Stephen Bishop -

Stephen Bishop (born Nov. 14, 1951) is an American singer/songwriter who debuted with the 1976 ABC release Careless, which spawned the hits “On and On” and “Save It for a Rainy Day.” In 1982, he charted with the ballad “It Might be You” from the comedy film Tootsie. His songs have been recorded by Frida Lyngstad, Phoebe Snow, Kenny Rankin, Phil Collins, Aswad, and numerous other artists.

Background

He was born Earl Stephen Bishop on November 14, 1951, in San Diego, where he took up clarinet as a youth. At age 12, he asked his brother to get him a guitar after seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1967, he formed The Weeds, a garage band in the mold of the British beat groups.

Bishop attended Will C. Crawford High School (several grades ahead of bassist Nathan East, who later worked with Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Loggins, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock).

After the Weeds folded, Bishop moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote songs but faced indifference from every local label. In 1973, folk singer Megan McDonough recorded his “Not the Same Woman” for her third album, the Wooden Nickel release Keepsake, produced by Michael Omartian. Bishop played acoustic guitar on the track.

Bishop got his break when songwriting friend Leah Kunkel handed his demo tape to Art Garfunkel, who picked two of his songs, “Looking for the Right One” and “The Same Old Tears on a New Background.” Both appear on Garfunkel’s 1975 Columbia release Breakway, a platinum seller. In light of this success, ABC Records signed Bishop in 1976.

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Discography: