The Poppy Family

• Genre: Lite Rock

About

The Poppy Family existed for a fairly lengthy period (1968-73), although they never achieved much success outside of a minor hit with "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" in 1970. More a team than a family, the Poppy Family were based around the marriage of Susan Pesklevits and Terry Jacks. After the marriage ended, the group ended as well; Jacks would then go on to score in the public eye with his chipper, reflective "Seasons in the Sun." The Poppy Family's immensely soft rock epitomizes the glazed-over sentiment of the early '70s, as billowy, ambiguous, positive messages align with vague social commentary in their songs. The selling point is the music and production itself -- effects are panned back and forth while sitars are liberally sprinkled, implying some sort of hipness as the group attempts to find "the happy island in your mind."

- Jon Pruett