Multi Grammy Winner B.J. Thomas Has Died: Gifted Singer Passed Yesterday at 78
Five time Grammy Award winning singer B.J. Thomas has died. He was 78 years old. A statement we received from 2911 Media stated that the vocalist passed away of complications from stage four lung cancer.
In an over 50 year career, Mr. Thomas had eight number one hits, 26 top 10 hits and sold over 70 million albums.
Some of B.J. Thomas’s most famous songs include his cover of Hank Williams’s I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, that sold over a million copies, as well as Hooked on a Feeling.
While at Scepter Records, it was past CYInterview guest [see here], music superstar Dionne Warwick that introduced B.J. to songwriter and producer Burt Bacharach. Mr. Bachrach and Hal David penned B.J.’s number one hit Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.
Mr. Thomas and Ms. Warwick also sang together, including on the track Make it Easy on Yourself. Dionne took to Twitter to issue a statement about his passing:
“My sincere condolences to the family of one of my favorite duet partners, BJ Thomas. I will miss him as I know so many others will as well. Rest In Peace my friend.”
With the singer now deceased, there will be renewed interest in his music career. In 1975, he recorded a soft rock album entitled Help Me Make It (To My Rockin’ Chair). We had a chance to listen to it on vinyl yesterday.
Mr. Thomas brings a feel-good tonality to this record. It is not surprising he sang in various musical genres including pop, country and gospel. On Help Me Make It (To My Rockin’ Chair), music enthusiasts will gain an appreciation for his vocal abilities while listening to the tracks Why Don’t We Go Somewhere and Love and Today I Started Lovin’ You Again. Beyond his more popular commercial musical work, this vinyl record would be a great starting place to dive deeper into his music catalog.
The music industry lost one of its greats yesterday. Mr. Thomas died at his home in Arlington, Texas. RIP B.J. Thomas.