This version became a bona fide hit in its own right, cracking the top 20 on the R&B singles chart in 1974. New Birth's version of the tune features enhancements to the original melody, including a more instrumentally complex introduction, later directly sampled in Jamie Foxx's hit song ' Unpredictable,' and a spoken monologue from lead singer Leslie Wilson during the bridge.

'Wildflower' has been covered by many artists, including Color Me Badd, Hank Crawford, Johnny Mathis, Lisa Fischer, Gary Morris, New Birth, The O'Jays, Marlena Shaw, Lana Wolf, and Silk. Ultimately, the song was their only single to chart in the United States. Total sales of the single exceeded one million copies, and it was included on their second album as well, at the request of Capitol Records executives who sought to capitalize on the song's success. The song proved to be extremely popular in Canada as well it ultimately peaked at number 10 on the RPM Top Singles chart, and number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Eventually 'Wildflower' spent 21 weeks on the Billboard pop chart. Capitol decided to release the song in neighboring Detroit as a regional release, where it became a huge soul hit before breaking out nationally and crossing over to the pop charts. During that period, it was the only radio station in North America to have the song on its playlist. Rosalie Trombley, a music director at CKLW, a Canadian radio station in Windsor, Ontario, played 'Wildflower', at that time an album cut, repeatedly for three months in an effort to satisfy the Canadian government's requirements for Canadian content. The initial single released from the album was not successful. After the demo was rejected by several studios, an executive at Capitol Records signed the band and the song-with Donny Gerrard doing the vocal-was included on their eponymous first album. Barry De Vorzon, by 1972 an established music business name, heard the demo tape and was convinced that the song would be a big hit. 'Wildflower' was a song which Edwards composed after reading Richardson's poem the song was included on the band's demo tape. Doug Edwards was a member of Skylark, and Dave Richardson was a friend of band member and organizer David Foster.

Wildflower by skylark