American singer BJ Thomas, performer of the song
Raindrops keep fallin 'on my head
, died of lung cancer on Saturday.
According to the statement released by his agents, the 78-year-old artist died in his Arlington, Texas home.
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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
en 1968. But it was with
Raindrops keep fallin 'on my head
, soundtrack to the film
Butch Cassidy and the Kid
in 1969, that he achieved 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
", underlined his agents on their site. "
With his silky, rich voice, and his infallible sense of song, Thomas's 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.