from SKYLARK 2
Written by Brian & Brenda Russell
This week we go back to David Foster’s first steps into the music biz as co-founder and driving force of the pop/rock band, Skylark. Skylark released two interesting albums in the first half of the seventies that introduced Foster’s blooming talents to the music world. Skylark included Foster’s first wife, singer/songwriter B. J. Cook, and the wonderful soul singer Donny Gerrard (1946-2022) who was remembered for the 1973 hit ballad, “Wildflower.” That song was a top ten hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 and the Canadian Top Singles charts. “Wildflower” was a huge adult contemporary hit. Since the rise on the charts, “Wildflower” has became an evergreen with multiple recorded versions.
As a previous pick on this page, the “Wildflower” review can be found in the archives section. This time around the choice is “You Remind Me Of A Friend.”
The opening number on Skylark’s 1974 sophomore release, Skylark 2, was “You Remind Me Of A Friend”. That song was co-written by two friends and co-patriots of Foster’s, singer/songwriter Brenda Russell and her then-hubby Brian Russell. “You Remind Me Of A Friend” was a catchy pop composition with a strong soul/R&B flavor that sported a creative arrangement by Foster. The Hitman showcased his superior keyboard playing throughout the song, inspired by the progressive music of those years. The lead vocals were perfectly handled by Gerrard who had a great performance and crafted some beautiful back-up vocal harmonies with Cook. Foster, as you can read below, wasn’t very happy with his work on this track although it does sound appealing and quite on target. This song with the slightly different title of “Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me Of A Friend)” was released in 1974 by Rufus & Chaka Khan on their album, Rufusized. Their cover sound, quite inevitably, was more soulful. Chaka’s trademark vocals were beautiful. “Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me Of A Friend)” ended up being released as a single.
Brian and Brenda Russell recorded their own version of “Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me Of A Friend)” for their 1976 album, World Called Love. Their version was arranged by none other than David Foster who crafted a more radio friendly, catchy arrangement for them compared to the more complex one that he did for his own band.
The Hitman sent us a brief note about this song:
“Honestly, I have very few memories of this recording. I do remember that I really liked the song, but I didn’t really like what we did with it. I have always loved Brenda and Brian Russell and their songwriting. Years later, I co-wrote “It’s Something” with Brenda, a song that (fusion group) Snarky Puppy covered a few years ago with the amazing Lalah Hathaway. Brenda is also well-known for her own hit, “Piano In The Dark” and co-wrote the successful musical, The Color Purple.”
- Lead & Background Vocals: Donny Gerrard
- Background Vocals: B.J. Cook
- Piano, Electric Piano, Moog & Pipe Organ: David Foster
- Bass: Steve Puglsey
- Drums: Brian Hilton & Duris Maxwell
- Guitar: Alan Mix
- Gabriel Delorme: Acoustic Guitar
- Percussion & Background Vocals: Carl Graves
- Backing Vocals: Bobby Taylor
- Arrangements & Production Coordination: David Foster
- Vocals Arrangements by Donny Gerrard
- Produced by Eirik The Norvegian
Lyrics
Please pardon me, but I’m longing to speak
I hope you don’t mind my staring
I don’t mind
‘Cause your face looks so kind
Seldom you’ll find someone so daring
You remind me of a friend of mine
Ooh, I’ve lost the time, yeah
Every time I see your face
Remind me of that someone
In fact, it’s true, it’s you
Runnin’ right into you, yeah
Hope you don’t mind
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you find
A face that’s so kind
Hope you don’t mind
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you find
A face that’s so kind
Please pardon me, but I’m all into spirit
I hope you don’t mind my starin’
I don’t mind
‘Cause your face looks so kind
And it’s seldom you’ll find someone so daring
You remind me of a friend of mine
I’ve to stare, yeah yeah
Every time I see your face
You remind me of that someone
In fact, it was you
Ooh, it’s true
The moment I ran to you
I hope you don’t mind
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you’ll find a face that’s so kind
Hope you don’t mine
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you’ll find a face that’s so kind
Hope you don’t mine
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you’ll find a face that’s so kind
Hope you
You look like a friend of mine
And it’s seldom you’ll find a face that’s so kind