![]() Thomas recording.Ī homage to the fifteen years of rock and roll which preceeded it, all involved with this project believed they were on a winner, until the release of the single co-incided with the financial end of Scepter Records. The single Rock And Roll Lullaby has been acclaimed by some critics as one of the best songs of this era, and most rock scribes note this as the finest B.J. Thomas and legendary writer Barry Mann in the early 70s looked like another winner, but the reality of a struggling record company stepped in. Thomas switched his source of material to a young writer and acquaintance called Mark James, who provided him with the instantly recognisable Hooked On A Feeling before going on to write 'Suspicious Minds' for Elvis Presley and 'Always On My Mind' for Willie Nelson.Īt the pinnacle of his success, Thomas recorded two Burt Bacharach/Hal David compositions, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' and `Everybody's Out Of Town' - the writers continuing their association with Scepter that they started with Dionne Warwick. Thomas' regional Texas success quickly translated to national fame. The Scepter deal came about via friend and fellow musician Steve Tyrell, who had made the shift from artist to record executive, and B.J. 'Mama' became a worldwide hit and is still often used as an advertising jingle today, but once again like many of his peers, it took several re-issues on several small labels before the Scepter Records release in 1966 got the show on the road. The pair collaborated on a number of songs when Charron joined The Triumphs as a guitarist, but it would be two of Charron's compositions, 'Billy And Sue' and `Mama', which would prove to be the launching pad for Thomas' career. Classmate Mark Charron became pivotal in B.J. ![]() Oklahoma born Billy Joe Thomas had a singing pedigree in the local church choir (like many of his peers) and by the time he was in high school in Texas, he had joined his first band, The Triumphs. You've heard this voice many times over the airwaves and this collection of songs is realisation of the string of hits and standards that this strong clear singer can call his own. Thomas is one of the many solo performers to break out of the South of the United States in the mid 60s -like Glen Campbell and Tony Joe White he touched on the country sound, and like Johnny Rivers he used other peoples songs as his hit vehicles. "It was the greatest place to grow up in the world. "Everybody knew everybody, and everybody liked everybody," he said in the 2010 Journal-Constitution interview. He remembered his time there, before national fame, with fondness. ![]() In 2010, he announced he would end his last official tour with a concert in Marietta, not far from the school that once banned him. Royal went on to do well with country songs such as "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow," "Tell It Like It Is" and "'Till I Can't Take It Anymore." The song had nothing to do with space travel, but given its title, radio stations stopped playing it. It looked like he might have a big hit in 1986 with "Burned Like a Rocket." But just as the song was gaining in popularity, the Challenger space shuttle tragedy occurred. Royal moved back to Georgia and eventually landed in Nashville, where he worked to revive his career. "Kenny Rogers lived down the street from me," Royal recalled, "and Kenny was tearing the world up singing country music. But he noticed that other singers who had pop hits had successfully switched genres. ![]() I was getting a divorce," he told the Journal-Constitution. Royal moved to Los Angeles, but his brand of pop music was falling out of favor.
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