, Fred Garratt-Stanley wrote: “Within the chaos [of the album], there’s beauty — the sensitivity of ‘Hey Jane’, the infectious hip-hop bite of ‘Thought I Was Dead’, the rising cacophonies of brass and percussion on ‘I Killed You’. But perhaps a less frantic approach would’ve benefited the listen overall.”

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