Why Stephen keeps coming back

Lovers of sentimental ballads surely know many of his songs: It Might Be You (from the film, Tootsie), Separate Lives (from the film, White Nights), On and On, and Save It for a Rainy Day.

Now, singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop is in town to do a show with Lani Misalucha at the Aliw Theater tomorrow, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m., and to promote his compilation album, A Dance of the Heart.

The album, released by EMI Philippines, contains 18 of his best love songs, including the above-mentioned ones plus other hits like Rhythm of the Rain, My Heartbreak, Fooled by Love, The Heart Is So Willing, When You Love Somebody, Red Cab to Manhattan, his newest hit Make It Last, and many more. During Stephen’s press conference at Ratsky Morato, he gamely obliged by singing three of his songs, Separate Lives, Parked Cars, and On and On, accompanying himself on the guitar much to the delight of the invited members of the press.

This is Stephen’s fourth time in Manila, a city he has grown to love. He arrived last Monday, Nov. 17, and will be here for a week.

"The first time I was here was in 1980, then in 1993 and l999. I love the people, always smiling and all very romantic. I have songs that do not hit it big in America but they do very well here, like Something New in My Life. And I also love the beaches."

Is there anything he doesn’t like? "The traffic. There are just lots of them anywhere you go."

Stephen’s career started at 13 when he wrote his first song. "It’s something called I Knew that She Loves Me, although I didn’t really understand what love was then."

He met vehement opposition from his stepfather. "He just didn’t like my kind of music, especially rock and roll. Each time he’d see me playing the guitar, he’d holler and tell me to stop. You see, he was an opera teacher with a booming voice and he just hated modern songs. I am a great fan of the Beatles, who influenced me a lot, and when they guested on The Ed Sullivan Show, I had to go down on my knees to beg (my stepfather) just to let me watch them on TV. My mother was more supportive and even kept clippings of articles written about me when I was already active in singing and songwriting, but she kept them away from my stepdad."

So where did he get his musical genes? "From my real father, who wrote songs himself. In 1937, he wrote a song for my mother, Across the Sea to You, and later on, I recorded it for him and included it in one of my albums."

Stephen never took any formal music lessons and learned to play the guitar by ear. At 17, he decided to leave home to pursue his dream of being a singer-songwriter and moved to Los Angeles.

With his $12 acoustic guitar, he applied to various music publishing companies and finally got a deal at $50 a week from EH Morris Publishing. They recorded one of his songs but nothing came out of it. It was Art Garfunkel (the other half of the famous Simon & Garfunkel duo) who gave him his first big break. "He got two of my songs and included them in his own album, Breakaway. That started the ball rolling, more opportunities came until ABC Records gave me the chance to record my own album."

His debut LP, Careless, produced two blockbusters, On and On and Save It for a Rainy Day. This was followed by another album, Bish. Both albums achieved gold status. From there, he started writing theme songs for the movies, capped by his Oscar nomination for Best Original Song in 1985 for White Nights, a film starring Isabella Rosellini and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

"I was defeated by Lionel Richie with his song, Say You, Say Me," he sighs.

Making it in the music scene gave him the chance to meet his idols, The Beatles.

"But I didn’t get to meet them all together. By that time, they had disbanded. I just got to meet John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison on separate occasions. I know all their songs by heart and my favorite Beatle song is I Am the Walrus."

Has he ever been married? "I was, but it didn’t work well. We divorced in 1996. I am now married only to my music. But she has remarried and I cried and cried all night... for her new husband," says the bearded balladeer who obviously has a zany sense of humor.

Any kids? "No, but I have two golden retrievers named Elvis and Priscilla."

What inspires him to write? "The important thing for me is to have a title. Like for my song, Parked Cars, I saw all those cars lined up on the side of the streets and I came with the title. From there I got to write the lyrics and the melody."

What are his future plans? "Right now, I am writing a musical intended for Broadway in collaboration with George Firth, who has worked with Stephen Sondheim, the creator of A Little Night Music. I am also preparing for my Christmas show in San Diego."

Don’t miss Stephen’s show at Aliw Theatre at Star City tomorrow or get to meet him in person at Megamall on Sunday.