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
Billy Don't Be a Hero Weekend" in the film "Reservoir Dogs." The song features in the 1993 film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." The "Mystery Science Theater 3000" characters often use the line "Billy, don't be a hero!" when riffing on movies, one example being the episode "The Creeping Terror." In the first episode of "Friends," Ross (David Schwimmer) is sad because it has been so long since he last picked up a woman, saying, "Do the words 'Billy, Don't Be a Hero' mean anything to you?" Massive Attack's 1991 track "Blue Lines" (from the album of the same name) features the