It’s been 50 years since B.J. Thomas scored his first million-selling gold record with a cover of the Hank Williams’ classic, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and the five-time Grammy Award winner shows no signs of slowing down.
Instead, the pop, country, and gospel singer – whose hits, including “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” and “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” have helped him sell more than 70 million albums – keeps a brisk touring schedule that will bring him to the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on Dec. 3 for a concert to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Medford, Somerville and Greater Salem.
By telephone from his home in Arlington, Texas, recently, Thomas talked about his music, his wife and family, what it was like working with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and his plans to get back into the recording studio.
Q: What do you have planned for your show at Chevalier Theatre?
A: I’ll be doing most every hit record I’ve ever had, of course, and also maybe one or two gospel songs. And because the show is in December, and I think a few people might holler for a Christmas song, I’ll have some of those ready to go, too.
Q: Your music is part of the soundtrack of so many people’s lives. Do you remember where you were the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?
A: I was in a car going down the street in Houston, when I first heard myself on the radio. The first of my songs I heard was called “I Know It’s Wrong.” The moment it came on, I went from “That’s not me” to “Yeah, that’s me.” I was with a group called the Triumphs then. We became involved with our local Top 40 stations. We played dances and sock hops for them and they gave us some radio play.
Q: One of your biggest hits, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” was written by the legendary team of composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David for the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” You took the song to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four straight weeks in early 1970. It also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and, in 2014, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. What do you remember about working with Bacharach and David?
IF YOU GO
B.J. Thomas
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St., Medford
PRICE: $35-$65
INFO: 781-391-7469, BJThomasLive.com
A: Burt Bacharach has a beautiful aura. He’s very Hollywood. I love being around him. I remember asking him upfront if I could sing his songs my way and he said, “Yes, after you’ve sung every song exactly the way I have written it.” As long as I had my key, he and I could connect and I could find ways to add my own vocal touches. Burt and I appeared together not too long ago and he’s as great now as he’s always been. He is the master. Hal David, who passed away in 2012, was very different from Burt. He was more of a guy’s guy. I liked Hal quite a bit and his lyrics were some of the best.
Q: What’s your favorite B.J. Thomas song?
A: I have different feelings about each of them. They bring back different emotions at different times. “Raindrops” changed my life for sure, and I still love to sing it. But if I’d never done it that would have been OK, too, because I had “Hooked on a Feeling.” That’s probably my favorite along with “Lonesome,” which was our first to go big nationally. We had no idea that one would be a hit. We recorded it at 5:30 in the morning after an all-night session in the studio. “Lonesome” was a B-side. My dad was a big Hank Williams fan so he was thrilled with that record. He would call his local radio stations with requests to play it so often that, the moment they heard his voice, they would say, “What do you want to hear today, Mr. Thomas?”
Q: You and your wife, singer/songwriter Gloria Thomas, have been married since 1968. What’s the secret to a happy, lasting marriage?
A: When it comes to our marriage, Gloria and I have always been in love and have never given up on each other. Most of the credit goes to Gloria for sticking with me. I’m very lucky, because I had my soulmate with me through my troubles. I’ve been sober for many years and now I’m eating healthier. Gloria has had a very positive effect on my life and my career. She co-wrote “New Looks for an Old Lover,” which was a country number-one for me, and she’s written some of my gospel music, too. And we have three daughters, three granddaughters, and one grandson, 4-year-old Billy Joe Thomas Moore. In my son-in-law’s family, it is a tradition to name the first born son for his maternal grandfather.
Q: Have any of your children or grandchildren considered careers in show business?
A: Gloria toured with me for 15 years and the kids spent some summers out with me, too. My daughters write and sing a bit, but I never pushed them into music. And when they didn’t have the burning desire to be on the road, I was happy. That meant they could have more normal lives. My grandkids all write and sing a bit, too. Billy Joe and I were singing “Rock and Roll Lullaby” in the car together just the other day.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I still have a lot of fun doing concerts and I get a little itchy when I’m not out on the road, so I’m going to continue touring. I do fewer dates these days, though, because I don’t have the burning desire anymore to be gone for months at a time. And I no longer travel by tour bus. Now, I fly where I need to go. I’ve also been feeling the need to do some new material. There are a lot of ways I could go, but I think I’m going to write at least three or four new songs and look at making a new album. The studio thing has always been thrilling to me. When you’re in the recording studio, you’re doing something for the first time. You find a song, you get together with some terrific musicians, and it’s like, “Man…that was great.” It gives you a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.
R. Scott Reedy is a freelance writer and frequently contributes about theater, music and the arts. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts.
B.J. Thomas
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St., Medford
PRICE: $35-$65
INFO: 781-391-7469, BJThomasLive.com
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