Remembering BJ Thomas
• Five-time Grammy winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, B.J. Thomas, famous for such timeless classics as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “Hooked On A Feeling” and “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” among many others, died Saturday, May 29 at his home in Arlington, TX after a battle with stage four lung cancer. He was 78. Thomas had initially announced his diagnosis in March via social media, noting, “I’m so blessed to have had the opportunity to record and perform beautiful songs in pop, country, and gospel music, and to share those wonderful songs and memories around the world with millions of you. I ask all of you for your prayers during this time and that my music can live on with you.”
Over the course of his successful 50-plus-year career, Thomas, born Billy Joe Thomas in Hugo, OK, sold over 70 million albums worldwide and racked up 26 Billboard-charting hits, leading him to be named one ofBillboard‘s Top 50 Most Played Artists Over The Past 50 Years. His hitmaking run started with his million-selling cover of Hank Williams‘ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” on Scepter Records, his label from 1966-72. He went on to release one album for Hickory Records, moved to ABC for two albums, MCA for three, and later, Cleveland Records.
Among Thomas’ most iconic hits were ‘Hooked On A Feeling,” the Grammy-winning “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and the iconic “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. According to Variety, the song also appeared in Forrest Gump and Spider-Man 2. Thomas also recorded “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” Brian Wilson‘s “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Whatever Happened To Old Fashioned Love,” “Rock and Roll Lullaby,” “New Looks From An Old Lover,” and he also voiced “As Long As We’ve Got Each Other,” the theme song from the late ’80s/early ’90s sitcom, Growing Pains.
RAMP‘s Steve Resnik was working for ABC Records back in the day and recalled Thomas making an appearance at an ABC Records convention in Los Angeles. Resnik noted, “During the meetings, BJ came into the big room, said hi and asked if he could play all of us his new song, ‘(Hey, Won’t You Play)…’ I remember how obvious it was that this would be BIG. We all knew it. It didn’t need a second listen.”
Thomas is survived by Gloria, his wife of 53 years; their three daughters and four grandchildren. Services will be private. In-memoriam donations can be made to Mission Arlington, Tarrant Area Food Bank and the SPCA of Texas.
