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.
You Make Me Feel Brand New
B.J. Thomas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll never find the words, my love
To tell you how I feel, my love
Mere words could not explain
Precious love
You held my life within your hands
Created everything I am
Taught me how to live again
Only you
Cared when I needed a friend
Believed in me thick and thin
This song is for you
Filled with gratitude and love
God bless you
You make me feel brand new
For God blessed me with you
You made me feel brand new
I sing this song 'cause you
Make me feel brand new
My love
Whenever I was insecure
You built me up and made me sure
You gave my pride back to me
Precious friend
With you I'll always have a friend
You're someone who I can depend
To walk a path that never ends
Without you
My life has no meaning or rhyme
Like notes to a song out of time
How can I repay
You for having faith in me
God bless you
You make me feel brand new
For God blessed me with you
You made me feel brand new
I sing this song 'cause you
Make me feel brand new
God bless you
You make me feel brand new
For God blessed me with you
You made me feel brand new
I sing this song 'cause you
Make me feel brand new
God bless you
You make me feel brand new
For God blessed me with you
You made me feel brand new
I sing this song 'cause you
Make me feel brand new
The lyrics of "You Make Me Feel Brand New" by B.J. Thomas express the profound gratitude and love felt towards someone who has transformed the singer's life. The opening verse makes it clear that mere words cannot express the depth of the singer's feelings. The love they have received from this special person is described as "precious," having created everything the singer is, and taught them how to live again.
The second verse speaks to a sense of insecurity, which was no match for the steadfast support of the person being sung about. They lifted the singer up and restored their confidence, returning pride that had been lost. This is perhaps the most significant aspect of the relationship portrayed in the song - the sense of trust and safety that comes from having someone who believes in you, thick and thin.
The chorus repeats the phrase "God bless you" multiple times, underscoring the sense of gratitude which pervades the track. The idea that this person has "made me feel brand new" emphasizes the transformative power of the love in question. The final line of the chorus, "I sing this song 'cause you make me feel brand new," is perhaps the most poignant moment in the track. It is a declaration of love that puts into words the unspeakable depth of feeling that the singer has.
Line by Line Meaning
My love
Addressing the person he loves
I'll never find the words, my love
Expressing his inability to fully articulate his love
To tell you how I feel, my love
Acknowledging that mere words are insufficient to describe his feelings
Mere words could not explain
Emphasizing that words are inadequate to convey his emotions
Precious love
Addressing the significance and importance of their love
You held my life within your hands
Describing how the other person has significant influence over his life
Created everything I am
Crediting the other person for shaping his identity
Taught me how to live again
Highlighting how the other person helped him rediscover happiness
Only you
Stressing the uniqueness of their relationship
Cared when I needed a friend
Appreciating the other person for being there for him when he needed support
Believed in me thick and thin
Recognizing the other person's unwavering faith in him
This song is for you
Declaring that the song is dedicated to the other person
Filled with gratitude and love
Expressing his feelings of thankfulness and affection
God bless you
Invoking a blessing on the other person
You make me feel brand new
Stating how the other person rejuvenates and revitalizes him
For God blessed me with you
Attributing the other person's presence in his life as a divine blessing
I sing this song 'cause you
Explaining why he is singing the song
Make me feel brand new
Reiterating how the other person renews and refreshes him
Whenever I was insecure
Recalling his moments of vulnerability
You built me up and made me sure
Acknowledging how the other person gave him confidence
You gave my pride back to me
Describing how the other person helped restore his self-esteem
Precious friend
Addressing the importance of their friendship
With you I'll always have a friend
Expressing his trust in the other person as a friend
You're someone who I can depend
Recognizing the other person's dependability
To walk a path that never ends
Reaffirming their enduring relationship
Without you
Exploring the possibility of a life without the other person
My life has no meaning or rhyme
Highlighting how important the other person is to his life
Like notes to a song out of time
Comparing his life without the other person to a song without rhythm
How can I repay
Expressing his desire to reciprocate the other person's love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Linda Diane Creed, Thomas Randolph Bell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind