B. J. Thomas
(born Billy Joe Thomas
, August 7, 1942, Hugo, Oklahoma, United States) is an American popular singer known for his chart-topping hits in the 1960s and 1970s.
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BJ THOMAS TICKETS
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Career
http://bjthomas.net/Biography.html
Thomas was reared in and around
Houston,
Texas. He graduated from
Lamar Consolidated High School in
Rosenberg. Before his
solo career, Thomas sang in a church choir as a teenager then joined the musical group The Triumphs.
[1] 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 featuring Head and Thomas.
In 1966, B. J. Thomas and The Triumphs released the
album,
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
(Pacemaker Records). The album featured a
hit cover of the
Hank Williams song, "
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." In the same year, Thomas released a
solo album of the same name (
Scepter Records).
Thomas achieved
mainstream success again in 1968, with the
single "
Hooked on a Feeling," which featured the sound of an
electric sitar, first released on the album
On My Way
(Scepter Records). The 1969
film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
, featured Thomas performing the (
Burt Bacharach -
Hal David) song "
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," which became the number one song on the
Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. The song was also released on an album of the same name. Other hits of the seventies were "I Just Can't Help Believing" (Billboard #9 in 1970, covered by
Elvis Presley), "Rock and Roll Lullaby," "No Love," "Everybody's Out of Town" and "Mighty Clouds of Joy."
In 1975, Thomas released the album
Reunion
(
ABC Records), which contained what would become his second
number one hit single, "
(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song." On ABC, he also charted with "Songs" and "
Don’t Worry Baby" (the
Beach Boys classic).
During the 1980s, his success on the pop charts began to wane, but many of his singles reached the upper regions on the country singles charts, including two 1983 chart toppers, "Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love" and "New Looks from an Old Lover" (see
1984 in music), as well as "Two Car Garage", which reached #3 on the country singles chart. Thomas scored another hit, recording "As Long As We Got Each Other," the theme to
Growing Pains
with
Jennifer Warnes. A later version, used for the show's fourth season, was recorded with the
British singer
Dusty Springfield. Thomas first released this track on his 1985 album
Throwing Rocks at the Moon
(
Columbia Records).
Thomas has also authored two
books including
Home Where I Belong
and starred in the
movie Jory
. Several commercial jingles, to include
Coca-Cola,
Pepsi, and Bell phone systems, featured his
voice and
music.
During the mid 1990s, rumors cropped up that Thomas had died. However, the singer has continued to
record and tour, maintaining a smaller but loyal
fan base. He is very popular in
Brazil, where his songs "Oh Me Oh My" and "Long Ago Tomorrow" (by
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David) were big hits in the 1970s. The singer also found some new fans in
Contemporary Christian Music. In 2002, he charted his first single since the late 1980s, with "You Call That a Mountain" from an album of the same name. In October 2007, he released
Love to Burn,
an album of new material. On the January 15, 1998 edition of the
Howard Stern Show
, he would not sing a song about
Rosie O'Donnell that Stern had requested by saying "I am a Christian and I don't want to do that." Stern then replied saying "you're no fun!"
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Label
|
| US
| US Country
|
| 1966
| I'm So Lonely I Could Cry
|
|
| Scepter
|
| Tomorrow Never Comes
|
|
|
| 1968
| On My Way
| 133
|
|
| 1969
| Young and in Love
|
|
|
| Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
| 12
|
|
| 1970
| Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
| 90
|
|
| Everybody's Out of Town
| 72
|
|
| Most of All
| 67
|
|
| 1971
| Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
| 92
|
|
| 1972
| B. J. Thomas Country
|
|
|
| Billy Joe Thomas
| 145
|
|
| Rock'n'Roll Lullaby
|
|
|
| 1973
| Songs
|
|
| Paramount
|
| 1974
| Longhorn & London Bridges
|
|
|
| 1975
| Reunion
| 59
| 2
| ABC
|
| Help Me Make It (To My Rockin' Chair)
|
| 26
|
| 1977
| B. J. Thomas
| 114
| 39
| MCA
|
| Home Where I Belong
|
|
| Myrrh
|
| 1979
| Happy Man
|
|
|
| You Gave Me Love (When Nobody Gave Me a Prayer)
|
|
| Word
|
| 1980
| The Best Of B.J. Thomas
|
|
| Myrrh
|
| In Concert
|
|
| MCA
|
| 1981
| Amazing Grace
|
|
| Word
|
| Some Love Songs Never Die
|
|
| MCA
|
| 1982
| Peace in the Valley
|
|
| Word
|
| 1983
| Love Shines
|
|
| Epic
|
| New Looks
| 193
| 13
| Columbia
|
| The Great American Dream
|
| 27
|
| 1984
| Shining
|
| 40
|
| 1985
| Throwin' Rocks at the Moon
|
|
|
| You Gave Me Love
|
|
| Myrrh
|
| 1986
| Night Life
|
|
| Columbia
|
| All Is Calm, All Is Bright
|
|
|
| 1987
| Hey Won't You Play Another
Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
|
|
| MCA
|
| 1989
| Midnight Minute
|
|
| Reprise
|
| 1991
| As We Knew Him
|
|
| MCA
|
| Jesus Hearted People
|
|
|
| 1992
| Rock Against the Wall
|
|
| Reprise
|
| Rock & Roll Lullaby
|
|
| Trace
|
| 1994
| Still Standing Here
|
|
| Laurie
|
| 1995
| Precious Memories
|
|
| Warner Bros.
|
| Scenes of Christmas
|
|
| Cross Three
|
| 1996
| B. J. Thomas Sings Hank Williams and Other Favorites
|
|
| Buckboard
|
| 1997
| I Believe
|
|
| Warner Bros.
|
| Christmas Is Coming Home
|
|
| Warner Resound
|
| 1998
| Sounds of Christmas
|
|
| Kardina
|
| 2000
| You Call That a Mountain
|
|
|
| 2005
| That Christmas Feeling
|
|
| Madacy
|
| 2006
| We Praise: Glorify Thy Name
|
|
| Braun Media
|
| We Praise: Just as I Am
|
|
|
| 2007
| Home for Christmas
|
|
| Lifestyles
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US AC
| US
| US Country
| CAN Country
|
| 1966
| "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"
| —
| 8
| —
| —
| I'm So Lonely I Could Cry
|
| "Mama"
| —
| 22
| —
| —
|
| "Billy and Sue"
| —
| 34
| —
| —
| Single only
|
| "Bring Back the Time"
| —
| 75
| —
| —
| I'm So Lonely I Could Cry
|
| "Tomorrow Never Comes"
| —
| 80
| —
| —
| Singles only
|
| 1967
| "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)"
| —
| 94
| —
| —
|
| 1968
| "The Eyes of a New York Woman"
| —
| 28
| —
| —
| On My Way
|
| "Hooked on a Feeling"
| —
| 5
| —
| —
|
| 1969
| "It's Only Love"
| —
| 45
| —
| —
| Young and in Love
|
| "Pass the Apple Eve"
| —
| 97
| —
| —
|
| "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
| 1
| 1
| —
| —
| Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
|
| 1970
| "Everybody's Out of Town"
| 3
| 26
| —
| —
| Everybody's Out of Town
|
| "I Just Can't Help Believing"
| 1
| 9
| —
| —
|
| "Most of All"
| 2
| 38
| —
| —
| Most of All
|
| 1971
| "No Love at All"
| 4
| 16
| —
| —
|
| "Mighty Clouds of Joy"
| —
| 34
| —
| —
| Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
|
| "Long Ago Tomorrow"
| —
| 61
| —
| —
|
| 1972
| "Rock and Roll Lullaby"
| 1
| 15
| —
| —
| Billy Joe Thomas
|
| "That's What Friends Are For"
| —
| 74
| —
| —
|
| "Happier Than the Morning Sun"
| —
| 100
| —
| —
|
| 1975
| "(Hey Won't You Play) Another
Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song"
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 2
| Reunion
|
| "Help Me Make It (To My Rockin' Chair)"
| 5
| 64
| 37
| —
| Help Me Make It (To My Rockin' Chair)
|
| 1977
| "Home Where I Belong"
| —
| —
| 98
| —
| Home Where I Belong
|
| "Don't Worry Baby"
| 2
| 17
| —
| —
| B. J. Thomas
|
| "Still the Lovin' Is Fun"
| —
| 77
| —
| —
|
| 1978
| "Everybody Loves a Rain Song"
| 2
| 43
| 25
| 34
| Singles only
|
| 1979
| "We Could Have Been the Closest of Friends"
| —
| —
| 86
| —
|
| 1981
| "Some Love Songs Never Die"
| —
| —
| 27
| —
| Some Love Songs Never Die
|
| "I Recall a Gypsy Woman"
| —
| —
| 22
| 47
|
| 1982
| "But Love Me"
| 27
| —
| —
| —
| Single only
|
| 1983
| "Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love"
| 13
| 93
| 1
| 1
| New Looks
|
| "New Looks from an Old Lover"
| —
| —
| 1
| 6
|
| "Two Car Garage"
| —
| —
| 3
| 1
| The Great American Dream
|
| 1984
| "The Whole World's in Love When You're Lonely"
| —
| —
| 10
| 15
| Shining
|
| "The Girl Most Likely To"
| —
| —
| 17
| 5
|
| 1985
| "The Part of Me That Needs You Most"
| —
| —
| 61
| 57
| Throwin' Rocks at the Moon
|
| 1986
| "America Is"
| —
| —
| 62
| —
|
| "Night Life"
| —
| —
| 59
| —
| Night Life
|
| 2000
| "You Call That a Mountain"
| —
| —
| 66
| —
| You Call That a Mountain
|
Guest singles
| Year
| Artist
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| CAN Country
|
| 1984
| "Rock and Roll Shoes"
| Ray Charles
| 14
| 15
| Friendship
|
References
- The music never gets old for Thomas