Joey Scarbury
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Joey Scarbury (born June 7, 1955) is a singer who had a massive hit with the song, "Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)," in 1981.
Scarbury was born on June 7, 1955, and grew up in Thousand Oaks, California. As a child he was continually encouraged in his ambition to sing by his mother, and was entered in many talent shows. After songwriter Jimmy Webb's father overheard Scarbury's mother talk about his musical talent, fourteen-year-old Scarbury was signed to a recording company and was primed up for chart success. However his first single, "She Never Smiles Anymore", did not sell, and Scarbury was dropped from the label.
Scarbury supported himself the following years by singing backup for artists like Loretta Lynn, and singing whatever he could get. Although he had a minor chart single with "Mixed Up Guy" in 1971, chart success avoided him for the rest of the decade. Scarbury's luck changed when he started working for producer and composer Mike Post. Post was hired to write the theme song for a new series dubbed The Greatest American Hero, about a high school teacher who comes in possession with a superhero outfit and Scarbury was given the task of recording it.
The song when released by Elektra Records shot up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gave Scarbury his first hit single. This success was short lived, however, and after charting at #49 with the single "When She Dances," Scarbury disappeared from the charts. Scarbury worked with Post again in the mid-'80s to record the song "Back to Back," for the television series Hardcastle and McCormick.