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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Cardi B Furiously Slams Trolls Posting Edited Photos Of Her Daughter

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Cardi B went off on users on social media who have been sharing edited pictures of her daughter, Kulture. After seeing one fake image of her ex, Offset, having sex with their daughter, she raged about "Stan Twitter" on X (formerly Twitter) Spaces. “Y’all take things too f*cking far,” Cardi B said. “That sh*t be pissing me the f*ck off.”

“I’ve been trying not to crash out,” Cardi B said, as caught by AllHipHop. “Y’all been f*cking doing edit[ed] pictures of my daughter getting f*cked by her dad on some real weirdo sh*t. Y’all been f*cking posting under pictures that y’all wish my daughter getting f*cking raped. All because y’all in y’all feelings because I f*cking tweeted my kids are smart.”

 

Cardi B Performs During Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

Cardi B at Bonnaroo 2019 | PhotosSyndication: NashvilleCardi B performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, June 16, 2019, in Manchester, Tenn. © Shelley Mays/ Tennessean.com via Imagn Images

 

She added: “Why do y’all think like that? Why do y’all do that? And then when my sister stands up and defends herself, y’all wanna attack people too. Now, when we started getting real f*cking funny, sh*t ain’t gonna be f*cking funny no more. It ain’t gonna be f*cking funny no more. I can’t even brag about kids being f*cking smart without f*cking Stan Twitter doing retarded sh*t, saying r*tarded sh*t. The f*ck is wrong with y’all?” Cardi ended the rant by telling the toxic fans on Twitter that they won't scare her from continuing to post about her children.

 

Cardi B Goes Off On X Spaces

The rant comes after Cardi filed for divorce from Offset, earlier this year. She also made headlines, earlier this week for endorsing Kamala Harris at a rally in Wisconsin ahead of election day on Tuesday. That removed resulted in a viral spat with Elon Musk on social media over the weekend. Be on the lookout for further updates on Cardi B on HotNewHipHop.

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