Terry Jacks
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Terry Jacks (born March 29, 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer and environmentalist.
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[edit] Career
Growing up as part of the hippie generation, a teenage Jacks migrated to the west coast where, as a guitarist and singer, he joined a Vancouver, British Columbia, band called The Chessmen. The group had a few minor local hits before disbanding, after which Jacks teamed up with soloist Susan Pesklevits (born 1948, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). Jacks composed, arranged, and produced their material while Pesklevits sang lead vocals. The duo performed at small Vancouver clubs before adding another guitarist and drummer to restyle themselves as The Poppy Family.
While Jacks' and Pesklevits' personal relationship led to marriage, they eked out a living until the band burst onto the national charts in 1969 with their Terry Jacks-produced debut album, Which Way You Goin' Billy? that saw the 45rpm single go to No. 1 in Canada and reach No. 2 on the Billboard charts in the United States, selling upwards of three million copies. The single won a Juno Award for best performance while Jacks earned a Juno for best producer of a single. The Poppy Family won a Juno for best group and immediately followed up with Poppy Seeds but it never achieved anything close to that initial success internationally, although their Canadian success continued. The Poppy Family did place two other singles in the U.S. Top 50, "That's Where I Went Wrong" (No. 29, 1970) and "Where Evil Grows" (No. 45, 1971), the latter of which was a duet between Jacks and Pesklevits (unusual since she was lead singer on most of the group's singles). Eventually The Poppy Family split up.
The marriage also dissolved, but they produced two more albums before the marriage officially ended in 1973, Susan's first solo album "I Thought Of You Again" and Terry's "Seasons in the Sun" album. Terry had worked with the Beach Boys to record the song Seasons In The Sun but the project was never finished so it was decided Jacks would record the song. Released in 1973 on his own record label, the single became the largest-selling single in Canadian history and earned Jacks three Juno Awards. In the United States, where it was released on Bell Records, the song went to No. 1 on the charts. He released two more singles entitled If You Go Away (another English-language version of a Jaques Brel song entitled "Ne Me Quitte Pas")While giving a nod to Jaques Brel, you may want to add "Le Moribund", the roots of "Seasons In The Sun". and "Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)", but unlike "Seasons In The Sun" they failed to make the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Jacks wrote and recorded a number of other songs and went on to become a successful record producer for other Canadian singers, earning a Juno nomination as "Producer of the Year". Jacks claimed on a VH1 special to have written "Seasons In The Sun" after a friend of his just died. The song was actually penned by Jacques Brel, with the English translation by Rod McKuen; however, Jacks re-wrote the lyrics for the third verse.
He opened up a store on Granville Island, Vancouver, called "The Lobster Man". He later sold the business.
Jacks became involved in the environmental movement, focusing on pollution issues in Canada and the United States and lending his name to United Kingdom organizations such as The Woodland Trust.
He married a second time and has a daughter, Holly. That marriage also ended. In 1996, Jacks released the CD, A Good Thing Lost 1968-1973, a collection of The Poppy Family songs. He lives in Pender Harbour, British Columbia, where he is still active in the music industry and the environmental movement. Most recently, Jacks has been involved in music with Vancouver singer-songwriter Jana Keeley and Seattle band Mono in VCF.
Terry is Currently working with Neptoon Records in Vancouver on re-releasing his early tapes of THE CHESSMEN. The four singles by the group all charted between 1963 and 1966. On the CFUN charts, 'what's causing this sensation' and 'The Way you fell' reached number 4, 'Love Didn't Die' reached number 9, and 'Mustang' reached number 14. There is rumored to be a live tape from The Chessmen's last gig in July 1966 which may appear on the CD as well as some unreleased tracks. www.neptoon.com for more info.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
Seasons in the Sun (1973)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | CAN | CAN AC | US | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "I'm Gonna Capture You" | 16 | - | - | - |
| 1972 | "Concrete Sea" | 16 | 16 | - | - |
| 1973 | "I'm Gonna Love You Too" | 7 | - | 116 | - |
| 1974 | "Seasons in the Sun" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1974 | "If You Go Away" | 45 | 10 | 68 | 8 |
| 1975 | "Rock and Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)" | 25 | 5 | 97 | - |
| 1975 | "Christina" | 9 | - | 106 | - |
| 1975 | "Holly" | 64 | - | - | - |
| 1976 | "Y' Don't Fight the Sea" | 31 | - | - | - |
| 1976 | "In My Father's Footsteps" | 59 | - | - | - |
| 1977 | "Hey Country Girl" | 73 | 28 | - | - |
| 1981 | "Greenback Dollar" | - | 9 | - | - |
| 1983 | "You Fool Me" | - | 26 | - | - |
| 1987 | "Just Like That" | - | 17 | - | - |
