Susan Jacks, singer of Poppy Family, dies at 73


He was the voice behind such hits as Which Way You Goin’ Billy, That’s Where I Went Wrong, and Good Friends in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

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Susan Jacks was one of the early Vancouver stars of the 1960s, blessed with a golden voice that could sing just about anything.

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“It had that unique quality, that once you heard it, you knew right away it was Susan singing,” said former Poppy Family bandmate Craig McCaw.

His voice remained pure and clear until he was 70 years old. But in recent years, he suffered from kidney problems and on Monday he passed away at Surrey Memorial Hospital. She was 73 years old.

She was born Susan Elizabeth Pesklevits in Saskatoon on August 19, 1948, and grew up in a large family of six brothers and one sister in Haney and New Westminster.

She was a natural singer, with a cold, clear voice that was somewhere between Karen Carpenter and Tammy Wynette. Her first brush with fame was when she joined CBC-TV’s Let’s Go and Music Hop in the mid-’60s.

In 1966, she joined guitarist Terry Jacks, who became her husband a year later. Initially, she hired Terry to play guitar in her band, but it became Poppy Family.

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“Someone said, the ‘Terry Jacks’ band just broke up, why don’t you ask him? Maybe he’s available,’” Susan recounted in 2014. “And he was, so he played guitar for me at a concert. And we both knew Craig McCaw (so we asked him to join). He became the group and got cooler and cooler.”

After bringing in tabla player Satwant Singh, the folk-rock group flirted with psychedelia and country before topping the charts around the world with the soft-pop classic Which Way You Goin’ Billy in 1969. It was Vancouver’s first million-selling record. Act.

The band had several hits including That’s Where I Went Wrong, Good Friends, I Was Wondering, No Good to Cry, and Where Evil Grows. But when Susan and Terry’s marriage ended in 1973, so did the band.

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The Poppy Family (from left) Susan Jacks, Terry Jacks, Craig McCaw (glasses) and Satwant Singh.
The Poppy Family (from left) Susan Jacks, Terry Jacks, Craig McCaw (glasses) and Satwant Singh. distribute

Susan had solo hits with You Don’t Know What Love Is, I Thought Of You Again and Anna Marie. Terry, meanwhile, recorded Seasons in the Sun, which became one of the biggest hits of all time, selling 14 million copies.

After marrying Canadian soccer legend Ted Dushinski, she had a son, Thad, and moved to Nashville in 1983. She worked in music publishing and as a songwriter, and returning to her Ukrainian heritage, she opened a perogy restaurant.

“People loved them,” Jacks said in 2009. “We fried them though. Everything in the south has to be fried.”

When Dushinski was diagnosed with lung cancer, the couple returned to Vancouver. He passed away in 2005, but then his brother Bruce developed cancer and Jacks started taking care of him.

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“She was always a very sincere and caring soul,” McCaw said. She “she had very high principles and she was not full of pretensions. It could have been, because everyone loved Susan. Throughout her life she was always spectacular and everyone fell in love with her.

“Sometimes people get carried away with that, but she was unassuming, she was always just Susan. And she always cared about everyone.”

But she had her own health problems. She announced in 2009 that she needed a kidney transplant, and her brother Bill turned out to be a good match and donated one of her kidneys.

Susan was grateful for her younger brother’s generosity.

“He said, ‘If I never do anything more important in my life, I’m proud to be able to do this,’” she said.

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In 2016, she had further problems with her kidneys and was put into a hospital-induced coma. She but she recovered and lived five more years.

In recent years, he’s done the occasional show with McCaw and Singh, including a 2014 gig at the Khatsahlano festival in Kitsilano, where they were backed by some members of the New Pornographers, Destroyer, and Black Mountain, the cream of the alternative rock scene. Vancouver. Susan Jacks’ music transcended generations.

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Susan Jacks in 1969, the heyday of the Poppy family.
Susan Jacks in 1969, the heyday of the Poppy family. PROVINCE
August 24, 1973. Susan Jacks of Poppy Family performs at the PNE Coliseum.  Ken Oakes/Vancouver Sun
August 24, 1973. Susan Jacks of Poppy Family performs at the PNE Coliseum. Ken Oakes/Vancouver Sun Photo by Ken Oakes /vancouver sun
The Poppy Family (Susan and Terry Jacks) perform in March 1969. Photo: Dan Scott/Vancouver Sun Archives.
The Poppy Family (Susan and Terry Jacks) perform in March 1969. Photo: Dan Scott/Vancouver Sun Archives. vancouver sun
The Poppy Family performs in the late 1960s or early 1970s. From left: tabla player Satwant Singh, guitarist Craig McCaw, singer Susan Jacks, and guitarist/singer Terry Jacks.
The Poppy Family performs in the late 1960s or early 1970s. From left: tabla player Satwant Singh, guitarist Craig McCaw, singer Susan Jacks, and guitarist/singer Terry Jacks. Photo per brochure /vancouver sun
The Poppy Family (Susan Jacks and Terry Jacks) are introduced in August 1972. Photo: George Diack/Vancouver Sun.
The Poppy Family (Susan Jacks and Terry Jacks) are introduced in August 1972. Photo: George Diack/Vancouver Sun. vancouver sun
1970 handout photo of Susan and Terry Jacks (The Poppy Family) receiving some kind of Canadian talent award (Moffatt Broadcasting Ltd.?) for the song
1970 handout photo of Susan and Terry Jacks (The Poppy Family) receiving some kind of Canadian talent award (Moffatt Broadcasting Ltd.?) for the song “Which Way You Goin’ Billy?”. Distribute
The Poppy Family (Susan and Terry Jacks) performing.  Handout photo, filed July 1973 / Vancouver Sun Archives.
The Poppy Family (Susan and Terry Jacks) performing. Handout photo, filed July 1973 / Vancouver Sun Archives. vancouver sun
Craig McCaw (left) Susan Jacks and Satwant Singh of Poppy Family rehearsing at the Fox Theater in Vancouver on July 4, 2014.
Craig McCaw (left) Susan Jacks and Satwant Singh of Poppy Family rehearsing at the Fox Theater in Vancouver on July 4, 2014. Photo by Steve Bosch /vancouver sun
Susan Jacks in 2009.
Susan Jacks in 2009. Photo by Ian Lindsay /vancouver sun
Poppy Family singer Susan Jacks with her brother Bill Pesklevits in 2010, shortly before Bill donated one of his kidneys to Susan.
Poppy Family singer Susan Jacks with her brother Bill Pesklevits in 2010, shortly before Bill donated one of his kidneys to Susan. Photo of Les Bazso /vancouver sun
April 2, 1969 photo of the Poppy family.  Susan Jacks (center), Craig MacCaw (left), and Terry Jacks.  Dave Buchan/Vancouver Sun
April 2, 1969 photo of the Poppy family. Susan Jacks (center), Craig MacCaw (left), and Terry Jacks. Dave Buchan/Vancouver Sun vancouver sun

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