Billy Don't Be a Hero US version sold over three and a half million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1974. Donaldson and the Heywoods's version was a massive hit in Latin America and Japan as well, but it remained largely unknown elsewhere as of late July 2017. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1974. Despite the song's popularity, it was poorly received, and it was voted No. 8 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's readers' poll of "10 Worst Songs of the 1970s." The song is mentioned as having played on K-Billy's "Super Sounds of the '70s
The Hero with a Thousand Faces sometimes assisted by "allies". As the hero faces the "ordeal," he encounters the greatest challenge of the journey. Upon rising to the challenge, the hero will receive a reward, or "boon". Campbell's theory of the monomyth continues with the inclusion of a metaphorical "death" and "resurrection". The hero must then decide to return with this "boon" to the "ordinary world". The hero then faces more trials on "the road back". Upon the hero's return, the boon or gift may be used to improve the hero's ordinary world, in what Campbell calls, the "application of the boon". While many myths do