Doug Edwards (musician)

Doug Edwards (March 15, 1946 – November 11, 2016) was a Canadian musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-creating the hit song "Wildflower" for the pop/rock band Skylark. He was also part of The Hometown Band and later was bassist for Vancouver band Chilliwack.

Doug Edwards
Born(1946-03-15)March 15, 1946
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
DiedNovember 11, 2016(2016-11-11) (aged 70)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresPop music
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar, bass
Associated acts

Early life

Edwards was born in Edmonton, Alberta to Dr. William Edwards and Muriel (née Brown) and learned piano from a young age.[1][2]

His father was a doctor who frequently moved the family around to Saskatchewan and England for brief periods of time. Eventually they moved to Victoria, British Columbia when Edwards was a teenager, which was around the time he began to learn electric guitar and bass.[2] He began playing in bands while in high school in Victoria.

Music career

Edwards moved to Vancouver to join a band called The Villains, which had a regular gig at a night-club called Oil Can Harry's.[1] He then toured with The 5th Dimension where he took on a role as session musician.[3] Eventually that led him to join the band for TV appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and secured an opening gig for Frank Sinatra and the Harry James Orchestra in Las Vegas.[2]

As his career continued, Edwards began to look for other opportunities. He met singer B.J. Cook and David Foster, the latter of whom had just exited Ronnie Hawkins’s band and was looking to forge his next career step with Skylark.[2]

"Wildflower" creation and release

Edwards came across the blueprints for "Wildflower" almost by chance. Lyrics for the song were originally penned by Dave Richardson, a police officer in Saanich, B.C., who was good friends with Foster. He had sent a pile of poems over to him in hopes that Skylark might find inspiration for a song. Foster asked Edwards to sift through the pile, which is when he found the words to "Wildflower" and started to poke away at a melody on a Hammond organ.[2]

The song appeared on the band's self-titled debut album and went gold in Canada and hit No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard charts.[2] Edwards left the band before its breakup in 1975.

Later career and death

After Skylark broke up Edwards became a member of The Hometown Band, which released several albums in the late '70s including one with folk singer Valdy.

When The Hometown Band broke up, Edwards returned to session work, contributing bass guitar to Glass Tiger's "Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)" and the Poppy Family’s "Which Way You Goin’, Billy?"[4]

He played in the band Chilliwack until illness forced him to stop performing in early 2016.[2] Edwards died of cancer in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the age of 70.[2][5]

References
  1. Hawthorn, Tom (20 Nov 2016). "West Coast musician Doug Edwards composed Skylark". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. Friend, David (16 November 2016). "'Wildflower' co-writer, Skylark guitarist Doug Edwards dies at 70". 680 News.
  3. "Passings: Doug Edwards of Skylark, Chilliwack (1946 - 2016)". VVN Music. November 2016.
  4. "Doug Edwards, co-writer of hit song "Wildflower," passes on at 70 | SOCAN". www.socan.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  5. "The Garage: No Fun's David Matychuk delights in being out of step". Vancouver Sun, Tom Harrison November 14, 2016
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