Stephen Geyer (born Stephen George Geyer on November 21, 1950), a songwriter, moved to Los Angeles in 1972 after attending Towson State College (now Towson University), in Maryland, as an art major. Since coming to L.A., Stephen has made a name for himself as the writer of hit songs, popular TV themes, TV and film scripts, a non-fiction author, and studio and performance guitarist. He was born in Lima, Peru, and as the son of a CIA operative, spent most of his formative years overseas, including England where he began his professional musical career during the early Beatles years.In 1973, after having performed at the BMI showcase in the Capitol Records building in hopes of landing a recording and publishing deal, Stephen was referred by BMI V.P. Ron Anton to Mike Post, a rising star in TV scoring and record production. A twenty-year musical collaboration ensued, yielding several TV theme songs, among the most notable, “Drive” and “Back To Back” for “Hardcastle & McCormick”, “My Opionation” for Blossom and, perhaps most notably of all, “Believe It Or Not” for The Greatest American Hero, which rose to the #1 position on the Record World Chart and to the #2 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981.Additionally, Stephen has the distinction of being the original songwriter (music & lyrics) for all the original episodic songs (30 overall) recorded for The Greatest American Hero television show. He also has written other material for a variety of Stephen J. Cannell productions, including The A-Team, Riptide and Stingray. Geyer and Post also penned several songs for the Tommy Lee Jones movie, The River Rat, as well as a number of TV movies including Locusts (with Ron Howard) (song “Harvest”) and The Ray Mancini Story.Joining forces with another noted composer, Charles Fox, Stephen wrote “Together Through The Years”, the theme for the variously named Valerie Harper series (i.e.The Hogan Family) as well as five songs for the soundtrack to the Scott Baio debut movie, Zapped. In 1990, Stephen was called upon to write and to supervise the songwriting staff of Steven Bochco’s harshly critiqued Cop Rock television series, now considered something of a TV cult classic.Stephen’s guitar chops quickly evolved as he worked beside the cream of L.A.’s session players on Mike Post’s record and scoring dates, and soon he was being called upon for his guitar work and musical leadership in the studio and on the road, touring with a number of artists, including Jonathan Edwards, Herb Pedersen and Carole Bayer Sager.Other noted Geyer songs include, “Hot Rod Hearts”, co-written with Bill LaBounty (#3 Billboard hit by Robbie Dupree), “Bloodline” (title song of Glen Campbell’s #1 country album), “Love Brought Us Here Tonight” (gold album by Smokey Robinson), “You Turn The Light On” (#1 platinum album by Kenny Rogers), and “Dreams” (gold album by John Denver).Stephen has received several BMI awards for his songwriting, as well as an Emmy nomination for his song “Dreams”
Has the unique distinction of being the original songwriter (music & lyrics) for all the original episodic songs (30 overall) recorded for The Greatest American Hero television show, as well as being the lyricist for the #1 hit theme, "Believe It Or Not" from the same show.
Music Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Blossom
TV Series lyricist - 87 episodes, 1991 - 1994 composer - 1 episode, 1992
Valerie's Family: The Hogans
1986-1991
TV Series lyricist - 110 episodes
Cop Rock
1990
TV Series songs composed by - 10 episodes
J.J. Starbuck
1988
TV Series composer - 1 episode
CBS Summer Playhouse
1987
TV Series theme song - 1 episode
Wuzzles
TV Series composer - 13 episodes, 1985 performer - 13 episodes, 1985
Hardcastle and McCormick
1983-1985
TV Series composer - 13 episodes
The Greatest American Hero
TV Series lyricist - 43 episodes, 1981 - 1983 composer - 9 episodes, 1981 - 1982 music coordinator - 1 episode, 1981
The Quest
1982
TV Series original songs - 1 episode
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye
1978
TV Series composer - 1 episode
Locusts
1974
TV Movie composer: song "Havest"
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2016
TV Series lyrics - 1 episode
Mike & Mike
2013
TV Series writer - 1 episode
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2011
TV Series lyrics - 1 episode
The Early Show
2011
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Heroes
2009
TV Series lyrics - 1 episode
ER
2006
TV Series writer - 1 episode
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
2005
lyrics: "Believe It or Not The Greatest American Hero - Theme" 1981
Gilmore Girls
TV Series lyrics - 1 episode, 2004 music - 1 episode, 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11
2004
Documentary lyrics: "The Theme from 'The Greatest American Hero' Believe It or Not" 1981
The Tick
2002
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Seinfeld
TV Series writer - 1 episode, 1998 lyrics - 1 episode, 1997
Stingray
1986-1987
TV Series lyrics - 21 episodes
Valerie's Family: The Hogans
1986
TV Series writer: "Through The Years"
Wuzzles
1985
TV Series performer: "The Wuzzles"
Just One of the Guys
1985
writer: "Girls Got Something Boys Ain't Got"
The Rousters
1983
TV Series writer - 1 episode
The Rousters
1983
TV Movie writer: "Tough Enough" Main Title Theme, "Tough Enough"
The Greatest American Hero
1981-1983
TV Series writer - 17 episodes
Zapped!
1982
lyrics: "Shoot the Moon", "Just for Fun", "Got to Believe in Magic", "King and Queen of Hearts", "Ready or Not" - as Steve Geyer