His Opry membership later lapsed, with the Opry having classified him as a non-regular "guest artist".
In 1981, on his 39th birthday, Thomas became the 60th member of the Grand Ole Opry. Additionally, " Two Car Garage" reached No. Two of those songs included " Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love" and " New Looks from an Old Lover" in 1983. It appeared on his last pop album, which also included the Adult Contemporary hit "Still the Lovin' Is Fun".ĭuring the 1980s, Thomas had little success on the pop charts, but some of his singles topped the country singles chart. On MCA Records, Thomas and Chris Christian recorded his last Top 40 hit single, " Don't Worry Baby". Thomas embraced his newfound faith, but sometimes clashed with fundamentalist Christian fans because he still performed his previous popular hits. It was the first Christian album to go platinum, and Thomas became one of the biggest contemporary Christian musical artists of the period. In 1976, Thomas released Home Where I Belong, produced by Chris Christian on Myrrh Records, the first of several gospel albums. It was his first big hit since 1972 and secured him his fourth gold record. It contained " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", which was the longest-titled No.
In 1975, Thomas released the album Reunion on ABC Records, which had absorbed the Paramount label. He spent a short period with Paramount Records in 19, during which time he released Songs (1973) and Longhorns & Londonbridges (1974). Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981) Īfter experiencing hits with Scepter Records, his label for six years, Thomas left the label in 1972. And like most, he does better with the real stuff-'No Love at All' comes close for a pop song and he broke with a Hank Williams cover-than with Bacharach/ David." "Thomas never turned rock and roller because he was, and is, a country singer. 9 in 1970 and was covered by Elvis Presley), "No Love at All", "Mighty Clouds of Joy" and " Rock and Roll Lullaby". His other hits of the 1970s included: "Everybody's Out of Town", " I Just Can't Help Believing" (reached No. The song was also released on an album of the same title. Its sales also exceeded one million copies, with Thomas being awarded his third gold record. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. A year later, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid featured Thomas performing the Bacharach/ David song " Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", which won the Academy Award for best original song that year. "Hooked on a Feeling" became Thomas' second million-selling record. Five months later, the more successful single " Hooked on a Feeling" featured the sound of Reggie Young's electric sitar, and was first released on the album On My Way via Scepter Records. Thomas achieved mainstream success again in 1968, with the song "The Eyes of a New York Woman". In the same year, Thomas released a solo album of the same title on the Scepter Records label. The follow-up single, " Mama", peaked at No. The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. In 1966, Thomas and the Triumphs released the album I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Pacemaker Records), featuring a hit cover of the Hank Williams song " I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". The Traits and the Triumphs held several Battle of the Bands events in the early 1960s. During his senior year, he made friends with Roy Head of Roy Head and The Traits.
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). Before his solo career, he sang in a church choir as a teenager. Thomas grew up in and around Houston, Texas, and graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg. He was the son of Geneva and Vernon Thomas. Thomas was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on August 7, 1942. In 2014, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Popular songs by Thomas include " Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), " Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (1969), " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" (1975), " Don't Worry Baby" (1977) and " Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned Love" (1983). Billy Joe Thomas (Aug– May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his country, contemporary Christian and pop hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
0 kommentar(er)
