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.
In The Misty Moonlight
B.J. Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By the flickering firelight
Any place is alright
As long as I'm with you
In a far away land
By the shifting sea sand
With your hand in my handI won't be blue
Way up on the mountains
Or way down in the valley
I know I'll be happy
Any place anywhere
I don't care
In the misty moonlight
By the flickering firelight
Any place is alright
As long as you are there
Even in a far away land
By the shifting sea sand
With your hands in my hand
As long as you are there
Hey Hey hey
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
I'll be alright
If you'll be there
Say hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Tell me will you be there
Say yeah
Yeah
The lyrics to B.J. Thomas's song In The Misty Moonlight express contentment and happiness in any location as long as the singer is with their loved one. The opening lines, "In the misty moonlight/By the flickering firelight" create a romantic atmosphere as the singer describes the ideal setting for them to be with their partner. The following lines, "Any place is alright/As long as I'm with you," emphasize that the details of the location are unimportant as long as the singer's loved one is with them.
The next verse describes the possibility of being in "a far away land/By the shifting sea sand" and again emphasizes the importance of being with their loved one by saying "With your hand in my hand/I won't be blue." The final verse underscores the point that the singer would be happy anywhere, "Way up on the mountains/Or way down in the valley," as long as their loved one is with them. The repeated refrain, "Any place is alright/As long as you are there," further emphasizes the theme of the song.
Overall, the lyrics to In The Misty Moonlight paint a picture of contentment and joy in a simple yet romantic setting, with the underlying message that the presence of a loved one is all that truly matters.
Line by Line Meaning
In the misty moonlight
Under the soft and hazy light of the moon
By the flickering firelight
With a warm, crackling fire providing light
Any place is alright
Anywhere would be fine
As long as I'm with you
As long as I have your company
In a far away land
In a distant, unknown place
By the shifting sea sand
On the shores of an ever-changing sea
With your hand in my hand
With us holding hands
I won't be blue
I won't feel sad or lonely
Way up on the mountains
High up in the peaks
Or way down in the valley
Or deep in the valleys
I know I'll be happy
I'm certain I'll be content and joyful
Any place anywhere
Anywhere at all
I don't care
It doesn't matter to me
As long as you are there
As long as I have your presence
Hey Hey hey
An interjection expressing enthusiasm
Hey hey hey
An interjection expressing enthusiasm
Hey hey hey
An interjection expressing enthusiasm
I'll be alright
I will be fine
If you'll be there
If I have your company
Say hey hey hey
Asking the person to call out with enthusiasm
Hey hey hey
An interjection expressing enthusiasm
Hey hey hey
An interjection expressing enthusiasm
Will you be there
Are you going to be there with me?
Tell me will you be there
Asking for confirmation if the person will be there
Say yeah
Asking the person to say 'yes'
Yeah
An affirmative response
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Cindy Walker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fstagigi
Memories. B.J. Thomas. 💖
@maxshealy6353
To me this is the greatest voice in music. Roy Orbison Elvis or no one can touch him
@patnestbox
one of my all time favorites, this man can sing
@classie60
WHAT A VOICE BJ HAS. A brilliant version of this song.
@panneetantinukul5658
Indeed.
@panneetantinukul5658
I never heard it before. But I love it
B.J. voice makes it so good.
@panneetantinukul5658
Bj เสียงดีฟุด ๆ คนไทยช่วยฟังหน่อยนะ
@marianfrances3057
Reminds me of my teen years.
@AnneliGwinner
awesome * BJ THOMAS *
@jehovahuponyou
THIS IS B J TURDMUSS, NOT B J THOMAS.