9 minute read
Stephen Bishop
On and Off and Beyond
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Interview by Ken Morton
Stephen Bishop, a songwriter since the age of thirteen, left his home in San Diego for Los Angeles at seventeen. He landed a job writing songs for a publishing company for fifty dollars a week. Years later, this veteran songwriter has had his songs recorded by Phil Collins, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Kenny Loggins, Beyonce, and many others. He has written the theme songs to Animal House, The China Syndrome, White Nights, and countless other films. A two-time Grammy nominated recording artist and Oscar nominated singer-songwriter, his hits include On and On, It Might Be You (the theme from Tootsie), Separate Lives, Save It For A Rainy Day and more. Here is a recent interview Highwire Daze conducted with Stephen Bishop to discuss his just released On And Off autobiography!
At what point did you decide it was time to write an autobiography and how much of it was written during the pandemic?
My manager and now wife, Liz Kamlet, suggested I write an autobiography about four years ago. At the time she was archiving photos and video footage for my documentary. I would tell her stories about my career and she would write them down as a ghostwriter of sorts. I finished the book in early 2020, right before COVID hit. All of the editing, rearranging, etc was done during the pandemic. Most people only know my musical journey. This autobiography
talks about my childhood, trying to make it in LA, whacky experiences, famous friends and how I write songs. We also found all of my rough drafts from my first and second album. So we included a few of them in the book as well. I’m glad it’s finally done and I am so excited to share my story with everyone.
Tell me about the title On And Off, and what does it reference beside one of your most famous songs?
My wife came up with the title. It represents my life, career, the failures, challenges and success I’ve experienced.
What was the name of the very first song you wrote, how old were you, and what was the song about?
The first song I ever wrote was really a terrible surfing instrumental called “Surfs Turf.” I was thirteen. After that I wrote a simple song on guitar without chords, it went like this: “I know that she loves me, I know that she loves me,” and repeat.
Describe the Stephen Bishop who left San Diego for Los Angeles to the age of 17 and what were your first impressions of LA?
I was actually seventeen and a half, ha. I knew I wanted to be a songwriter and had the mentality that I was determined to make that dream come true. I was offered a job as a staff songwriter at E.H. Morris Publishing for $50 per week. I learned a lot in my early days. My first impressions of LA were mixed. I was just a kid trying to make ends meet. I would ride around on my bicycle for years before I could afford a car. I tried making friends wherever I could, hanging out at the Troubadour and similar places. San Diego will always be my hometown, but LA is where my career really got its start.
On And On was a massive hit for you from your very first album entitled Careless from 1976. Give us a little background on the song and do you still enjoy performing it after all of this time?
Yes it was. As I state in my book. On and On came from a chord. I would play it constantly, day and night. People from miles around would come just to hear that chord….just kidding, not really. I was walking down to the corner store from my little duplex in Silverlake, CA. The title just came to me as I was walking. When I got home, I sat in a chair in my room, where I had written a lot of my early songs and started writing. I was inspired by my landlady’s exotic flowers. They were from different countries around the world. That’s why I start the song with “Down in Jamaica…”
I still enjoy performing it after all this time. But only at shows. After nearly forty six years of playing the song, it’s nice to have a break every now and then. I save it as the last song in my set, it’s always been tradition to do that.
What does the title of your first album Careless represent?
It doesn’t represent anything. Careless was the name of one of the songs on the album. I just liked the name and it fit.
What was it like having guests such as Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel, and Chaka Khan on that very first album?
Looking back now, it’s amazing that all of those artists came together for my first album. I still keep in contact with all of those artists and have been good friends for years since we first met all those years ago. I was very lucky, a lot of things happened to bring all of these talented artists together and we still talk about that album in the present. I am grateful to them for adding their musical gifts to my songs, they would have not been the same without them.
It Might Be You from Tootsie was nominated for an Academy Awards in 1982. What was the experience like performing the song at the Academy Awards in 1983?
I talk about this in my book. I was a nervous wreck. Anyone would be. I was much calmer the second time around in 1986 when I performed my song “Separate Lives.” Which I was nominated for. No one prepares you for the pressure. I am glad I did it, the performance went well and for the opportunities it gave me.
What did you think of Frida from Abba’s cover of your song Tell Me It’s Over, which was also released in 1982?
I sent the demo tape to Phil Collins, who produced the track. There is a video on YouTube where Phil plays the tape of me singing for Frida, who is listening. I think she did a great job. I have always been a fan of ABBA.
What was it like working with John Belushi in National Lampoon’s Animal House?
John was one of a kind. We also worked together in the film Blues Brothers and on Saturday Night Live. I miss him every day. He was hilarious, an amazing person and I am so grateful I got to be his friend. His wife, Judy was great as well. She was in Animal House too. I also wrote the theme for Animal House and have another song in the film, called “Dream Girl.”
What is the story behind the title of your latest album We’ll Talk About It Later In The Car?
The full story is in my book. But I got the line from Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds. We had been friends since the 1970s and hung out together a lot on the Saturday Night Live set. Carrie was talking at a phone booth on set and I heard her say that line “We’ll Talk About It Later In The Car.” I thought she was talking about me for some reason. She was really saying that to her mother, who used to tell her that. That line always stuck with me, it’s a great way to end a conversation. Well anyway….”We’ll Talk About It Later In The Car.”
What do you hope the rest of 2022 brings for you? Any new music in the horizon?
2022, I am still working on my documentary and audiobook for this autobiography. So I will be working on that and new music. I have a few songs that have been recorded and the rest need to be. I may release a single or EP in the future.
Do you have any messages for your fans who are reading this now?
I am super grateful to my fans. Without them I would not be where I am today. Thank you for continuing to support me, my music and career. I know that you will enjoy this book, it will make you laugh, cry, wonder and smile. Here is a snippet below.
“I sang background on a few songs for Phil Collins at the LA Forum in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. I had a blast doing it. At one point, I was backstage speaking with the inimitable and legendary Lee Sklar, Phil Collins’s bass player. He introduced me to the person he was speaking with, the great Stevie Wonder. I tried to hide my love for him. I have been a fan of Stevie’s work for a long time. We shook hands and then he left, walking down the long hall, about the length of two blocks. Stevie was at the end of the hall, really far away, when I whispered to Lee, “I don’t think he knows who I am or anything.” From way down the hall Stevie suddenly yelled out, “Yes I do, “On and On,” and he started to sing my song. I was flabbergasted. Stevie Wonder knows that I exist.”
https://www.stephenbishop.com/onandoff
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