Stephen Bishop (singer)
Stephen Bishop | |
|---|---|
 Bishop in 1977 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Earl Stephen Bishop |
| Born | November 14, 1951 |
| Origin | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, blues rock, pop rock, soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, actor |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | ABC, Warner Bros., MCA |
| Website | stephenbishop |
Earl Stephen Bishop[1] (born November 14, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist. His biggest hits include "On and On", "It Might Be You" and "Save It for a Rainy Day". He has appeared in and contributed musically to many motion pictures including National Lampoon's Animal House.
Life and career
Beginnings
Bishop was born and raised in San Diego, California, and attended Will C. Crawford High School.[2] Originally a clarinetist, he persuaded his brother to buy him a guitar after seeing the Beatles on the The Ed Sullivan Show.[3] In 1967, he formed his first group, the Weeds, a British Invasion-styled band.[4]
After the Weeds folded, Bishop moved to Los Angeles in search of a solo recording contract.[4] During a lean eight-year period, where he was rejected "by nearly every label and producer,"[5] he continued to write songs, eventually landing a $50-a-week job with a publishing house.[3]
Bishop's break came when a friend, Leah Kunkel, gave Art Garfunkel one of Bishop's demo cassettes. Garfunkel chose two of his songs, "Looking for the Right One" and "The Same Old Tears on a New Background", to record for the platinum album Breakaway.[5] Via Garfunkel's patronage, Bishop finally secured a recording contract with ABC Records in 1976.[4]
Recording career
Bishop's first album, Careless, included two of his biggest hits. The first single released, "Save It for a Rainy Day", introduced Bishop to the listening public and went to No. 22 on the Billboard singles chart.[6] The next single, Bishop's highest charting to date, "On and On", peaked at No. 11.[6] The album itself rose to No. 34 on the Billboard albums chart.[7] Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel and Chaka Khan all contributed their talents to the album.
Careless went gold as did Bishop's subsequent album Bish, released in 1978.[3] Bish included one charting single, "Everybody Needs Love", which made it to No. 32. The album also includes a smooth classic called "A Fool At Heart" that features Chaka Khan and Natalie Cole on background vocals.[6] Bishop's third album, Red Cab to Manhattan, released in 1980, failed to chart and was his last released in North America for nine years.
Bishop has written and performed music for many motion pictures. In 1978, he contributed the original song "Dream Girl" and theme to National Lampoon's Animal House,[8] which he sang in falsetto. Bishop's next hit, charting at No. 25 in 1982,[6] was "It Might Be You", the theme from the movie Tootsie, unusual in that it was not penned by Bishop. Written by Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[9]
Bishop's composition "Separate Lives", sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, from the 1985 movie White Nights,[10] was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, losing to "Say You, Say Me" from the same film. Bishop wrote the song about his breakup with actress Karen Allen, who also appeared in Animal House. Bishop said: "I write much better when I'm heartbroken and sad or melancholy."[11]
Other movie music includes: "Somewhere in Between" (written and performed) from The China Syndrome (1979),[12] "Your Precious Love" (performed with Yvonne Elliman) from Roadie (1980),[13] "If Love Takes You Away" (written and performed) from Summer Lovers (1982),[14] "Unfaithfully Yours (One Love)" (written and performed) from Unfaithfully Yours (1984),[15] "Something New in My Life" (performed) from Micki & Maude (1984),[16] "The Heart Is So Willing" (performed) from The Money Pit (1986),[17] "All I Want" (performed) from All I Want for Christmas (1991),[18] and "You Can Do Anything" (written and performed by jeff jones and stephen bishop) from Barney's Great Adventure (1998).[19]
In 1989, Bishop released the album Bowling in Paris with Phil Collins (co-producer on some songs), Eric Clapton and Sting contributing. In 1987, the Norwegian swing/pop duo Bobbysocks! had recorded the album's "Walking on Air" (as "Walkin' on Air") on their album Walkin' on Air.
Other appearances
Bishop has appeared in several motion pictures, including four directed by John Landis. He had a cameo role, billed as "Charming Guy", in The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), appearing as a hustler in the infamous "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble" segment.[20] In addition to singing the theme song off-screen, Bishop had a cameo, billed as "Charming Guy with Guitar", in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), as the aspiring folk singer whose guitar John Belushi smashes.[8] Bishop still keeps the smashed guitar as a memento. He appeared in The Blues Brothers (1980), billed as "Charming Trooper", who breaks his watch during the mall chase.[21] He appeared, very briefly, in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), billed as "Charming G.I.", in the Vietnam War scene.[22] Bishop also appeared, as "Blue London", in Harry Jaglom's Someone to Love (1987), Orson Welles' last film.[23]
Bishop was the musical guest on the March 11, 1978, episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live.
Patrick Bateman, the fictional anti-hero from Bret Easton Ellis' film American Psycho, is an avowed fan of Bishop.
Eric Clapton mentions Bishop in his autobiography as one of his favorite singer-songwriters.[24]
Other artists
Numerous artists have recorded songs written by Bishop. These include:[3]
- Art Garfunkel – "Looking for the Right One", "The Same Old Tears on a New Background", "Sail on a Rainbow", "One Less Holiday", "Slow Breakup", "King of Tonga", "If Love Takes You Away"
- Barbra Streisand – "One More Night"
- Eric Clapton – "Holy Mother"
- Four Tops – "Save It for a Rainy Day"
- Helen Reddy – "One More Night"
- Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin – "Separate Lives"
- Johnny Mathis – "One More Night", "Let Your Heart Remember"
- Kenny Loggins – "Give It Half a Chance"
- David Crosby – "Natalie"
- Luciano Pavarotti – "Holy Mother"
- Steve Perry – "Donna Please"
- Phoebe Snow – "Never Letting Go"
- Stephanie Mills – "Give It Half a Chance"
- Kenny Rankin – "On and On"
- Aswad – "On and On"
- Diane Schurr – "Red Cab to Manhattan"
- Cleo Laine – "One More Night"
- Frida – "Tell Me It's Over"
- Cheryl Ladd – "Rock and Roll Slave"
- Shelley Duvall – "Tiny Pillow"
- Yvonne Elliman – "Sailing Ships"
- Patricia Kaas – "When I Was in Love"
- James Lee Stanley – "Every Minute"
- Leah Kunkel – "A Fool at Heart", "Under the Jamaican Moon"
- Megon McDonough – "Not the Same Woman"
- Rumer − "Separate Lives"
Discography
Albums
- Careless (1976)
- Bish (1978)
- Red Cab to Manhattan (1980)
- Sleeping with Girls (1985; Asia only)
- Bowling in Paris (1989; re-released in 2015 with different sequencing and cover)
- Blue Guitars (1996; released in 1994 in Japan with different tracks and cover)
- Happy Bishmas (2002; re-released in 2003 with different cover)
- Yardwork (2002; released in Japan with different cover)
- The Demo Album 1 (2003)
- The Demo Album 2 (2003)
- Fear of Massage: Demo 3 (2003)
- Stephen Bishop Live at Duo Music Exchange (2006; Japan only)
- America & Friends: Live at the Ventura Theater (2007; Japan only)
- Saudade (2007; Target-only release. Re-released worldwide as Romance in Rio)
- Romance in Rio (2008)
- Be Here Then (2014)
- Stephen Bishop Live (2014; also issued 2015 as The '70s: Stephen Bishop with series cover)
- Blueprint (2016)
Collections
- Best of Bish (1988)
- On and On: The Hits of Stephen Bishop (1994)
- An Introduction to Stephen Bishop (1997)
- Back to Back (1999; split title with Michael Johnson)
- The Millennium Collection (2002)
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AC | CAN | CAN AC | AU | ||
| 1977 | "Save It For a Rainy Day" | 22 | 6 | 20 | 8 | — |
| 1977 | "On and On" | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 66 |
| 1977 | "Never Letting Go" | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | "Everybody Needs Love" | 32 | 5 | 29 | 2 | — |
| 1979 | "Animal House" | 73 | — | — | — | — |
| 1979 | "Looking for the Right One" | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980 | "Your Precious Love" (w/ Yvonne Elliman) | 105 | — | — | — | — |
| "Send a Little Love My Way" | 108 | 31 | — | — | — | |
| 1982 | "If Love Takes You Away" | 108 | 22 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | "It Might Be You" | 25 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 50 |
| 1984 | "One Love (Unfaithfully Yours)" | 87 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | "The Heart Is So Willing" | — | 31 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | "Something New in My Life" | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | "Walking on Air" | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | "Mr. Heartbreak" | — | 42 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | "All I Want" | — | — | — | — | — |
References
- ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". Ancestry.com.
- ^ San Diego Reader Stephen Bishop entry Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Biography". stephenbishop.com.
- ^ a b c Larkin, Colin (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Concise 3rd Edition, p. 134. Virgin Books, London. ISBN 1-85227-832-3
- ^ a b Crowe, Cameron. "Stephen Bishop: King of the Middle of the Road", Rolling Stone, November 16, 1978, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th Edition, p. 65. Billboard Books, New York. ISBN 0-8230-7690-3
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums, 3rd Edition, p. 35. Billboard Books, New York. ISBN 0-8230-7631-8
- ^ a b Animal House at IMDb
- ^ Tootsie at IMDb
- ^ White Nights at IMDb
- ^ Separate Lives Songfacts. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ^ The China Syndrome at IMDb
- ^ Roadie at IMDb
- ^ Summer Lovers at IMDb
- ^ Unfaithfully Yours at IMDb
- ^ Micki & Maude at IMDb
- ^ The Money Pit at IMDb
- ^ All I Want for Christmas at IMDb
- ^ Barney's Great Adventure at IMDb
- ^ The Kentucky Fried Movie at IMDb
- ^ The Blues Brothers at IMDb
- ^ Twilight Zone: The Movie at IMDb
- ^ Someone to Love at IMDb
- ^ Clapton, Eric (2007). Clapton: The Autobiography, p. 318. Crown, New York. ISBN 978-0-7679-2536-5
External links
- Official website
- Stephen Bishop at IMDb
- Audio interview with Stephen Bishop on the Sodajerker On Songwriting podcast
- Stephen Bishop at AllMusic
- Fan Site show of February 8, 2014
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1951 births
- American male singer-songwriters
- American singer-songwriters
- American rock songwriters
- American male songwriters
- American rock singers
- American soft rock musicians
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American television personalities
- Musicians from San Diego
- Living people
- Writers from San Diego
- Male actors from San Diego
- Singers from California
- Songwriters from California