B.J. Thomas To Perform At Sun Bowl

B.J. Thomas, who is best known for the 1969 Academy Award-winning song “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” will perform during halftime at this year’s Sun Bowl.

The official announcement was made Wednesday morning by the Sun Bowl Association after it was posted and removed from Thomas’ website.

Thomas, whose other hits include “Hooked on a Feeling” and a cover of Hank Williams’ “I?m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” will take to the stage at the 78th Hyundai Sun Bowl, which kicks of at noon Dec. 31 at Sun Bowl Stadium. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take on the Utah Utes.

For the past eight years, the Sun Bowl has featured a halftime performer in addition to the teams’ marching bands. Last year, Lee Greenwood belted out the 1984 patriotic classic, “God Bless the USA.”

Other performances include teenage “American Idol” contestant David Archuleta, Rihanna, Baby Bash, Diamond Rio and Los Lonely Boys.

In 2009, when the Village People performed “YMCA,” the more than 44,000 people who danced to the song made the Guinness World Book of Records.

In addition to the Village People, fans got a chance to see the controversial Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band, which has been suspended and banned from other universities because of its part in several eyebrow-raising incidents. During the time of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, some members of the band entered Stanford Stadium in a bloodied white Ford Bronco.

Thomas has won five Grammy Awards, four for Most Inspirational Performance and one for Best Gospel Performance. According to a news release issued by the Sun Bowl, Thomas 15 Top 40 pop hits, 10 Top 40 country hits, two Dove awards and 15 Gold and Platinum Records.

“Raindrops,” which was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The game will be broadcast live nationally in high definition on CBS for the 44th consecutive year. Tickets for the Hyundai Sun Bowl range in price from $17 to $62 and can be purchased by calling 915-533-4416 or 800-915-BOWL or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.

KVIA POLL:Whom would you rather see perform at the Sun Bowl?