Thomas was raised in and around Houston, Texas, graduating from Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg. Before his solo career, he sang in a church choir as a teenager, then joined the musical group The Triumphs. 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.
In 1966, B.J. Thomas and The Triumphs released the album I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Pacemaker Records). It featured a hit cover of the Hank Williams song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". The single sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. The follow-up single, "Mama", peaked at No. 22. In the same year, Thomas released a solo album of the same name on the Scepter Records label.
Thomas came back to achieve mainstream success again in 1968, first with "The Eyes of a New York Woman", then five months later with the much bigger "Hooked on a Feeling", which featured the sound of Reggie Young's electric sitar and was first released on the album On My Way (Scepter Records). "Hooked on a Feeling" became Thomas's second million-selling record. 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 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. Sales of it also exceeded one million copies, with Thomas being awarded his third gold record. The song was also released on an album of the same name. Other hits of the 1970s were "Everybody's Out of Town", "I Just Can't Help Believing" (No. 9 in 1970, covered by Elvis Presley), "No Love at All", "Mighty Clouds of Joy", and "Rock and Roll Lullaby".
Thomas's earlier hits were with Scepter Records, his label for six years. He left Scepter Records in 1972 and spent a short period, in 1973 and 1974, with Paramount Records, during which time he released two albums, Songs (1973) and Longhorns & Londonbridges (1974).
In 1975, Thomas released the album Reunion on ABC Records, which had absorbed the Paramount label; it contained "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" (the longest titled No. 1 hit ever on the Hot 100). It was Thomas's first big hit since 1972 and secured him his fourth gold record. It won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Country Song, awarded to its songwriters, Larry Butler and Chips Moman.
In 1976, Thomas released Home Where I Belong, produced by Chris Christian on Myrrh Records, the first of several gospel albums. It was the first Christian album to go platinum, and Thomas became the biggest contemporary Christian artist of the period.
On MCA Records, Thomas and Chris Christian recorded what would be his last Top 40 hit single, "Don't Worry Baby", on his last pop album, which also included the Adult Contemporary hit "Still the Lovin' Is Fun".
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 chart, 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 No. 3. In 1981, on his 39th birthday, Thomas became the 60th member of the Grand Ole Opry.
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 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 the autobiography Home Where I Belong, and starred in the movies Jory and "Jake's Corner". Several commercial jingles including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Bell, have featured his singing voice and music. On December 31, 2011, Thomas was the featured halftime performer at the 2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
On April 2, 2013, Thomas released The Living Room Sessions, an album with acoustic arrangements of well known hits. It features guest appearances with established and emerging vocalists accompanying Thomas on seven of twelve tracks.
On December 3, 2013, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced that his 1969 single "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Thomas was married to singer-songwriter Gloria Richardson since December 1968. They had three daughters: Paige (born 1970), Nora (adopted from Korea in 1978), and Erin (born in 1979). Shortly after Thomas's career began, he became dependent on drugs and alcohol which led to his marriage nearly ending and himself even coming close to death. Gloria became a Christian in 1975, and less than a month later, so did B.J.; most press sources indicate that Thomas had been sober since their separation was reconciled in 1976.
Close To You
B.J. Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
On the day that you were born
And the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born
And the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
The song "Close to You" by B.J. Thomas is an ode to the love and admiration the singer has for someone special. The first verse compares the singer's attraction to the person to the way birds are drawn to them, suggesting that the singer cannot resist being close to this individual. The second verse speaks to the person's cosmic quality - the stars seem to fall from the sky when they pass by, just as the singer's world seems to revolve around them. The final section of the song is a tribute to the person's beauty and magical qualities. The angels created this person as a dream come true, sprinkling them with moon dust and starlight so they could enchant everyone around them - particularly the women in town who follow them wherever they go.
Overall, "Close to You" paints a picture of a person who is both earthly and divine, someone who is irresistible to the singer and surrounded by a mystical aura. The song speaks to the universal experience of falling in love or being in awe of someone, depicting the object of affection as larger than life and imbued with special qualities that make them stand out from the crowd.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do birds suddenly appear
The presence of the person causes the birds to appear unexpectedly
Every time you are near?
This phenomenon happens repeatedly whenever the person is nearby
Just like me, they long to be
The birds also desire to be in close proximity to the person
Close to you
Near your presence
Why do stars fall down from the sky
When the person passes by, stars seem to fall from the sky
Every time you walk by?
This also happens frequently whenever the person walks nearby
Just like me, they long to be
The stars also desire to be close to the person, even if it means falling from the sky
On the day that you were born
This day holds special significance because it marks the person's birth
And the angels got together
This event is so important that angels came together to create something special
And decided to create a dream come true
The angels created something that is a wish or desire come true
So they sprinkled moon dust
As a part of creating the person, the angels used moon dust
In your hair of gold
The moon dust was put in the person's golden hair
And starlight in your eyes of blue
The person's blue eyes were filled with the light of the stars
That is why all the girls in town
Girls in the town are drawn to this person because of their heavenly origins
Follow you all around
These girls follow the person everywhere they go
Just like me, they long to be
Just as the birds and stars before, these girls also desire to be near the person
Close to you
In close proximity to you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fongolitus
I'm a friggin metalhead and I love this guy, beautiful voice and songs. I grew up in the 70's and heard this stuff on the radio, but I gradually transitioned to heavier music.
gaby movie oliveira
Adorei amo BJ Thomas
Guillermo Saldaña
Tu y b.j. Thomas son adorables el canta tu escuchas son expertos
Bertha Rosa La Torre
Gran compositor y es una canción muy linda me recuerda mi último año soltera
Guillermo Saldaña
B.j. Thomas forever Champion its song jewel
Bertha Rosa La Torre
Descansa en paz !
Theresa Raden
I love BJ
sacredspirityes
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