As a prolific songwriter, Stephen Bishop has penned songs for the likes of Art Garfunkel, Barbra Streisand, and Phil Collins.
However, Bishop is also the artist behind the 1977 soft rock hit On and On, as well as Save It for a Rainy Day, from his breakthrough album, Careless, which featured a veritable list of collaborators, including Eric Clapton.
“When my manager at the time, Bob Ellis, was at Shangri-La Studios visiting Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, another of his artists, Eric happened to be there,” Bishops recalls of the collaboration in a new Guitar World.
“Bob told him, ‘You should meet this young artist I'm working with named Stephen Bishop. He's a funny guy – I think you’d like him.’”
Clapton dropped by the studio with his guitar, and, as Ellis predicted, the two hit it off immediately.
Bishop continues, “I played Eric some of the songs I was working on, and to my relief, he really liked them.”
Clapton performed the guitar solo on the single Save It for a Rainy Day, which ended up peaking at number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in December 1976.
He also provided what Bishop describes as “beautiful slide guitar work” on the fourth track on the album, Sinking in an Ocean of Tears.
“As a 16-year-old kid, I’d seen Cream perform, so having Eric playing on my debut album was pretty surreal,” he says. “He was exactly like what you’d imagine a rock star should look like; he had this effortless charisma about him.
“What means the most to me, though, is that all these years later we're still friends and still keep in touch.”
However, as important as Clapton was to Bishop’s breakthrough, no one was as critical to his success as his “lifelong friend” Art Garfunkel.
“Art’s support helped open doors that ultimately led to my record deal,” Bishop reveals. “He also sang background vocals on several songs on Careless, and I returned the favor by singing background vocals on Breakaway. That's how our friendship began, and it's lasted for more than 50 years.”
Guitar World’s interview with Stephen Bishop will be published in the coming week.
And, speaking of Clapton, his ‘Summersburst’ – used on Cream's debut album – has finally been unearthed after 60 years.
