Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)
"Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)" is a song composed by Mike Post with lyrics by Stephen Geyer, and sung by American singer Joey Scarbury. It serves as the theme song for the 1980s television series The Greatest American Hero. The track was later included on Scarbury's 1981 debut album America's Greatest Hero.
"Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)" | ||||
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Single by Joey Scarbury | ||||
from the album America's Greatest Hero | ||||
B-side | "Little Bit of Us" | |||
Released | May 1981 | |||
Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||
Length | 3:11 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Post, Stephen Geyer | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Post | |||
Joey Scarbury singles chronology | ||||
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The theme song became a popular hit during the run of The Greatest American Hero. "Believe It or Not" entered the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 on June 13, 1981, eventually peaking at No. 2 during the weeks ending August 15–22, 1981, kept off the top spot by "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, and spending a total of 18 weeks in the top 40. On the Adult Contemporary chart, "Believe It or Not" went to number 3.[1] It also peaked at the number one position on the Record World chart.[2]
In the season 8 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Susie", an answering machine message featuring parody lyrics of "Believe It or Not" is a central plot point.[3]
It appears in a 2021 TV commercial for Tide starring Jason Alexander that aired during CBS' telecast of Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021.
Chart history
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 216.
- IMDB Trivia for The Greatest American Hero
- https://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheSuzie.htm
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-09-26. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-08-29. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Believe It or Not (Theme from "The Greatest American Hero"". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1981-10-25. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 213.
- "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 8, 1981". Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year-End article "Top 100 Singles (1981)". RPM. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- "End of Year Charts 1981". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- Musicoutfitters.com
- "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2017.