Since 1976 he recorded several albums which included guest appearances by Melissa Manchester, Steve Cropper, Waddy Wachtel, Bruce Hornsby and Ellen McIlwaine, among others.
[9] Throughout early 1970 Mercy Flight continued to open regularly for Steel Mill and when Bruce Springsteen decided to add another vocalist he recruited Thompson.
Headliners included Roy Orbison, Brian Hyland, Ronnie Milsap, Bobby Bloom, Ballin' Jack, Ten Wheel Drive and The Illusion.
While Springsteen was Steel Mill's main songwriter, the band performed some Thompson songs, including "Train Ride".
On August 6, 1981 at the Bayou Club in Washington D.C., Thompson was joined onstage by Springsteen, Garry Tallent and Clarence Clemons for an eight-minute version of "Carol".
[10][11] On March 3, 2003 at the Richmond Coliseum during The Rising Tour, Thompson, together with Bruce Hornsby, joined Springsteen on stage for the Hank Ballard song "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go".
The album featured guest appearances by Timothy B. Schmit, Melissa Manchester, Steve Cropper, Waddy Wachtel and Rick Roberts.
The album would eventually sell 200,000 copies and included a re-recorded version of "Sweet Virginia Breeze" as well as "Candy Apple Red" and "Brite Eyes".
[citation needed] Thompson's 1985 album Better Late Than Never, which featured cover versions of "Fortunate Son" and "Be My Baby", was his first to be released on his own label Out There Records.
I Don't Need A Reason To Ride from 1991 featured Bruce Hornsby while Out on the Chesapeake from 1998 was the first of several collaborations with Butch Taylor of the Dave Matthews Band and saw Schmit once again provide backing vocals.
In between Thompson was also involved in a collaboration with fellow songwriters Michael Lille and Lewis McGehee, recording an eponymous album as The Famous Unknowns.
His 2003 album, One Step Ahead of the Blues, again featured Schmit and Taylor, as well a song called "Orange Moon" that was recorded in Shanghai with traditional Chinese musical instruments.
He was a resident of Richmond, Virginia and died of cancer on October 10, 2015, after a long battle with a rare gastrointestinal stromal tumor.