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<\/p>\n\nB.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who sold 70 million albums worldwide and charted eight No. 1 hits over his more than half-century-long career, died on Saturday. He was 78.<\/p>\n
Thomas, who announced in March that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, died of the disease at his home in Arlington, Texas, according to a press release from his management company, 2911 Media.<\/p>\n
A Hugo, Oklahoma, native who grew up in Houston, Thomas broke into the music industry in the 1960s with a career that crossed over into multiple genres including country, pop, and gospel.<\/p>\n
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He was best known for hits like \u201cHooked on a Feeling,\u201d his cover of Hank Williams\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m So Lonesome I Could Cry,\u201d and \u201cRaindrops Keep Fallin\u2019 on My Head,\u201d which won the Academy Award for best original song in the 1969 Western \u201cButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas released his first album for Scepter Records in 1966, and went on to become friendly with label mates Ronnie Milsap and Dionne Warwick. They introduced him to Burt Bacharach, who wrote the chart topper from the \u201cButch Cassidy\u201d film that was later used in movies like \u201cSpider-Man 2\u201d and \u201cForrest Gump.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn the 1970s, Thomas switched labels several times, gave up alcohol and drugs and turned to gospel music as he became a born again Christian. In 1976, he released \u201cHome Where I Belong,\u201d which became the first platinum album in the gospel genre.<\/p>\n
Over the following decade, Thomas enjoyed a string of hits with tunes like \u201cWhatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love,\u201d \u201cNew Looks from an Old Lover Again,\u201d appearing on the country charts.<\/p>\n
The five-time Grammy winner, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, also sang the theme song to the sitcom \u201cGrowing Pains,\u201d and appeared in multiple television commercials and infomercials.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I am is just another guy. I\u2019ve been very lucky,\u201d Thomas once reflected in a statement on his website.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a wonderful life, I\u2019ve been a husband and a father who cherishes his children and now I\u2019m a grandfather,\u201d he continued, \u201cand I\u2019m motivated like all these teachers and preachers and mothers and fathers to help my kids grow up with character and self-respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaves behind Gloria, his wife of 53 years, three daughters and four grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
B.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who sold 70 million albums worldwide and charted eight No. 1 hits over his more than half-century-long career, died on Saturday. He was 78. Thomas, who announced in March that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, died of the disease at his home in Arlington, Texas, according to a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":70109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11185],"tags":[74119,74099,74109,74115,74121,74107,74103,74105,74111,74113,74101,74117],"yoast_head":"\n