“I Just Can’t Help Believing”
Written by Cynthia Weil & Barry Mann
PHIL VAUGHT: Lead & Background Vocals
TOM HEMBY: Guitar
JERVONNY COLLIER: Bass
DAVE HANLON: Drums
ANDREW CARROLL: Keyboards
CHRIS WEST: All Horns
Producer: Tom Emmi
Audio Engineers: Rob Cowart, Bill Schnee
Mastering Engineer: Sunny Nam
Video Editors: Meryl Jacobs, Adam Henderson
BJ Thomas will forever be famous for the lucky break he almost didn’t get. Composer Burt Bacharach was turned down by his top two choices to record a song for the soundtrack of a quirky western in 1969. But when Bob Dylan and Ray Stevens put up their umbrellas, Thomas would step in to ride “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” to the top of the US charts and a Best Song Oscar. Despite battles with drug and alcohol addiction, Thomas’s honeyed baritone would lead him to become a mainstay of the pop and country charts and, after recovery and a religious awakening, he would record a handful of gospel hits. In May 2021, lung cancer took Billy Joe Thomas from us, but thanks to his time here, many of us will never hear a rainstorm the same way.
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