Bishop is married to Liz Kamlet who is also his manager.[6]
Career
Music
In 1967, he formed his first group, the Weeds, a British Invasion-style band.[7] After the Weeds folded, Bishop moved to Los Angeles in search of a solo recording contract.[7] During a lean eight-year period, where he was rejected "by nearly every label and producer,"[1] he continued to write songs eventually landing a $50-a-week job with a publishing house.[4]
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 his platinum album Breakaway.[1] Via Garfunkel's patronage, Bishop finally secured a recording contract with ABC Records in 1976.[7] His 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 was number 22 on the Billboardsingles chart.[8] The next single, Bishop's highest charting to date, "On and On", peaked at No. 11.[8] The album itself rose to number 34 on the Billboard albums chart.[9]Eric Clapton, Garfunkel, and Chaka Khan all contributed their talents to the album.
Careless went gold as did Bishop's next album Bish, released in 1978.[4]Bish included one single, "Everybody Needs Love", which made it to number 32. The album has a smooth classic called "A Fool At Heart" which features Chaka Khan and Natalie Cole on background vocals.[8] His third album, Red Cab to Manhattan, released in 1980, failed to chart and was the last released in North America for nine years.
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. It lost 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. He said: "I write much better when I'm heartbroken and sad or melancholy."[10] Other film music includes "Somewhere in Between" (written and performed) from The China Syndrome (1979), "Your Precious Love" (performed with Yvonne Elliman) from Roadie (1980),[11] "If Love Takes You Away" (written and performed) from Summer Lovers (1982), "Unfaithfully Yours (One Love)" which was 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 (the co-producer on some of the 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. The 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.
Acting
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); he appeared 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 appearance in National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 (the aspiring folk singer billed as "Charming Guy with Guitar" who sang "The Riddle Song"). Charming Guy's guitar was smashed against a staircase wall at the Delta Tau Chi house by John "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi). The scene was filmed twice and Bishop had the second smashed guitar signed by the cast and framed.[12]
He appeared in The Blues Brothers (1980), billed as "Charming Trooper", who breaks his watch during a mall chase. He appeared very briefly in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), billed as "Charming G.I.", in the Vietnam War scene. Bishop appeared, as "Blue London", in Harry Jaglom's Someone to Love (1987).
Eric Clapton, in his autobiography, mentions Bishop as being one of his favorite singer-songwriters.[13]
Songs by Bishop recorded by others
Numerous artists have recorded songs written by Bishop. They include:[4]
Art Garfunkel – "Looking for the Right One", "The Same Old Tears on a New Background", "Sail on a Rainbow", "One Less Holiday", "Slow Breakup", "King of Tonga", "If Love Takes You Away"
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