Country Artist B. J. Thomas

B.J. Thomas has one of the most distinctive voices in American Pop Music — a reassuringly masculine timbre conveyed with a smattering of unique embellishments that represent a distillation of the most influential genres in pop culture. Nothing about the identifiable sound of B.J.’s voice has changed, but there’s a re-energized commitment behind it.

Indeed, many of B.J.’s signature hits—the Oscar-winning “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” the million-selling “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” and his career-igniting cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” — invariably find the plots’ protagonists employing some level of positivity to overcome the universal battle with loneliness.

Continuing his supportive inclinations, a series of positive-themed discs were embraced by the Gospel community, giving him the first four platinum albums in Gospel history. A brief-but-successful foray into Country Music — dotted by “Whatever Happened To Old Fashioned Love,” and “New Looks From An Old Lover,” written by his wife, Gloria, Red Lane and Latham Hudson — emphasized classic family ideals and commitment, as did the still-familiar theme to “Growing Pains, As Long As We Got Each Other,” sung on the tube with Jennifer Warnes.

After his initial successes on a small Southern label, B.J. signed with New York’s Scepter, where the roster also included Ronnie Milsap and Dionne Warwick. In fact, it was Warwick who introduced B.J. to songwriter-producer Burt Bacharach, leading to his performance of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” for Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.

The song has shown an amazing resilience — it was featured in Forrest Gump when Tom Hanks’ character encountered President Lyndon B. Johnson; it made the soundtracks for Clerks II, The In-Laws and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle; and it appeared almost in its entirety during Spider-Man 2.