Our final classic TV theme song of the day this week is “Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not).” This is another one written by Mike Post, this time with Stephen Guyer. The theme song is sung by Joey Scarbury and, when it was released as a single in May of 1981, it went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #3 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Mike Post, as we’ve previously discussed, wrote a ton of memorable theme songs for various television programs, some more memorable than others. For “Believe It or Not,” he enlisted a singer named Joey Scarbury, with whom he was currently working. In his own words:
“[Joey Scarbury] was an artist that I was producing, and had produced on three different record companies before that—unsuccessfully in terms of hits, but successfully in terms of how great a singer he was.”
Be that as it may, “Believe It or Not” was the only big hit that Mr. Scarbury had in his career. He recorded a few more theme songs for Mike Post, released a few (unsuccessful) singles on his own, then switched over to be a full-time songwriter; his biggest success was co-writing “No Matter How High,” a #1 country hit for the Oak Ridge Boys.
The Greatest American Hero was a television program created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell, who was also responsible for The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, and The Commish. The show starred William Katt as Ralph Hinkley, a hapless schoolteacher who happens across an alien suit that gives him various superpowers (which he never quite masters); Robert Culp played his FBI agent handler and Connie Sellecca his lawyer and lady friend. The Greatest American Hero ran for three seasons, from March 18, 1981, through February 3, 1983.
I liked The Greatest American Hero and really liked its amiable, uplifting theme song. For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here are the show’s opening credits, complete with Mike Post’s iconic theme song.
