Stephen Bishop Artist Sotlight

ACCLAIMED SINGER-SONGWRITER
STEPHEN BISHOP
 
TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM “BLUEPRINT” JULY 29
 
HIS SONGS HAVE BEEN COVERED BY ERIC CLAPTON, BARBRA STREISAND, LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, ART GARFUNKEL, DAVID CROSBY, BEYONCE,
KENNY LOGGINS AND MANY MORE
 
NEW SONG “HOLY MOTHER” CO-WRITTEN WITH CLAPTON

http://stephenbishop.com/

At the age of thirteen, Stephen Bishop found himself at a crossroads. A clarinetist with hopes of becoming a History teacher, he was forever changed after watching the Beatles one night on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” His brother Denny bought Stephen an electric guitar and a “Mel Bay” chordbook at the store he worked in, and turned his stereo into an amp so Stephen could play music. He began to learn to play guitar and make up chords as well, writing his first song, “Surf’s Turf..” a pathetic sounding intrumental. He formed a band called, “The Weeds” and began to play at local fraternity parties incorporating his own original songs with various songs from top 40…

The Weeds won 2nd place at the Claremont Battle of the Bands, prompting one of the judges to explain that “Stephen Bishop is going to be a big songwriter someday!” Determined to fulfill that prophesy, Stephen made the trip to Los Angeles. He walked the streets with his $12 acoustic guitar, playing songs for various publishers in Hollywood… eventually landing a publishing deal at $50 a week for E.H.Morris Publishing. One of his songs was recorded only to be followed by a long wait…many years went by. At one point, Stephen considered leaving L.A. to return home and work for his Dad’s Insurance company. Through a good friend, Art Garfunkel heard some of his new songs and recorded two of them on his Gold recording, “Breakaway.”

He started playing around town singing his songs in person for artists like, “Barbra Streisand…Bette Midler…Diana Ross.” Shortly thereafter, he was signed to ABC Records who released his first album, “Careless.” His two hits from that album were, “Save It For a Rainy Day,” and “On and On..” Soon the album went gold, as well as his next album, Bish.

He sang the hit theme, “It Might Be You,” from the movie, “Tootsie,” as well as writing and/or singing 13 other films including, “Animal House,” and “Separate Lives..” from “White Nights.” His songs have been performed by artists such as: Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Steve Perry, Stephanie Mills, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Phoebe Snow, David Crosby, The Four Tops, Aswad and Pavarotti.

He appeared as the “Charming Guitar Player” in “Animal House,” wherein John Belushi slammed his guitar into smithereens in the Toga Party scene. He appeared as, “Blue London,” in Henry Jaglom’s, “Someone To Love.” Bishop also appeared in “The Blues Brothers,” as a State Trooper. This last June, he performed at the Library of Congress. In September, he performed at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York for an event for the U.N.

Stephen was nominated for two Grammy’s and awarded an Oscar nomination for his song, “Separate Lives”. His newest album is entitled, “Be Here Then” is to be released in January 2014…His Website is stephenbishop.com. In Eric Clapton’s autobiography he mentions Stephen as one of his favorite songwriters..

Acclaimed songwriter STEPHEN BISHOP has announced details for the release of his new album BLUEPRINT.  Set for release July 29, the album features a new song, “Holy Mother,” co-written with Eric Clapton plus a new upbeat version of his 1983 Top 25 hit “It Might Be You,” which he performed on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” earlier this year.
Since releasing his debut album Careless in 1976, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/guitarist and actor has enjoyed a wide array of success across several genres and mediums.  His first two hit singles–1977’s “Save It For A Rainy Day” and “On And On”–garnered him a reputation as a go-to songwriter and collaborator.  The list of co-writers and artists who have covered his songs is massive: Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti, Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Beyonce, Kenny Loggins, Four Tops, Helen Reddy, Johnny Mathis, Steve Perry, Phoebe Snow, Stephanie Mills and more.
His songs have played predominantly in major motion pictures as well: Animal House, Tootsie, White Nights, The China Syndrome, Micki & Maude  and The Money Pit, among many others.  His theme song “Separate Lives” for the film White Nights–sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin–was a #1 hitBishop has also appeared in a number of films, including Animal House, where John Belushi’s character famously smashes his folk guitar (which Bishop kept as a souvenir).  Other films include The Blues Brothers, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Kentucky Fried Movie and Orson Welles’ last film, Someone To Love.
“One evening I was laying on the bed in my ManCave when I suddenly thought, “I should make a new album!'” says BISHOP.  “Just like that…I had been listening to old demo’s of mine.  I picked the best songs of my past and got a great producer named Jon Gilutin.  We used the demo’s as a kind of blueprint to where we were going with the new recording..I wrote ‘Holy Mother’ with Eric Clapton a few years ago. He recorded it on his own and with Pavarotti in a recorded concert in Italy…We also decided to do a new version of my hit, ‘It Might Be You.’  I’m very proud of this new album Blueprint,  I think it’s one of my best albums.”
STEPHEN BISHOP live shows:
Sat, 7/23
Honolulu, HI
Waikiki Shell (w/Ambrosia)
Mon, 9/26-Fri, 9/29
W. Springfield, MA
Eastern States Exposition
 Here’s the track listing for Blueprint:
–Everyone’s Gone To The Moon
–Little Bird
–Ultralove
–And I Love You
–I’ll Sleep On The Plane
–She’s Not Mine
–Before Nightfall
–Love At Stake
–Holy Mother (co-written by Eric Clapton)
–Someone Like You
–Slippin’ Into Love
–Blue Window
–It Might Be You
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