Stephen Bishop is a true “songwriter’s songwriter,” a creator whose penchant for a melodic earworm is matched by the wit and craft of his lyrics. Since breaking into the music biz in the ‘70s, Bishop has had his unique songs cut by everyone from Phil Collins to Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel to Beyoncé and Eric Clapton to Chaka Khan. And he’s enjoyed a successful solo career too, with major hits like “On and On,” “Save It for a Rainy Day” and “It Might Be You” (the theme from Tootsie), plus two Grammy nominations and an Oscar nod for his songwriting. And who could forget his legendary cameo as the “Charming Guy with Guitar” in Animal House?

Yes, Bishop’s done it all, and now he’s written a book about it! On and Off: An Autobiography by Stephen Bishop is now available for purchase, and it contains all sorts of never-before-heard stories and advice about songwriting, navigating the music industry, and life in general. Here’s an excerpt.

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Bish on Writing

Usually when I begin writing a song I have a few rhyming books next to me that come in handy. I also use a thesaurus and dictionary. It always helps me to have a title first before I write a song. Having a title to your song is like having half the song written, because it gives you an idea of where you want to go. I try to have lyrics that are interesting, unusual and unpredictable. Instead of the moon, june kind of thing.

I had many excellent songwriting teachers. Most of them were from listening to the radio. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Steely Dan influenced me the most. I did not have any real-life mentors, songwriting classes, or anything like that. I’m completely self-taught. I started writing at 14 years old. I found the best way to get an idea of how good a song was, was to play it for as many of my friends as I could. Taking a poll on their thoughts. If you get an idea for a song, and it’s really going well, you’re making great progress, you should spend all night working on it even if you have to go to work the next day. Who cares? You will have a song.

I’ve always been lucky with melody. I try to keep all my songs with their own melodies for each one to be unique. I’m lucky in that I don’t have many songs that sound alike. I try to have variety on my albums as much as possible. Sometimes I probably should have less variety, but I like it that way. I was taught from the Beatles. They had a lot of variety on their albums, all of them. Especially Sgt. Pepper, which was loaded with great, unique songs, melody and excellent songwriting.

In order to write a true love song, you have to have your heart broken at some point in your life. I’ve always felt very proud to be a songwriter. The first song I ever wrote was really a terrible surfing instrumental called “Surfs Turf.” After that I wrote a simple song on guitar without chords, it went like this: “I know that she loves me, I know that she loves me,” and repeat.

If you are a songwriter, expect a rough time. In some ways, there are things available now that I didn’t have. When I was writing, I didn’t have the resources of today. I did have an easier way to get to people back then, like publishers and record label executives. I could make appointments and they would keep them to see me. Now, that’s nearly impossible without knowing someone in the business. It’s harder access, but there’s more ways to be noticed through digital music platforms. When I was trying to make it, I used to send a cassette tape or a small reel-to-reel tape. I received many rejection letters during my time trying to make it in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I actually received a rejection letter from Apple Records, The Beatles’ record label. Most of you reading this probably have no idea what I am talking about. Nowadays, you can post your music on social media or send it via email to record labels. In this way, it’s a little easier to get the attention you want through inexpensive online marketing and your followers on social media.

As a successful songwriter I’ve been privileged to write with many great artists, but sometimes you can take a step too far. For example, I told this one singer who worked with Phil Ramone, to make the second verse sound like the first verse. She didn’t have the same passion involved. She got upset with me, and the producer got upset. Sometimes you need to know your place, no matter who you are, for the sake of the project.