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| THE POPPY FAMILY
Canada
(Everlasting)
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THE POPPY FAMILY
Canada
The oldest of five sons, Jacks was pressured by his family
to be an architect. However, the allure to music was too strong. His first real
professional exposure in music was as singer and guitarist for The Chessmen
who had a modicum of success in the Vancouver region with two singles on London
Records and two singles on Mercury 1964 thru 1966. Three of these tunes charted
in the Top-10 on CFUN.
During one of The Chessmen's many appearances on CBC-TV's Music
Hop, Jacks would meet his future wife, Saskatoon native Susan Pesklevits. Susan
and Terry started performing together when, quite a while after that meeting,
Susan was asked to sing in Hope, B.C. and needed a guitar player to accompany
her. She was unable to locate one who was free for that night but she remembered
meeting Terry and had heard that his group had broken up. She called Jacks and
he agreed to accompany her, after which they began playing several small clubs
as a duo.
They would eventually add a guitar player, Craig McCaw, and
began trying out group names (Powerline and Winkin' Blinkin' and Nob). With
the addition of a tabla player, Satwant Singh, they settled on the name The
Poppy Family. Initially, their repertoire was mostly cover tunes and, as Terry
Jacks began writing more, they would add these original composition to the stage
show.
Two singles slid by unnoticed ("Beyond The Clouds"
and "What Can The Matter Be"), but it gave the act the opportunity
to travel outside the Vancouver city limits. In 1969 the band would hit gold
with "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" which had been recorded on a shoe-string
budget. The single would become a No. 1 in Canada and No. 2 on Billboard in
the USA. Eventually worldwide sales would total over 2 1/2 million copies. The
song won four Junos in 1969 for 'Best Produced Single' (Terry Jacks), 'Best
Produced MOR Album', 'Best Group Performance' and 'Outstanding Sales'.
Terry Jack's dislike for playing live led him to let McCaw
and Singh go from the Poppy Family fold in 1970.
Two more hits followed in "That's Where I Went Wrong"
and "Where Evil Grows" which saw Jacks under great pressure to put
a touring version of the Poppy Family together. While working with Valdy on
a studio project in Vancouver, Jacks came across the guitar work of Norman MacPherson
who he brought on board to replace not only McCaw as a live guitarist, but to
help in the studio on the 'Poppy Seeds' album. MacPherson left the live roster
on good terms in the Fall of 1971. Terry Jacks would then call Bob Nelson to
replace MacPherson on guitarist. At first, it was Terry Jacks, Susan Jacks,
Bob Nelson & Satwant Singh. They played quite a few gigs across Canada and
in the United States. But Nelson eventually left the group and the Poppies returned
to studio life.
Later, in 1973 Nelson teamed up again with Terry & Susan
Jacks. Nelson was asked to recruit Ron Johnson (who played piano on "Where
Evil Grows"), bassist Doug Edwards, and The Fifth Dimension drummer Jim
Chivers. They rehearsed quite a bit, but only played a few gigs together in
that incarnation - notably, Disney World on the 4th of July.
The intensity of the band's stardom and the stress of producing
and having to perform live led Terry Jacks to make some new managerial decisions
for the act. He decided that groups were becoming passe and it was time for
the duo to drop the "Poppy Family" name. His plan had been to revitalize
their image -- as solo recording acts -- thereby yielding twice the impact than
a single group.
To that end, Susan recorded a self-titled solo album (aka 'I
Thought Of You Again') in 1973 which was produced by Terry Jacks on Goldfish
Records for Poppy Family Productions Ltd. Singles released from this album were
the Juno-nominated track "I Thought Of You Again" (written by Terry
Jacks) as well as "I Want You To Love Me". Alas, the career decisions
and other aspects of the duo's life together drove them farther apart as a couple
and in 1973 Susan decided to leave their marriage and the act.
Terry Jacks had some minor hits before he'd have the biggest
hit of his career: Jacques Brel's "Seasons In The Sun" in late 1973
which sold 11.5 million copies worldwide and stayed on the charts for 17 weeks
in Canada and 15 in the US. The recording won Jacks another 4 Juno Awards.
Terry Jacks continued writing and producing over the years
and released albums sporadically. He fronted a new band called Hood who charted
with their only single "'Cause We're In Love" in 1974; Jacks would
produce such diverse Canadian acts as Chilliwack and DOA's 1990 Restless Records
album 'Murder' which featured the remake of Jacks' "Where Evil Grows";
He released his final studio album in 1987 and then retired sighting his lack
of desire to go through the grind of touring. He stayed in the public eye by
becoming a staunch Environmentalist and has often made headlines as head of
Environmental Watch who is dedicated to fighting pollution; he is married to
his second wife Maggi and has a daughter.
After the duo parted ways, Susan Jacks began touring solo and
dubbed one congregation of backing musicians Cheese. She had very good success
with such singles as "All the Tea in China", "Anna Marie"
and "Tall Dark Stranger", all of which produced a Juno nomination.
She would have a litany of record label and managerial problems
highlighted by her feud with Casino Records president Ray Pettinger who had
withheld her 1975 recorded album 'Dreams'; In 1980 she recorded 'Ghosts' for
CBS Records and was reunited with her first husband Terry Jacks as producer.
Not long after she hooked up with Bruce Allen Management who brought in Prism's
Tom Lavin to produce the 'Forever' album in 1982; She moved to Nashville in
1983 after signing a recording contract with a Nashville record label with second
husband, CFL player Ted Dushinski, and her son. Since then, she's managed a
publishing company and was Vice President of Operations for a computer consulting
company. Susan Jacks is now part owner in, and Executive Vice President of,
a successful telecommunications company in Nashville.
The Poppy Family
Susan Jacks (vocals) / Terry Jacks (guitar) / Bob Nelson (guitars)
/ Craig MacCaw (guitars; replaced Nelson)
Satwan Singh (drums) / Ron Johnson (piano) / Doug Edwards (bass) / Jim Chivers
(drums; replaced Singh)
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
1968 Beyond The Clouds/Free From The City (London) 17364
1969 What Can The Matter Be/Evil Overshadows Joe (London) 17369
1969 Which Way You Goin', Billy?/Endless Sleep (London) 17373
1970 You Took My Moonlight Away (London)
1970 Endless Sleep [promo re-issue] (London) 45129
1970 That's Where I Went Wrong/Shadows On My Wall (London) 45139
1971 Where Evil Grows/I Was Wondering (London) 45148
1971 No Good To Cry/I'll See You There(London) 45164
1972 Good Friends/Tryin' (London) 45172
Albums/CDs
1969 Which Way You Goin' Billy? (London) PS568
1970 That's Where I Went Wrong (London)
1971 Poppy Seeds (London) PS599
1976 Terry Jacks & The Poppy Family featuring Susan Jacks (K-Tel)
1989 The Poppy Family's Greatest Hits
1996 A Good Thing Lost: 1968-1973 (What Are Records?) WTA 60017
Compilation Tracks
1972 "Good Friends" on 'Maple Music Vol.1' (MMJ)
1973 "Where Evil Grows" on 'Canadian Mint' (K-Tel) TC215
1990 "Which Way You Goin', Billy?" on 'Made In Canada - Volume One:
The Early Years' (BMG) KKL-7156
1996 "Which Way You Goin', Billy?" on 'Oh What A Feeling - Disc 3'
(MCA) JUNO-25
1998 "Where Evil Grows" on 'Losing Money & Losing Friends'
WHICH WAY YOU GOIN' BILLY?
The Poppy Family
Which way you goin', Billy?
Can I go too?
Which way you goin', Billy?
Can I go with you?
I really love you, Billy,
And all this time,
I thought you loved me, Billy,
And you were mine.
I'm gonna miss you, Billy,
And though I'm trying,
I'm hurtin' so bad, Billy,
I can't help crying.
You are my whole, babe,
My heart and my soul, babe.
I'd have nothing to show, babe,
If you should go away.
You are my whole, babe,
My heart and my soul, babe.
I'd have nothing to show, babe,
If you should go.
Which way you goin', Billy?
Or need I ask?
'Cause you don't want me, Billy.
You're free at last.
I won't forget you, Billy,
For all my life.
I'll always love you, Billy.
I'll stay your wife.
You are my whole, babe,
My heart and my soul, babe.
I'd have nothing to show, babe,
If you should go away.
You are my whole, babe,
My heart and my soul, babe.
I'd have nothing to show, babe,
If you should go.
You are my whole, babe,
My heart and my soul, babe.
I'd have nothing to show, babe,
If you should go.
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