Robert Tepper (born May 30, 1950) is an American songwriter, recording artist and singer, best known for his

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

song "No Easy Way Out" from the ''

Rocky IV ''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...

'' motion picture

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

. He is also known for co-writing the hit song " Into the Night" with

Benny Mardones Ruben Armand "Benny" Mardones (November 9, 1946 – June 29, 2020) was an American pop/rock singer and songwriter who was best known for his hit single " Into the Night", which hit the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 ( ...

Life and career

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Tepper moved to New York where he became a staff

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. He paired up with fellow singer Benny Mardones, and together they wrote Mardones's hit ballad ''Into the Night'', which earned them a Grammy Awards nomination. Tepper worked with Mardones on writing the latter's follow-up album '' Too Much to Lose'' in 1981. In 1985, Tepper signed with Scotti Brothers and moved to Los Angeles. Actor/director Sylvester Stallone was taken with Tepper's song "No Easy Way Out", which subsequently led to its inclusion in the

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' and '' Cobra''. "No Easy Way Out" climbed into the Top 40, reaching #22 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1986, and momentarily putting Tepper in the public eye. Several European labels, including Ministry of Sound, released "No Easy Way Out" with their own dance versions, resulting in regular airplay on German radio stations that continues today (in particular evening dance and party programming in Munich featured on Charivari 95.5 and Radio Gong 96.3). The heavy metal group Bullet For My Valentine also recorded the song in 2008. Tepper released two solo albums for Scotti Bros. Records, but both albums received little promotion from the label. In 1986, one year after ''Rocky IV'', another song from Tepper's debut album (titled '' No Easy Way Out'') called "Angel Of The City" became the insert montage song of Stallone´s film '' Cobra''. Also in 1986, he co-wrote the single "Le Bel Age" for

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...

, which peaked at #54 on the Billboard charts. A second album, '' Modern Madness'' was released in 1988. He went on to join the classic hard rock group

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal musi ...

for a few years. His third solo album ''No Rest For The Wounded Heart'' was released exclusively in Europe in 1996 on the MTM Music label. In 2009, Sony/BMG re-released his first two albums digitally. In recent years, he ventured into writing music for television and film, and collaborated on a musical. In 2012, he released his fourth solo album titled ''New Life Story''. The music is a departure from the big rock sound of the 1980s and has been described as "acoustic, singer/songwriter with an electric tinge." Tepper's "No Easy Way Out" was featured on a special list of the best songs from '80s action '' film montages'' that appeared on music website, ''No Echo''.

Discography

Albums

* '' No Easy Way Out'' (Scotti Bros., 1985) ''Billboard'' 200 #144Robert Tepper Chart History , Billboard
/ref> * '' Modern Madness'' (Scotti Bros., 1988) * ''No Rest For The Wounded Heart'' (MTM Music, 1996) * ''New Life Story'' (2012) * ''Better Than the Rest'' (AOR Heaven, 2019) * ''Feels Like Monday'' (Heavy Breather, 2022)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tepper, Robert Living people Singer-songwriters from New Jersey 1950 births Musicians from Bayonne, New Jersey Iron Butterfly members Scotti Brothers Records artists Singer-songwriters from New York (state)