Washington (AFP)
American singer BJ Thomas, performer of the song "Raindrops keep fallin 'on my head," died of lung cancer at his Arlington, Texas home on Saturday at the age of 78, his agents said. in a press release.
Winner of five Grammy Awards between 1977 and 1981, he first became known to the public in 1966 with a cover of country singer Hank Williams, "I'm so lonesome I could cry", then with the song "Hooked on a feeling "in 1968.
But it is with "Raindrops keep fallin 'on my head", soundtrack of the film "Butch Cassidy and the Kid" in 1969, that he reaches a real fame.
With this ode to optimism, he won an Oscar and reached the heights of the charts in the United States.
"Few artists have left a more memorable mark on the American musical landscape than BJ Thomas," his agents noted on their site.
"With his silky, rich voice, and his unerring sense of song, Thomas' vast career has embraced several styles, including country, pop, and gospel," they added.
After several years of addiction to alcohol and drugs in the 1970s, a "turning point" in his life according to the press release came in 1976 with his conversion as an evangelical Christian.
He then turned to gospel music, and the same year, his album "Home where I belong" sold over a million copies.
BJ Thomas had revealed in March to be suffering from an advanced form of lung cancer.
"I'm just one type among others. I was very lucky," said the singer.
© 2021 AFP