One-hit wonder Terry Jacks

A song that had a comforting, repetitive circularity to it was Seasons in the Sun, recorded in 1973 by Canadian singer Terry Jacks. Born in Winnipeg, Jacks played rhythm guitar and sang lead for The Chessmen, a group out of Vancouver. Thereafter, he married singer Susan Pesklevits, also a Canadian, did a duo act with her, then added two more members to become The Poppy Family. The couple went their separate ways in 1973, and Jacks, who also had been producing music, failed at getting The Beach Boys to record Seasons in the Sun and instead did it himself in his wistful, youthful voice, which somehow fit the song perfectly.

This song, which has been recorded by many other performers since then, would become his great success. The song was written by Belgian poet Jacques Brel, was translated into English by Rod McKuen, and was likely first recorded in English by The Kingston Trio's Bob Shane. It told of the farewell thoughts of a man who was dying. Brel wrote it for a friend who actually was dying of a form of cancer, the disease that also claimed Brel not so long thereafter, in 1978.

Later Jacks began working less in music and became an environmentalist fairly well known to Canadians. He lives in British Columbia at this writing.