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.
God Bless The Children
B.J. Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope he lives on the cold north pole
I hope the stockings are hung on the wall
May the child stay in us all
God bless the children everywhere
For they haven't yet learned not to care
We must not let time age the soul
I hope there's really a reindeer that flies
Does a snowman see through his button eyes
I hope that when our hair turns to grey
All the child in us will stay
God bless the children everywhere
For they haven't yet learned not to care
Time must not turn our own hearts cold
May the child stay in us all
May the child stay in us all
Unless we be like children
The gates of heaven close
Until we think like children
Our souls will never grow old
God bless the children everywhere
For they haven't yet learned not to care
Time must not turn our own hearts cold
May the child stay in us all
May the child stay in us all
May the child stay in us all
B.J. Thomas's "God Bless The Children" is a song about the importance of maintaining childlike wonder and innocence throughout our lives. The lyrics express a desire for the fantastical elements of childhood to remain a part of our lives, even as we age. The focus is on the idea of preserving our youthful spirit, and not allowing time or the disappointments of life to harden our hearts.
The song begins with a reference to Santa Claus and the North Pole, symbols of childhood Christmas magic. The lyrics express the hope that these symbols are real, and the desire to believe in them persists even into adulthood. The second verse continues with references to snowmen and reindeer, further emphasizing the importance of holding onto the whimsical elements of childhood.
The chorus of the song drives home its central message: that children possess a unique quality of caring and wonder that should be preserved in all of us. The lines "For they haven't yet learned not to care / We must not let time age the soul" encapsulate this idea. The final verses reinforce the importance of childlike thinking to our spiritual growth and the need to keep our hearts open to the world.
Overall, "God Bless The Children" is a song that celebrates the beauty of childhood innocence and encourages listeners to hold onto this quality throughout their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I hope there's really a Santa Claus
I hope that the story of Santa Claus who brings gifts to good children is true
I hope he lives on the cold north pole
I hope that Santa Claus does indeed exist and that he lives on the remote cold North Pole
I hope the stockings are hung on the wall
I hope the tradition of hanging stockings on the wall to be filled with gifts by Santa Claus is followed
May the child stay in us all
May the innocence and wonder of childhood remain within all of us
God bless the children everywhere
May God bless all the children in the world, who are innocent and full of love
For they haven't yet learned not to care
Children haven't yet learned to be indifferent or apathetic, they still care deeply about the world around them
We must not let time age the soul
We must make sure that we don't lose our childlike spirit as we age
I hope there's really a reindeer that flies
I hope that the story of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer who pulls Santa's sleigh is true
Does a snowman see through his button eyes
Does a snowman really have eyes made of buttons?
I hope that when our hair turns to grey
I hope that as we age, we can still find joy in the simple things like we did as children
All the child in us will stay
May we retain the qualities of childhood that keep us young at heart
Time must not turn our own hearts cold
As we age, we must be wary of becoming hardened or cynical by life's challenges
Unless we be like children
Unless we embrace the qualities of childhood, specifically an innocent and curious mindset, we may find ourselves unable to enter heaven
The gates of heaven close
The gates of heaven close to those who are too hardened or closed-minded
Until we think like children
Until we embrace the same open-mindedness and innocence of children, we may miss out on opportunities for growth and happiness
Our souls will never grow old
Our souls can remain forever young as long as we maintain a childlike sense of wonder and joy
May the child stay in us all
May we continue to see the world with the same innocence and magic that children do
May the child stay in us all
May we hold onto the spirit of childhood throughout our lives
Writer(s): Shanon Smith, Chris Christian
Contributed by Alyssa L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.