Joey Scarbury (born June 7, 1955)
is an American singer and songwriter best known for his
hit song
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
, "
Theme from ''The Greatest American Hero'' (Believe It or Not)", in 1981.
Childhood and early music career
Scarbury was born in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, i ...
, United States.
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
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...
's father, he was signed to a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Dunhill Records
Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distribute ...
.
Scarbury's first single, "She Never Smiles Anymore," flopped, and he was soon without a
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...
.
1970s
Citing
Dan Seals
Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009) was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted ...
of
England Dan & John Ford Coley as an influence, he stayed around the music business throughout the 1970s, first as a
backup
In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...
for artists including
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
artist
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...
, and occasionally
recording his own material.
Although he had a minor
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
single with "Mixed Up Guy" in 1971, real chart success eluded him for the rest of the decade.
1980s and ''The Greatest American Hero''
In the late 1970s, he started working for record producer and composer
Mike Post
Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...
.
Post was hired along with
Stephen Geyer
Stephen George Geyer (born November 21, 1950) is an American songwriter best known for his work in television. He is also a studio and performance guitarist and has written scripts for TV.
Biography
Geyer was born in Lima, Peru, the son of a CIA ...
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
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
outfit from
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
.
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
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
to first release it as a single, shooting up to number 2 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1981.
A similarly titled album, ''
America's Greatest Hero
''America's Greatest Hero'' is the only studio album by Joey Scarbury, released by Elektra Records in 1981 on vinyl LP and cassette. This album features the hit theme from the TV series '' The Greatest American Hero'', from which the album take ...
'', was also hastily produced, and it also sold well.
However, Scarbury could not follow the song's success, and after charting at number 49 with a follow-up single "When She Dances," he once again disappeared from the charts.
He went on to work with Post again in the mid-1980s to record the song "Back to Back" for the television series ''
Hardcastle and McCormick'', and teamed up with
Desiree Goyette to record "Flashbeagle" and "Snoopy" for the ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...
'' special ''
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
''It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown'' is the 27th prime-time animated musical television special based upon the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on the CBS network on Monday, April 16, 1984.
The special is present ...
''. He also performed the opening theme for the television series ''
Jennifer Slept Here
''Jennifer Slept Here'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that ran for one season on NBC from October 21, 1983, to September 5, 1984. The series was a Larry Larry production in association with Columbia Pictures Television.
Overvi ...
'', but never released another single in the 1980s. Scarbury also sang the recording on ''Splashdance'' album and rerecorded it for Donald Duck's 50th Birthday with new lyrics. He sang the demo for Disney’s ''
Adventures of the Gummi Bears
''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' is an American animated television series, created by Disney CEO Michael Eisner, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and distributed by Buena Vista Television. The series, loosely inspired by the gum ...
''.
1990s and songwriting
In 1990, Scarbury found success again as a songwriter. This time his co-written song, "
No Matter How High", was recorded by
the Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...
and was a number-one country music hit. His co-writer was
Even Stevens
''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes over three seasons. It follows the life of the Stevens, a family living in subur ...
, who previously had found success with co-writing songs for country star
Eddie Rabbitt
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" ...
, as well as the
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
hit "
Love Will Turn You Around" from the motion picture ''
Six Pack''. In 1993, he teamed up with
Jennifer Warnes to record the theme from the short-lived sitcom ''
Almost Home''.
Scarbury was invited to New York City by radio station
WPLJ-FM in April 2005 to perform at the
China Club in
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
for a TV themes concert. He was joined on stage by other singers of popular TV themes, including
Gloria Loring,
Greg Evigan,
Gary Portnoy,
David Pomeranz
David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theatre. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile.
Solo career
Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music from ...
and
David Naughton
David Walsh Naughton (born February 13, 1951) is an American actor and singer known for his starring roles in the horror film '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and the Disney comedy '' Midnight Madness'' (1980), as well as for a long-run ...
.
Pop culture
"Believe It or Not" was parodied on the season 8 episode of ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
'', titled "
Susie", by
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' ...
, playing his character
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rela ...
. George uses a version of the song as an outgoing answering message, with different lyrics ("Believe it or not, George isn't at home") and mistakes in the melodic line. Since Jason Alexander is a good singer in real life, he was told to sing as poorly as he could, after his first take of the song was judged too good to be funny.
Discography
Scarbury has released several singles starting in 1969 on Dunhill, followed by releases on Reena, Playboy, Bell, Columbia, RCA, Big Tree, Lionel, and Elektra labels.
;Albums
*''
America's Greatest Hero
''America's Greatest Hero'' is the only studio album by Joey Scarbury, released by Elektra Records in 1981 on vinyl LP and cassette. This album features the hit theme from the TV series '' The Greatest American Hero'', from which the album take ...
'' (1981)
;Charting singles
References
External links
*
*
VH1 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarbury, Joey
1955 births
Living people
Songwriters from California
People from Greater Los Angeles
People from Ontario, California
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
American male songwriters