Photo courtesy of Capitol Records
In the mid-80s, when pop singer songwriter Stephen Bishop ("On and On") wanted to recreate the terrific soulful, falsetto ballads of the prior decade, he called on the five brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts, better known as Tavares, to make the song happen. It was a pivotal moment for both acts: The Tavares brothers had just finished their brief run on RCA Records (where they had the late career hits "Penny For Your Thoughts" and "Deeper In Love"), and were pondering their next career move. And Bishop's career had temporarily sputtered after its initial thrust, and, other than the Tootsie contribution, "It Might Be You," he had been several years without a hit.
The song that resulted from the collaboration, "Fallin'," was part of the ill-fated Bishop disc Sleeping With Girls, which was not released domestically, and the cut only appeared in the US a decade later on a compilation that itself quickly disappeared. And that was a lot of bad luck for a song that deserved better. "Fallin'" was a legitimate light soul song in the Stylistics/Delfonics tradition, and the performance by both artists is just terrific.
Unfortunately, "Fallin" went out of print for more than two decades until a surprise reissue in Summer of 2022, and few SoulTrackers have heard it. This is a true SoulTracks Lost Gem, and we think you'll like it.
Check out "Fallin" below and tell us what you think.
"Fallin'" by Stephen Bishop feat. Tavares