 billy joe "b.j." thomas (born august 7, 1942, hugo, oklahoma) is an american popular singer. he is particularly known for his hit songs of the 1960s and 1970s, which appeared on the pop, country, and christian music charts. his most well-known recording was the burt bacharach/hal david song "raindrops keep fallin' on my head". ==career== 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 an 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
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