Music Scene
Songs and stories of Stephen Bishop

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Stephen Bishop may be a great songwriter, but he's an even better storyteller.

•	Notice of cancellation The Honolulu Music Fest, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Waikiki Shell with headliner Stephen Bishop, has been canceled. Refunds will be issued from 10 a.m. Monday at the Blaisdell ticket office. Bring credit card receipts, ID, or issued tickets.

"I went all the way there to hear her say, 'We could still be friends,'" he said, laughing now (not then). "So I wound up spending the loneliest week of my life in Hawai'i."

Or about the time he wrote to Bob Dylan, asking to see the rough draft of his 1996 song, "Pledging My Time."

"What do you say to Bob Dylan? Dear Bob, you are a genius and it's a pleasure writing to you. Love the voice-change idea."

Or about the time he was getting a massage in the Philippines and the young woman asked him to sing "Separate Lives."

"I told her, 'Can't you wait 'til you do my left foot?'"

Stephen Bishop achieved his greatest visibility as a composer of movie themes, contributing to "Animal House," "Roadie," "Tootsie," "The China Syndrome" and "Unfaithfully Yours." Advertiser library photo

And like his highest-charting single, he can, if you let him, go "On and On."

"I'm definitely not looking forward to flying to Hawai'i," said Bishop, before he arrived for tomorrow's Honolulu Music Fest 2001 at the Waikiki Shell. "8:55 a.m., and I have to be at the airport three hours before. You know what? I have a high boredom factor. I mean, I'll just start losing it. I'll have to recall childhood instances just to keep myself entertained ... Three hours in line with all my equipment. And now there's no porters. I rely on porters. I love porters. Now there's no porters. Greeeeaaat. It's not going to be the same. I'm going to need three chiropractor teams when I get there. Tag team."

It's hard to believe this is the same guy who wrote the hit that hit No. 11 in 1977.

It's the one song most people, even those not around in the late '70s, remember him by.

Even if he's done much more than that.

"I think of it as a younger brother, you know," said the soft-rock specialist and acclaimed songwriter. "I mean, it's like a relative, I've been singing it so long. That's how it feels. 'Separate Lives' is another one. Man."

The San Diego native has written songs for Chaka Khan, the Four Tops and Barbra Streisand.

But Bishop achieved his greatest visibility as a composer of movie themes, contributing to "Animal House," "Roadie," "Tootsie," "The China Syndrome" and "Unfaithfully Yours." He also wrote the No. 1 duet hit, "Separate Lives," for Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin for the movie "White Nights."

It's how he made it through the mod-hot, punk-out, grunge-ridden, alt-rock '80s.

"I stick to what I do best," Bishop said. "I don't really follow the trends. How can I? I was telling someone on the radio that some of these acts are getting so young I wouldn't be surprised if there was a band called 'The Dancing Embryos' and they danced around wearing little shoes ... And I don't look good with a lip ring."

But several years ago, Bishop tore the ligament in his right wrist carrying a tray of brie. It was a freak accident that he seems to enjoy sharing.

"All of a sudden, snap! The main ligament in my wrist snapped and broke," he said. "I couldn't even hold a pencil."

Or play a guitar. So he decided to indulge in a hobby he's had since he was 14: collecting song manuscripts.

He couldn't pick up his guitar, so he picked up the telephone, calling anyone who could help him find the blueprints of some of rock's most memorable songs.

He spent about three years searching for rough drafts of the greatest songs of pop music history, finally publishing the fruits of his labor in "Songs in the Rough: From 'Heartbreak Hotel' to 'Higher Love,' Rock's Greatest Songs in Rough-Draft Form" (St. Martin's Press, 1996).

"Talking to these great songwriters and hearing these wild stories, that was just amazing," he said.

His favorite manuscript, without a doubt, is "Heartbreak Hotel." And finding it? Great story.

He found the rough draft of Elvis' first No. 1 hit in the basement of the Symphony Cafe in New York.

"There it was," he recalled. "It's probably worth about $100,000. I was afraid some guy would walk up to me and say, 'Gimme that rough draft. That or your life.'"

There were some songs that got away, including the Rolling Stone's "Satisfaction" and Paul McCartney's "Yesterday." He even tried to dig up the rough drafts of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

But for now, Bishop is working on new projects with the same soft-rock sound. He's recording three new songs for his third "Best Of" album. After a few more shows, he plans on working on his seventh solo album. More of the same sweet stuff.

"Music is my life," he said. "I've always tried to write music that people could feel and relate to, and I think I've accomplished that. I still get fan letters and e-mail and appreciation for the old albums. I do what I do and I don't have a crazed-ambitious career. When you've done this for so long, you just do it at a place that feels comfortable.

"I go where I go and do what I do."

No kidding.