Believe It or Not ( song ) - wikipedia Believe It or Not ( song ) `` Believe It or Not '' Single by Joey Scarbury from the album America 's Greatest Hero B - side `` Little Bit of Us '' Released May 1981 Format 7 '' Length 3 : 11 Label Elektra Songwriter ( s ) Mike Post, Stephen Geyer Producer ( s ) Mike Post Joey Scarbury singles chronology `` Believe It or Not '' ( 1981 ) `` When She Dances '' ( 1981 ) `` Believe It or Not '' ( 1981 ) `` When She Dances '' ( 1981 ) `` 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. The theme song became a popular hit during the run of The Greatest American Hero. `` Believe It or Not '' debuted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 on June 13, 1981, eventually peaking at number 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. It also peaked at the number 1 position on the Record World chart. It was also used in the 2009 movie Super Capers. Contents 1 Chart history 1.1 Weekly charts 1.2 Year - end charts 2 In popular culture 3 References Chart history Weekly charts Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position Australia KMR Canada RPM Top Singles Ireland ( IRMA ) 19 New Zealand U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Chart ( 1982 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 28 Year - end charts Chart ( 1981 ) Rank Australia 9 Canada 47 New Zealand 21 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 11 U.S. Cash Box 8 In popular culture George uses a modified version of this song for his answering machine greeting in the Seinfeld episode The Susie. The following is sung by George to the tune of the refrain : `` Believe it or not, George is n't at home, please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I 'd pick up the phone, where could I be ? Believe it or not, I 'm not home. '' In 1982 Glen Campbell covered the song. The song is featured in the 2005 film The 40 - Year - Old Virgin. A parody of the song was used on an E3 commercial on G4TV in 2005. The Family Guy episode `` Believe It or Not, Joe 's Walking on Air '' is a play on the song 's name. It is also sung by Peter in `` The Man with Two Brians. '' The episode of The Goldbergs `` Snow Day '' features the song. A part of the song is sung by the Dog of Wisdom at the end of the short animated film of the same name. The song was used as the theme song to The Cinema Snob from 2008 -- 2013. The song appears in a 2017 TV commercial for State Farm, starring Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. The song was covered twice on Homestar Runner in 2001 and 2017. The song is covered by the fictional band `` Hep Alien '' during an episode of Gilmore Girls. References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2002 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 - 2001. Record Research. p. 216. Jump up ^ IMDB Trivia for The Greatest American Hero ^ Jump up to : Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992 ( doc ) format = requires url = ( help ). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981 - 09 - 26. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 01. ^ Jump up to : `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- Believe It or Not ( Theme from `` The Greatest American Hero '' ``. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` NZ Top 40 Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ''. Nztop40.co.nz. 1981 - 10 - 25. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 01. Jump up ^ Joel Whitburn 's Top Pop Singles 1955 - 1990 - ISBN 0 - 89820 - 089 - X Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1993 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 -- 1993. Record Research. p. 213. Jump up ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 8, 1981 Jump up ^ The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year - End article `` Top 100 Singles ( 1981 ) ''. RPM. Retrieved 2016 - 04 - 12. Jump up ^ `` End of Year Charts 1981 ''. Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017. Jump up ^ Musicoutfitters.com Jump up ^ Cash Box Year - End Charts : Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981 Jump up ^ `` State Farm TV Commercial, ' Together ' Featuring Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews ''. Retrieved September 11, 2017. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Believe_It_or_Not_(song)&oldid=825504193 '' Categories : 1981 singles Television theme songs Debut singles Glen Campbell songs The Greatest American Hero 1981 songs Hidden categories : Pages using citations with format and no URL Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart called without artist All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from January 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 February 2018, at 19 : 44. 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Question: who sang the theme from the greatest american hero
Answer: American singer Joey Scarbury