Singer B J Thomas sadly died May 29, 2021

B J Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was born Billy Joe Thomas and was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Some of his most popular include “Hooked on a Feeling” (1968), “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (1969), “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” (1975),[2] “Don’t Worry Baby” (1977) and “Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love” (1983).

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

B J Thomas was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on August 7, 1942. He was the son of Geneva and Vernon Thomas and grew up in and around Houston, Texas, and graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg.

As a teanager sang in a church choir and later joined the musical group The Triumphs with Tim Griffith (lead guitar), Tom Griffith (bass), Denver “Zeke” Zatyka (keyboards), Don Drachenberg (vocal and sax) and Ted Mensik (drums). During his senior year, he made friends with Roy Head of Roy Head and The Traits. The Traits and the Triumphs held several Battle of the Bands events in the early 1960s.

In 1966, B J Thomas and the Triumphs released the album “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” on Pacemaker Records, which featured a hit cover of the Hank Williams song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. The follow-up single, “Mama”, peaked at Nunmber 22. Also in 1966, B J Thomas released a solo album also called “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” on the Scepter Records label.

B J Thomas achieved mainstream success again in 1968, with the song “The Eyes of a New York Woman”, and five months later, the more successful single “Hooked on a Feeling” featured the sound of Reggie Young’s electric sitar, and was first released on the album “On My Way” via Scepter Records. “Hooked on a Feeling” became B J Thomas’ second million-selling record.

A year later, in 1969 the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” featured B J Thomas performing the Bacharach/David song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”, which won the Academy Award for best original song that year.

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970 and its sales also exceeded one million copies, with B J Thomas being awarded his third gold record. The song was also released on an album also called “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”.

B J Thomas’ other hits of the 1970s included: “Everybody’s Out of Town”, “I Just Can’t Help Believing” (which reached No. 9 in 1970 and was covered by the one and olny Elvis Presley), “No Love at All”, “Mighty Clouds of Joy” and “Rock and Roll Lullaby”.

After experiencing hits with Scepter Records, his label for six years, B J Thomas left the label in 1972. He spent a short period with Paramount Records in 1973 and 1974, during which time he released Songs (1973) and Longhorns & Londonbridges (1974).

In 1975, B J Thomas released the album “Reunion” on ABC Records, which had absorbed the Paramount label. It contained “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song”, which was the longest-titled Number 1 hit ever on the Hot 100, and was his first big hit since 1972 and secured him his fourth gold record.

In 1976, B J Thomas released “Home Where I Belong”, produced by Chris Christian on Myrrh Records, the first of his several gospel albums. It was the first Christian album to go platinum, and B J Thomas became one of the biggest contemporary Christian musical artists of the period. He embraced his newfound faith, but sometimes clashed with fundamentalist Christian fans because he still performed his previous popular hits.

On MCA Records, B J Thomas and Chris Christian recorded his last Top 40 hit single, “Don’t Worry Baby”. It appeared on his last pop album, which also included the Adult Contemporary hit “Still the Lovin’ Is Fun”.

During the 1980s, Thomas had little success on the pop charts, but some of his singles topped the country singles chart. Two of those songs included “Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love” and “New Looks from an Old Lover” in 1983. Additionally, “Two Car Garage” reached No. 3 on the country charts.

In 1981, on his 39th birthday, Thomas became the 60th member of the Grand Ole Opry, but his Opry membership later lapsed, with the Opry having classified him as a non-regular “guest artist”.

B J Thomas scored another hit, recording “As Long as We Got Each Other”, the theme music to the television series Growing Pains. The first-season theme was a solo for B J Thomas, but was re-recorded as a duet with Jennifer Warnes for the second and third seasons. For the show’s fourth season, it was re-recorded again with British singer Dusty Springfield, but the Thomas/Warnes version was reinstated for season five and some of season seven. Thomas first released this track on his 1985 album “Throwing Rocks at the Moon” on Columbia Records.

B J Thomas also wrote two books, including the autobiography “Home Where I Belong”, and starred in the movies “Jory” and “Jake’s Corner”. Several commercial jingles, including ones for Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Bell Telephone, have featured his singing voice and music.

On December 31, 2011, B J Thomas was the featured halftime performer at the 2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

On April 2, 2013, B J Thomas released “The Living Room Sessions”, an album with acoustic arrangements of well-known hits which featured guest appearances with established and emerging vocalists, accompanying B J Thomas on seven of the album’s tracks

B J Thomas married singer-songwriter Gloria Richardson in December 1968 and they had three daughters.

Shortly after his career began, B J Thomas became dependent on drugs and alcohol, which led to his marriage nearly ending. On January 28, 1976, B J Thomas became a Christian, less than a month after his wife Gloria did.

On March 23, 2021, B J Thomas announced on his official Facebook page that he had stage IV lung cancer and was being treated in Texas.

B J Thomas died on May 29, 2021 at his home in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 78.

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