"Theme from ''The Greatest American Hero'' (Believe It or Not)" is a song composed by

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 ...

with lyrics by

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 ...

, and sung by American singer

Joey Scarbury Joey Scarbury (born June 7, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter best known for his hit song, " Theme from ''The Greatest American Hero'' (Believe It or Not)", in 1981. Childhood and early music career Scarbury was born in Ontario, Calif ...

. It serves as the theme song for the 1980s television series ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama superhero television series that aired on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The seri ...

''. The track was later included on Scarbury's 1981 debut album '' America's Greatest Hero''. 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 Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, "Believe It or Not" went to number 3. It also peaked at the number one position on the '' Record World'' chart. In the season 8 episode of '' Seinfeld'' titled " The Susie", an

answering machine An answering machine, answerphone or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the United Kingdom, UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), ...

message consists of a parody of "Believe It or Not". As a tribute to the '' Seinfeld'' episode, the song appeared in a

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for

Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

that aired during

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' telecast of Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021 starring Jason Alexander, whose 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 ...

recorded the parody lyrics as his answering machine message.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1981 singles 1981 songs American soft rock songs Cashbox number-one singles Elektra Records singles Glen Campbell songs Joey Scarbury songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Mike Post Television drama theme songs The Greatest American Hero