Stephen Bishop (singer)
Earl Stephen Bishop (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. Originally a clarinetist, he persuaded his brother to buy him a guitar after seeing the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show". In 1967, he formed his first  group, the Weeds, a British Invasion-styled band. After the Weeds folded, Bishop moved to Los Angeles in search of a solo recording contract. During a lean eight-year period, where he was rejected "by nearly every label and producer," he continued to write songs, eventually landing a $50-a-week job with a publishing house. Bishop's break came when a friend, Leah Kunkel, gave Art Garfunkel one of Bishop's demo tapes. 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". Via Garfunkel's patronage, Bishop finally secured a recording contract with ABC Records in 1976. 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 number 22 on the "Billboard" singles chart. The next single, Bishop's highest charting to date, "On and On", peaked at No. 11. The album itself rose to number 34 on the "Billboard" albums chart. 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. "Bish" included one charting single, "Everybody Needs Love", which made it to number 32. The album also includes a smooth classic called "A Fool At Heart" that features Chaka Khan and Natalie Cole on background vocals. 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", which  he sang in falsetto. In 1980, Bishop contributed backing vocals to "This Must Be Love", from Phil Collins' debut solo album "Face Value". Bishop's next hit, charting at number 25 in 1982, 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. Bishop's composition "Separate Lives", sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, from the 1985 movie "White Nights", was 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." Other movie music includes: "Somewhere in Between" (written and performed) from "The China Syndrome" (1979), "Your Precious Love" (performed with Yvonne Elliman) from "Roadie" (1980), "If Love Takes You Away" (written and performed) from "Summer Lovers" (1982), "Unfaithfully Yours (One Love)" (written and performed) from "Unfaithfully Yours" (1984), "Something New in My Life" (performed) from "Micki & Maude" (1984 ), "The Heart Is So Willing" (performed) from "The Money Pit" (1986), "All I Want" (performed) from "All I Want for Christmas" (1991), and "You Can Do Anything" (written and performed by Bishop and Jeff Jones) from "Barney's Great Adventure" (1998). In addition, the original version of "Walkin' on Air" (written and performed by Bishop) was featured in the 1986 film "The Boy Who Could Fly". In 1989, Bishop released the album "Bowling in Paris" with Phil Collins (co-producer on some songs), Eric Clapton and Sting contributing. The album included a revamped version of "Walkin' on Air", this time  featuring drumming, production, and additional vocals from Collins. This version became a #13 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart. In 1987, the Norwegian swing/pop duo Bobbysocks! had recorded their own version of "Walking on Air" (as "Walkin' on Air") as the title track to their album "Walkin' on Air". Other appearances. Bishop has appeared in several motion pictures as a "charming" character, 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. 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. 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. He appeared, very briefly, in "" (1983), billed as "Charming G.I.", in the Vietnam War scene. Bishop also appeared, as "Blue London", in Harry Jaglom's "Someone to Love" (1987). Eric Clapton mentioned Bishop in his autobiography as one  of his favorite singer-songwriters. Other artists. Numerous artists have recorded songs written by Bishop. These include: