1972 Iconic Ballad, Covered by Johnny Mathis, Became a One-Hit Wonder’s Defining Hit

In 1972, a newly formed Canadian band recorded a tender ballad that would travel much farther than the group itself ever did.

Skylark found its defining hit with “Wildflower,” a soulful song written by Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson. The recording became an unexpected success on both sides of the Canadian border, giving the short-lived band its enduring claim to fame and eventually inspiring interpretations from artists including Johnny Mathis.

The song began with a poem.

Richardson, who was a friend of Edwards, wrote the lyrics after being inspired by an evening spent with his then-girlfriend.

“In 1970 I was dating a nurse, whom I would eventually marry in 1971,” Richardson later recalled. One night, she was in her bedroom getting ready for a date after a particularly difficult day at work. He waited patiently for her, but after awhile when she didn’t emerge, he went to make sure she was okay.

“I knocked on the door but she didn’t answer, so I went in to find her fast asleep on the bed, still in her housecoat and with the towel still wrapped around her head,” he continued. “I guess she was just exhausted after her emotional day. So, I put a blanket over her, being careful not to wake her, and went home and wrote the song in about 15 minutes or so. It was absolutely inspired. I have always felt that all I did was hold the pen in my hand, and that God did the writing.”

Edwards then composed the music, creating the sweeping ballad that Skylark would record for its self-titled debut album.

Getting it onto the radio proved more difficult.

“Wildflower” was initially released as a single in 1972 but attracted little attention. Its fortunes changed when CKLW, the influential radio station in Windsor, Ontario, began playing the song after receiving requests for it. That airplay helped breathe new life into the recording, and its popularity gradually spread.

The slow-building momentum ultimately carried Skylark onto the charts.

“Wildflower” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and climbed even higher in Canada, becoming by far the band’s biggest success. Skylark was unable to follow it with another comparable hit, however, and the group disbanded after releasing only two albums.

One member would go on to a particularly remarkable second act.

Skylark’s keyboardist David Foster later became one of pop music’s most successful producers and songwriters, working with artists including Whitney Houston, Chicago, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand. “Wildflower” remains an early chapter in a career that would eventually produce scores of major hits.

The song also continued flourishing without Skylark.

Over the years, “Wildflower” has been recorded by numerous performers, with Johnny Mathis among the artists to offer his own rendition. Its blend of vulnerability and soul also helped the composition cross easily between pop, R&B and adult contemporary music.

More than five decades after its release, “Wildflower” remains inseparable from Skylark’s brief moment in the spotlight. The band may have become a one-hit wonder, but the 1972 ballad proved far more enduring, outliving the group that introduced it and becoming a song generations of artists have continued to rediscover.

Related: 1966 Folk Song, Covered by Rod Stewart, Is Still a Powerful Hit 60 Years Later