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

Hooked on a Feeling "Hooked on a Feeling" is a 1968 pop song, written by Mark James and originally performed by B. J. Thomas. Thomas's version featured the sound of the electric sitar (played by Reggie Young) and reached No. 5 in 1969 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

" (1968), "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head "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''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

" (1969), "

(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" is an American country and pop song made famous by B. J. Thomas. It won the 1976 Grammy for Best Country Song, awarded to its songwriters Larry Butler and Chips Moman. The song ...

" (1975), "

Don't Worry Baby "Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2''. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performance ...

" (1977) and "

Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love "Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love" is a song recorded by American country music artist B. J. Thomas. It was released in May 1983 as the first single from the album ''New Looks''. The song was written by Lewis Anderson. The song was his bi ...

" (1983). In 2014, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Early life and education

Thomas was born in

Hugo, Oklahoma Hugo is a city in and the county seat of Choctaw County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in southeastern Oklahoma, approximately north of the Texas state line. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,310. The city was founded i ...

, on August 7, 1942. He was the son of Geneva and Vernon Thomas. Thomas grew up in and around

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, and graduated from

Lamar Consolidated High School Lamar Consolidated High School is a grades 9–12 school located in Rosenberg, Texas, United States. The school, which serves the City of Richmond, parts of Rosenberg, and unincorporated areas of Fort Bend County, is a part of the Lamar Consolid ...

in Rosenberg. Before his solo career, he sang in a church choir as a teenager. Thomas 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 Roy Kent Head (January 9, 1941 – September 21, 2020) was an American singer, best known for his hit song "Treat Her Right". Career Roy Kent Head was born in Three Rivers, Texas and achieved fame as a member of musical group The Traits from ...

of Roy Head and The Traits. The Traits and the Triumphs held several Battle of the Bands events in the early 1960s.

Music career

1960s–1970s

In 1966, Thomas and the Triumphs released the album ''I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'' (Pacemaker Records), featuring a hit

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

song "

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. Authorship and production Various writers quoted Williams a ...

". The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. The follow-up single, "

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...

", peaked at No. 22. In the same year, Thomas released a solo album of the same title on the

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the Shire ...

label. Thomas achieved mainstream success again in 1968, with the song "The Eyes of a New York Woman". Five months later, the more successful single "

" featured the sound of

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

electric sitar An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional ...

, and was first released on the album '' On My Way'' via

. "Hooked on a Feeling" became Thomas' second million-selling record. A year later, ''

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...

'' featured Thomas performing the

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not withi ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

song "

", which won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for best original song that year. The song reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1970. Its sales also exceeded one million copies, with Thomas being awarded his third gold record. The song was also released on an album of the same title. His other hits of the 1970s included: "Everybody's Out of Town", " I Just Can't Help Believing" (reached No. 9 in 1970 and was covered by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

), "No Love at All", "Mighty Clouds of Joy" and "

Rock and Roll Lullaby "Rock and Roll Lullaby" is a 1972 hit single performed by B. J. Thomas. It was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Song lyrics The song is sung in a first-person narrative of an adolescent or adult raised by a single teenage mother during ...

". After experiencing hits with Scepter Records, his label for six years, Thomas left the label in 1972. He spent a short period with

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

in 1973 and 1974, during which time he released ''Songs'' (1973) and '' Longhorns & Londonbridges'' (1974). In 1975, Thomas released the album ''Reunion'' on

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

, which had absorbed the Paramount label. It contained "

", which was the longest-titled No. 1 hit ever on the Hot 100. It was his first big hit since 1972 and secured him his fourth gold record. In 1976, Thomas released ''Home Where I Belong'', produced by Chris Christian on

Myrrh Records __NOTOC__ Myrrh Records (also known as Myrrh Worship) was an American Christian music record label. According to ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for contemporary Christian ...

, the first of several gospel albums. It was the first Christian album to go

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

, and Thomas became one of the biggest

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

al artists of the period. Thomas embraced his newfound faith, but sometimes clashed with fundamentalist Christian fans because he still performed his previous popular hits. On

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

, Thomas and Chris Christian recorded his last Top 40 hit single, "

". It appeared on his last pop album, which also included the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

hit "Still the Lovin' Is Fun".

1980s–2010s

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 "

" 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 The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

''. His Opry membership later lapsed, with the Opry having classified him as a non-regular "guest artist". Thomas scored another hit, recording " As Long as We Got Each Other", the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to the television series ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the Se ...

''. The first-season theme was a solo for Thomas, but was re-recorded as a duet with

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 fo ...

for the second and third seasons. For the show's fourth season, it was re-recorded again with British singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

, 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'' via

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Thomas also wrote two books, including the autobiography ''Home Where I Belong'', and starred in the movies '' Jory'' and '' Jake's Corner''. Several commercial

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s, including ones for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

and

Bell Telephone The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundre ...

, have featured his singing voice and music. On December 31, 2011, Thomas was the featured halftime performer at the 2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. On April 2, 2013, Thomas released ''The Living Room Sessions'', an album with acoustic arrangements of well-known hits. It featured guest appearances with established and emerging vocalists, accompanying Thomas on seven of the album's twelve tracks. On December 3, 2013, the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

announced that the 1969 single "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by Thomas would be inducted into the 2014

Personal life and death

Thomas married singer-songwriter Gloria Richardson in December 1968. They had three daughters: Paige (born 1970), Nora (adopted from North Korea in 1978) and Erin (born in 1979). Shortly after his career began, Thomas became dependent on drugs and alcohol, which led to his marriage nearly ending. On January 28, 1976, Thomas became a Christian, less than a month after Gloria did. Most press sources indicated that Thomas had been sober since he and Gloria reconciled in 1976. On March 23, 2021, Thomas announced on his official Facebook page that he had stage IV

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

and was being treated in Texas. He died on May 29 at his home in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, at the age of 78.

Selective discography

* '' On My Way'' (1968) * '' Longhorns & Londonbridges'' (1974) * ''

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

'' (1975) * ''

You Gave Me Love (When Nobody Gave Me a Prayer) ''You Gave Me Love (When Nobody Gave Me a Prayer)'' is the twenty-first studio album and third gospel album by American singer B. J. Thomas, released in 1979. Track listing # "Using Things and Loving People" (Hal David, Archie P. Jordan) - 3:27 ...

'' (1979) * '' Love Shines'' (1983) * '' Love to Burn'' (2007) * '' The Living Room Sessions'' (2013)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, B.J. 1942 births 2021 deaths ABC Records artists American autobiographers American country singers American gospel singers American performers of Christian music American male pop singers Columbia Records artists Country musicians from Oklahoma Country musicians from Texas Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from lung cancer Gold Star Records artists Grammy Award winners Grand Ole Opry members Male actors from Houston Male actors from Oklahoma MCA Records artists Musicians from Houston People from Hugo, Oklahoma People from Rosenberg, Texas Myrrh Records artists Scepter Records artists Wand Records artists Singers from Oklahoma Singers from Texas Writers from Oklahoma Writers from Texas 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers