By Ken Paulson
For decades, America’s pop singers drew on Tin Pan Alley and other professional songwriters for the material that fueled their careers.
Then came the Beatles and a new expectation that performers would write their own material and play their own instruments. That meant the occasional work of art – and large volumes of dreck.
It was the rare performer who could carve a career spanning decades while largely relying on the talents of other songwriters. Johnny Rivers was one. B.J. Thomas was another.
We had the chance to see Thomas in concert in Franklin, TN, a couple of months ago and were reminded of his considerable talents, both as a performer and as a judge of material. At age 69, he remains a fine singer and his set was a testament to the range and quality of his recorded work.
Most of that material appears on The Complete Scepter Singles, an outstanding new double-CD set from Real Gone Music. It captures everything from Thomas’ first top ten hit “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in 1966 to his version of Steve Wonder’s “Happier Than the Morning Sun” which hit #100 in 1972.
The biggest hits are here – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” Hooked on a Feeling” and “Rock and Roll Lullaby” among them – but the collection also includes lesser-known pop songs that stand with the best recordings of the era. “Long Ago Tomorrow, “Might Clouds of Joy,” “Most of All” and “It’s Only Love” should have been much bigger hits.
The Complete Scepter Singles tracks the growing sophistication of pop music over a fruitful six-year period and celebrates the career of a man who mastered his craft.