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Which Way You Goin' Billy? (song)

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"Which Way You Goin' Billy?"
Single by the Poppy Family
from the album Which Way You Goin' Billy?
B-side"Endless Sleep"
Released
  • 1969 (Canada)
  • March 1970 (U.S.)
GenreSunshine pop
Length3:27
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)Terry Jacks
Producer(s)Terry Jacks
The Poppy Family singles chronology
"Which Way You Goin' Billy?"
(00000000) 		"That's Where I Went Wrong"
(1970)

"Which Way You Goin' Billy?" is a song by the Canadian band the Poppy Family. First released as a single in 1969, it features on the album of the same name and was a chart-topping hit in Canada and Ireland. It was also a significant hit in other parts of the world, reaching #2 on both the U.S. Cash Box and Billboard pop charts.

The song was written by Terry Jacks and the lead vocal is performed by his wife Susan Jacks. The singer asks her husband Billy where he's going, knowing that he is leaving her. She pledges she'll still love him and stay his wife.

The single's B-side is a cover of Jody Reynolds' 1958 hit "Endless Sleep" and is sung by Terry Jacks.

Chart performance

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In the group's native Canada, the single hit #1 on the CANCON singles chart dated 25 October 1969.[1] It ranked as one of the ten biggest singles of the year (at #9) on the Canadian 'List of Biggest Singles of 1969' chart.[2] In Billboard's ranking of the Top Hits of 1970, it was listed at #26 for the year. It also ranked at #5 on the 'List of RPM Biggest Adult Contemporary Hits of 1969'.[3]

Subsequently, issued in the United States in March 1970, it was a million-selling Gold record-certified #2 smash on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that June. It was kept from the #1 spot by both "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens and "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles.[4] It hit #6 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[5]

In June 1970, it peaked at #2 on the South African singles chart.[6]

Released in UK, it peaked at #7 on 26 September 1970.[7]

The song was ranked #38 on the List of RPM Cancon number-one singles chart as published in the RPM magazine, dated June 24, 1996.[8]

Allmusic critic Mark Deming states: "If the '70s were supposed to be about having a nice day, "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" shows the Poppy Family were one band waiting for a cloud to blot out all that annoying sunshine..."[9]

Covers

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The song was covered by the Trans-Canada Highwaymen for their 2023 album, Explosive Hits Vol. 1.[10]

Chart history

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References

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  1. ^ RPM (magazine) (25 October 1969). "Canadian Content (Cancon) - Volume 12, No. 10, October 25, 1969" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. (Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada). ISSN 0033-7064. OCLC 2126390. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  2. ^ RPM (magazine) (1 November 1969). "Top Singles - Volume 12, No. 11, November 01 1969" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. (Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada). ISSN 0033-7064. OCLC 2126390. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  3. ^ RPM (magazine) (1 November 1969). "Adult Contemporary - Volume 12, No. 11, November 01 1969" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. (Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada). ISSN 0033-7064. OCLC 2126390. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  4. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 195.
  6. ^ Brian Currin (2003-05-25). "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (P)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  7. ^ ISBN 9780753522004 UK Official Top 40 charts p224
  8. ^ RPM (magazine) (24 June 1996). "Canadian Content (Cancon) - Volume 63, No. 19, June 24, 1996" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. (Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada). ISSN 0033-7064. OCLC 2126390. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  9. ^ Deming, Mark. "Which Way You Goin' Billy? The Poppy Family » Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  10. ^ Huculak, Chad (October 28, 2023). "Fresh Tracks: Trans-Canada Highwaymen". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 236. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Which Way You Goin' Billy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  14. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 20, 1970
  15. ^ "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  16. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  17. ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970


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