The American singer BJ Thomas, interpreter of the song 'Raindrops keep fallin' on my head ', died on Saturday

of lung cancer

at his home in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 78, his agents announced in a statement.

BJ Thomas won

five Grammy Awards

between 1977 and 1981, and became known in 1966 with a cover of 'I'm so lonesome I could cry' by country singer Hank Williams and then with the song 'Hooked on a feeling' in 1968. .

But it was with 'Raindrops keep fallin' on my head ', the soundtrack of the

1969

film

' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid '

, that he became truly famous.

With that ode to optimism, he won an Oscar and topped the charts in America.

"Few artists have made a

more memorable mark

on the American music scene than BJ Thomas," wrote his agents on his website.

"With his silky, rich voice and unerring songwriting ability, Thomas' extensive career has spanned many styles, including

country, pop and gospel,

" they added.

After several years of

addiction to alcohol and drugs

in the 1970s, 1976 saw a "turning point" in his life with his conversion to evangelical Christianity, according to the statement.

He then turned to gospel music, and that same year, his album 'Home where I belong' sold

more than a million copies

.

The singer had revealed in March that he had an advanced form of lung cancer.

"I'm just one guy among many.

I've been very lucky,

" he said.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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