Austin Roberts

A Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, Austin Roberts notched a Top Ten placement in 1975 by covering Jay Stevens’ country-pop and soft-rock ballad “Rocky.” Beyond performing, the versatile artist has also supplied material for both television productions and theatrical works. During the closing years of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s he fronted several ensembles, among them the Buchanan Brothers and Arkade; the latter group notched an early-decade success with “The Morning of Our Lives.” His next solo Billboard entry arrived in 1975 when “Something’s Wrong with Me” climbed to the number-twelve slot. In 1983 Roberts joined Bobby Hart to write “Over You” for the motion picture Tender Mercies, earning the pair Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. The same calendar year he claimed a Grammy for co-authoring Lee Greenwood’s chart-topping “I.O.U.” with Kerry Chater. His screen and small-screen credits further encompass multiple daytime dramas, the official 1988 theme for the U.S. Gymnastics squad at the Olympics—later recorded as a single by Kenny Rogers—and the feature films Tornado, Within These Walls, and They Were the Mulvaneys. Roberts additionally composed both music and lyrics for the stage productions Rachinoff and Damon’s Song, and he supplied the lead vocal for the enduring Hanna-Barbera animated-series opening Scooby-Doo, Where Are You.