''Bish'' is the second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop. The lead single, " Everybody Needs Love", peaked at No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. and number five on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. It did better in Canada, reaching No. 29 and peaking at number two on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself rose to No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' pop albums chart. Notable contributors to the album include

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

and Michael McDonald. At the end of the track "Vagabond from Heaven", a large group, ''"The Whistling Bishettes"'', is heard. The group includes several famous non-musicians: actress

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...

, film director

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...

and then-''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' writer

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

"Looking for the Right One"

"Looking for the Right One" was the second single from ''Bish''. It was released in both Canada and the UK but it did not chart. Three years earlier, Art Garfunkel had recorded the song. His original renditio

of Bishop's composition was included as the B-side of his 1975 cover hit, "

I Only Have Eyes For You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film ''Dames (film), Dames'', in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were m ...

" (U.S. #18, #1 AC). Bishop contributed backing vocals on Garfunkel's version, who returned the favor on Bishop's rendition.

Reception

's'' Ken Tucker wrote, "Stephen Bishop's second album is so ambitious and self-assured that it's easy to overlook the chances it takes." Adding that its "mixture of sentiment and aggressiveness... makes it so intriguing a pop disc." Concluding that "Stephen Bishop is well on his way, and he possesses something all his exemplars lack: a serenely nutty sense of humor."Tucker, Ken. "Bish", ''

'', November 2, 1978, p. 62.

Track listing

All songs written by Stephen Bishop, except where noted.

Personnel

Musicians * Stephen Bishop – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1–5, 9–13), trombone (1) *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists includin ...

– synthesizer (1, 4, 8), electric piano (4) *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

– electric piano (2), acoustic piano (3) *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– electric piano (3), acoustic piano (4, 6) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949, in Waco, Texas) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest A ...

– electric piano (6, 8) * Bobby Chadwick – piano *

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, and film music composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff ...

– synthesizer (7, 10, 12) *

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

– guitar (4) *

Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song " ...

– guitar (4) *

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

– guitar (6) * Jeffrey Staton – guitar (8–11), electric guitar solo (8, 12) * Michael Staton – guitar (8–11) * Ray Brown – bass guitar (1) *

David Hungate David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American retired bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his ...

– bass guitar (2, 3, 6, 8) *

Nathan Watts Nathan Lamar Watts (born March 25, 1954, in Detroit, Michigan.) is an American session bassist, best known for his work with Stevie Wonder from the 1970s to the present. He has served as Stevie Wonder's musical director since 1994. Biography ...

– bass guitar (4) * David Shields – bass guitar (8) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. He rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylu ...

– bass guitar (10) * Keith Hollar – bass guitar (12) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

– bass guitar (13) *

Ed Shaughnessy Edwin Thomas Shaughnessy (January 29, 1929 – May 24, 2013) was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Biography Shaughnessy ...

– drums (1) *

Rick Shlosser Rick Shlosser is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He has been a member of Van Morrison's band and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He's also been a varied sessions drummer. Discography 1970s * Andy Pratt – ''Records Are Like Life'' ( ...

– drums (2, 3, 6, 8, 9) * Raymond Pounds – drums (4) * Hal Atkinson – drums (8, 12) *

Paulinho da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

– percussion (4) *

Tommy Vig Tommy Vig (born July 14, 1938) is a percussionist, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Life and work Since 2006, Vig has lived with his wife Mia (of The Kim Sisters) in Hungary, where they performed concerts, appeared on radio and televisi ...

– percussion (9) * Tom Scott – saxophones (12), horn arrangements (12) *

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

– string arrangements and conductor (1, 7, 11) *

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

– string arrangements and conductor (3, 13) *

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

– rhythm arrangements (4), string arrangements and conductor (8) Backing vocals * Stephen Bishop * Michael McDonald (2, 8) *

Leah Kunkel Leah Kunkel (née Cohen; June 15, 1948 – November 26, 2024) was an American singer and attorney. She was the younger sister of acclaimed artist, Cass Elliot of The Mamas and The Papas. Music career Leah Cohen was born on June 15, 1948. S ...

(4) * Jeffrey Staton (4, 8, 9) * Michael Staton (4, 8) *

(6) *

(6) * The James Lee Hoosett Choir (7) *

(10) "The Whistling Bishettes" on "Vagabond from Heaven" *

Nancy Ames Nancy Ames (born Nancy Hamilton Alfaro; September 30, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She regularly appeared on the American version of the television series ''That Was the Week That Was''. The TW3 Girl, as she was known, sang t ...

, Philip Ames, Michael Barackman, Dennis Bishop, Kathy Carey,

, Kenny Farrell,

, Mary Frampton, Richard Green, Trudy Green,

, Mark Meyerson,

Spencer Proffer Spencer Proffer (born Salek Profesorski, December 25, 1948) is an American media and record producer. He is the CEO of Meteor 17, a convergence media production company based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Proffer produced the firs ...

, Michael J. Sheehy, James Lee Stanley, Jeffrey Staton, Michael Staton and Michael Whitney

Production

* Produced by Stephen Bishop * Co-produced by Dee Robb * Engineered by Joe Robb and Dee Robb * Assistant Engineers –

Joe Chiccarelli Joe Chiccarelli is an American record producer, mixer and engineer, who is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been active since the 1980s. He has produced albums by Julieta Venegas, Jason Mraz, Morrissey, Oingo Boingo, Spoon, Young the Gi ...

, Anthony D'Amico, Steve Gursky, Steve Katz, Richard Leech, Kevin Ryan and George Tutko. * Mixed by Jerry Masters * Mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Production Coordination - Michelle Horie * Art Direction and Design –

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

* Photography – David Alexander

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1978 albums Stephen Bishop (singer) albums Albums arranged by Gene Page Albums arranged by Marty Paich ABC Records albums