The American pop singer BJ Thomas is dead. As the artist's management announced on his website and on Twitter, the five-time Grammy winner died on Saturday at home in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 78 of complications from cancer.
Born as Billy Joe Thomas in 1942 in Hugo / Oklahoma, the singer had numerous big hits in the USA in the 1960s and 70s.
The world hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin 'On My Head" (1969), composed by Burt Bacharach and sung for the western comedy "Zwei Banditen" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, won an Oscar and shaped his pop career.
Later he also turned to country and gospel music.
According to his management, Thomas sold over 70 million albums and had eight number one hits in a career spanning over 50 years.
According to information on his website, Thomas leaves behind his wife Gloria, with whom he was married for 53 years, as well as three daughters and four grandchildren.