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FYI

BJ Cook – Ronnie Hawkins, David Foster, Skylark and Rock n’ Roll

During the mid-seventies, BJ Cook and partner David Foster walked into our Gothic Avenue home. It was the early days of Skylark and the two were looking for songs.

BJ Cook – Ronnie Hawkins, David Foster, Skylark and Rock n’ Roll

By Bill King

During the mid-seventies, BJ Cook and partner David Foster walked into our Gothic Avenue home. It was the early days of Skylark and the two were looking for songs. My mind was elsewhere but we did share a few laughs about our encounters with Ronnie Hawkins of which the two were coming off a wild ride with the entertaining rockabilly dynamo.


Cook and Foster were married on a road trip through Florida in 1972, and daughter Amy Skylark Foster was born the following year. The hits started coming. Songwriting is a family tradition. Cook herself co-wrote with established LA songwriters Michael McDonald, Brenda Russell, Foster, Bill Champlin and Donovan, and daughter Amy has written three of Michael Bublé’s hits.

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Cook’s life reads much like an open novel. Pregnant at 16, facing the hostility of small-town living, the hard times, coming rock n’ roll revolution and the long unwinding road.

In part one of this conversation, we talk of the early years, the contagious laughs with Ronnie Hawkins, scuffling with soon-to-be partner David Foster, Skylark and the devastating illness overtaking lead singer Donny Gerrard, who passed away last week.

Cook would later team up with the late Domenic Troiano and co-write the television theme hit Night Heat.

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EMPIRE's Tina Davis (left) and Girl Connected's Lola Plaku at Conversations with the Pros at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto on March 28, 2025.
Courtesy of Girl Connected

EMPIRE's Tina Davis (left) and Girl Connected's Lola Plaku at Conversations with the Pros at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto on March 28, 2025.

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EMPIRE President Tina Davis Gives Strategic Advice to Women in Music at Girl Connected's New Speaker Series

On Friday (March 28), the president of EMPIRE, the Bay Area-independent label and music company, came to Toronto for Conversation with the Pros offering tangible advice to the mentorship program's community. Davis also spoke to Billboard Canada about her impressive journey in the industry.

Girl Connected has launched a new series that connects the next generation of women in Canadian music with powerhouse executives for the global industry.

On Friday (March 28), Tina Davis, president of EMPIRE, sat down with Girl Connected founder and music industry veteran Lola Plaku at Toronto Metropolitan University for the first in-person Canadian edition of Conversations with the Pros (Billboard Canada was a supporting partner). The series brings in inspiring music industry figures from Girl Connected's international network to talk about their journeys and offer actionable information and advice to help the budding music professionals develop their skills and reach the next level of their careers.

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