A Word with Stephen Bishop
Stephen Bishop knows what makes a great cruise: beautiful destinations, a luxurious ship, and the world’s finest entertainment. When we spoke with him recently about the upcoming ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise, he told us about the fun he’s had on cruises in the past and shared his plans for bringing along his favorite songs, his new album - and even his wife for the upcoming voyage.
“I think she’s going to be coming with me on the cruise,” Stephen says excitedly about the ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise. “And we’re stopping in Key West? That’s where my family is from!”
It is a long way from Key West to Hollywood (by way of San Diego, where Stephen grew up), but lucky for his fans, Stephen made the trip when he was just 17 years old and he has never looked back .
“I was hoping I’d find success in music, but I don’t know that I would have ever imagined it to be like this,” he recalls, thinking back to his teen years. “It seemed so difficult in the beginning, it was tough in the early days. I came up from San Diego when I was just 17 and walked the streets of Hollywood trying to get a publishing deal.” Within a year, he was a staff writer at Edwin H. Morris & Co (a prominent publishing company home to Ira Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne and more).
“I started off there and eventually my songs were recorded by everyone from Barbra Streisand and more.” More, indeed. Bishop’s trove of over 650 songs have yielded hits for many of the world’s top artists including Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel and Luciano Pavarotti. Even Beyonce´ tapped his “On an On” for her critically acclaimed track, “Ring Off.
It’s extremely exciting,” he says, describing the feeling when someone records one of his songs. “It’s always fun, you never know how it’s going to turn out.”
But nothing could compare to what happened when Stephen began recording his own work. His first hit, “Save It For a Rainy Day,” was a Top-10 Adult-Contemporary smash and is still a radio favorite to this day. Soon after, “On and On” went to #2 on the AC charts, followed by “Everybody Needs Love” hitting the Top 5, and then “Send a Little Love My Way” and “If Love Takes You Away.” And although he didn’t write his Academy Award nominated song “It Might Be You” (from the movie “Tootsie”), Bishop did pen “Separate Lives,” which earned another Academy Award nomination when Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin recorded it just a few years after “It Might Be You.
To get an Oscar nomination, I figured I was doing something right,” he says with great modesty. “It’s such an accolade. I’m part of the Academy now and I just love it.”
Guests of the ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise are in for a special treat when Bishop performs “Separate Lives” during his concerts onboard. “I’ll be doing my own hits, along with ‘Separate Lives’ and even songs from my new album.” His new album, “Blueprint” (available on iTunes, Amazon, www.StephenBishop.com and on the ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise), includes an upbeat reworking of “It Might Be You,” Stephen’s take on the ‘60s British hit “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon” and, yes, lots of songs he wrote and co-wrote. In fact, “Blueprint” might just be the ultimate ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise souvenir, a lush soundtrack to bring back those memories of Caribbean sunsets viewed from a deck chair amidst days and nights filled with great concerts, amazing people and a whole lot of fun. “I’ve been on cruises before – it’s fun. I’m looking forward to the whole thing. It’s going to be fun.”
