Joey Scarbury

Joey Scarbury (born June 7, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his 1981 hit song, "Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)".

Scarbury was born in Ontario, California. Growing up in Thousand Oaks, he was continually encouraged in his ambition to sing by his mother. At the age of 14, after being spotted by songwriter Jimmy Webb's father, he was signed to a recording contract with Dunhill Records. Scarbury's first single, "She Never Smiles Anymore," flopped, and he was soon without a record label.

Citing Dan Seals of England Dan & John Ford Coley as an influence, he stayed around the music business throughout the 1970s, first as a backup for artists including country artist Loretta Lynn, and occasionally recording his own material. Although he had a minor chart single with "Mixed Up Guy" in 1971 (#52 CAN), real chart success eluded him for the rest of the decade. He also covered The Partridge Family song from their debut album Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque on the same label as them, Bell Records in 1971. Mike Post produced and arranged it.

In the late 1970s, he started working for record producer and composer Mike Post. Post was hired along with Stephen Geyer to write the theme tune for a new TV series titled The Greatest American Hero, about an average high school teacher who comes into possession of a superhero outfit from aliens.

After recording the full-length version of the song, titled "Believe It or Not", it was edited down to a minute for broadcast as the theme song for the show. The show's success (along with its catchy theme song) prompted Elektra Records to first release it as a single, shooting up to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 in Canada in 1981. A similarly titled album, America's Greatest Hero, was also hastily produced, and it also sold well. The song also reached #6 on the Canadian AC charts.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.