Randy Thomas (born November 15, 1954) is an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

musician best known for being a member of the Sweet Comfort Band and Allies and co-writing " Butterfly Kisses". Thomas performed with Sam Scott and Bob Carlisle in Psalm 150, then joined the Sweet Comfort Band in 1975. ''Sweet Comfort'' was the band's debut recording for Maranatha! Music in 1976. Switching to Light Records, Sweet Comfort Band produced five more records, the last titled ''Perfect Timing''. A best-of compilation, ''Prime Time'', followed. In 1984 Thomas formed the band Allies with Scott and Carlisle. They spent nine years between 1984 and 1993 doing concerts and recording six albums. The band's debut was self-titled. The most successful Allies recording was ''Long way from Paradise'' with two No. 1 singles: "Devil Is a Liar" and "Take Me Back." During this period, Thomas and Carlisle became a well-known songwriting team. The first country song they penned was the 1989

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

No. 1 song "Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That?" PolyGram Music, now Universal Music, signed Thomas as a staff writer in 1995. He wrote material for artists such as Bob Carlisle,

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, Raybon Brothers, and Jeff Carson as well as for

, Hank Williams Jr., Highway 101, Colin Raye, Ty England, Lila McCann, and Engelbert Humperdinck. Former Allies drummer Brian Fullen introduced Thomas to Robert John "Mutt" Lange and his wife,

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

. Lange and Twain hired Thomas as a guitarist / vocalist for live international performances to debut the Mercury Records release ''The Woman In Me''. Thomas performed some of the ''Woman In Me'' performances throughout 1995 and 1996 which also featured former RCA recording artist/guitarist/songwriter Dan Schafer. Thomas also played with Canadian artist Paul Brandt, and later SHeDAISY. He shared the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Country Song with Bob Carlisle for writing the song " Butterfly Kisses". "Butterfly Kisses" sold over three million units and was awarded a Platinum Single Award. Thomas was producer, co-writer and co-artist on ''Identical Strangers'' (Damascus Road Records) with Andy Denton in 1996. ''Identical Strangers'' was a critically acclaimed CD yielding two top-5 singles. Thomas retired in 1997, coming out of retirement in 2007. His various awards include: Grammy, Dove, ASCAP, NSAI, and Nashville Music awards. Thomas and his wife, Lori currently reside in Fort Myers, FL. They have three children, all of whom Randy has co-written songs for: Crystal ("Butterfly Kisses"), Randall ("A Father's Love"), and Sarah ("I Wish I Could").

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Officialsweetcomfortband.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Randy Living people American performers of Christian music Grammy Award winners 1954 births Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas