Stephen Bishop (singer)

"Stephen Bishop (musician)" redirects here. For other musicians named Stephen Bishop, see Stephen Bishop (disambiguation).
Stephen Bishop

Bishop in 1977
Background information
Birth name Earl Stephen Bishop
Born (1951-11-14) November 14, 1951
Origin San Diego, California, U.S.
Genres Rock, blues rock, pop rock, soft rock
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, actor
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1975–present
Labels ABC, Warner Bros., MCA
Website stephenbishop.com

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]

Discography

Albums

Collections

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

  1. ↑ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". Ancestry.com.
  2. ↑ San Diego Reader Stephen Bishop entry Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Biography". stephenbishop.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Concise 3rd Edition, p. 134. Virgin Books, London. ISBN 1-85227-832-3
  5. 1 2 Crowe, Cameron. "Stephen Bishop: King of the Middle of the Road", Rolling Stone, November 16, 1978, p. 19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th Edition, p. 65. Billboard Books, New York. ISBN 0-8230-7690-3
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums, 3rd Edition, p. 35. Billboard Books, New York. ISBN 0-8230-7631-8
  8. 1 2 Animal House at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ↑ Tootsie at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ↑ White Nights at the Internet Movie Database
  11. ↑ Separate Lives Songfacts. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  12. ↑ The China Syndrome at the Internet Movie Database
  13. ↑ Roadie at the Internet Movie Database
  14. ↑ Summer Lovers at the Internet Movie Database
  15. ↑ Unfaithfully Yours at the Internet Movie Database
  16. ↑ Micki & Maude at the Internet Movie Database
  17. ↑ The Money Pit at the Internet Movie Database
  18. ↑ All I Want for Christmas at the Internet Movie Database
  19. ↑ Barney's Great Adventure at the Internet Movie Database
  20. ↑ The Kentucky Fried Movie at the Internet Movie Database
  21. ↑ The Blues Brothers at the Internet Movie Database
  22. ↑ Twilight Zone: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
  23. ↑ Someone to Love at the Internet Movie Database
  24. ↑ Clapton, Eric (2007). Clapton: The Autobiography, p. 318. Crown, New York. ISBN 978-0-7679-2536-5
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