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.
Long Ago Tomorrow
B.J. Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And not the things I seem
Maybe I'll get to change the world
Before it changes me
And maybe my life
Will always be
Just as happy as it seems
Long ago tomorrow
Long ago tomorrow
In my dreams
Maybe I'll learn to face the truth
And like the truth I face
Maybe I'll get to find myself
Before I'm lost in space
And maybe a love
Will always be
Just as faithful as it seems
Long ago tomorrow
Long ago tomorrow
Long ago tomorrow
In my dreams
And maybe a love
Will always be
Just as faithful as it seems
Long ago tomorrow
Long ago tomorrow
Long ago tomorrow
In my dreams
The lyrics to B.J. Thomas's song Long Ago Tomorrow offer some introspective thoughts on life, dreams, truth, and love. In the first verse, the singer reflects on his hopes and aspirations and wonders if he can become the person he wishes to be. He hopes to change the world for the better, but also recognizes the potential for the world to change him. He concludes that his life may always appear happy on the surface, but there may be deeper, hidden struggles beneath the facade.
In the second verse, the singer considers the importance of facing the truth and finding oneself before getting lost in the chaos of life. He longs for love that is genuine and true, and hopes that it will remain so. The repeated refrain of "Long ago tomorrow in my dreams" suggests that these thoughts are not necessarily rooted in reality, but instead are part of the singer's aspirations and desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe I'll be the things I dream
Perhaps the things I imagine for myself will come true
And not the things I seem
Rather than appear a certain way, I will actually be what I desire
Maybe I'll get to change the world
I have the potential to impact the world in a meaningful way
Before it changes me
But I must act before the world changes me in ways I may not want
And maybe my life
Perhaps my life
Will always be
Will remain
Just as happy as it seems
As content and joyful as it appears on the surface
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
In my dreams
Only in my imagination
Maybe I'll learn to face the truth
Perhaps I will become better at accepting difficult truths
And like the truth I face
And be okay with facing them
Maybe I'll get to find myself
I may find who I am meant to be
Before I'm lost in space
Before I feel adrift and without direction
And maybe a love
Perhaps a loving relationship
Will always be
Will remain
Just as faithful as it seems
As loyal and committed as it appears
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
Long ago tomorrow
In the distant future
In my dreams
Only in my imagination
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE HUBBARD JR CAMPBELL, MARVIN J MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind