Robert Tepper

Originating in Bayonne, New Jersey, Robert Tepper launched his professional path by working as a staff songwriter in New York City before linking up with vocalist Benny Mardones to handle both composition duties and bass playing. Together they created the enduring “Into the Night,” which reached number 11 and received a Grammy nomination upon its first release in 1980, only to return to the charts almost ten years afterward. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1985, Tepper secured a recording contract with Scotti Brothers. After Sylvester Stallone encountered “There’s No Easy Way Out,” he selected the track for inclusion in the third sequel of his Rocky film series. The song appeared on the Rocky IV soundtrack, became one of that year’s major successes, and was released as a single that rose into the Top 30 by early 1986. It preceded Tepper’s debut album, No Easy Way Out, yet could not sustain broad public attention. A follow-up single, “Don’t Walk Away,” registered only modest results before stalling in the lower portion of the Hot 100. Two years afterward, Modern Madness arrived without attracting notice, after which Tepper parted ways with the label amid lengthy legal disputes. He kept writing songs, though none recaptured his prior level of achievement, and also spent time in Nashville. In 1996 he assembled material written over the preceding years and released it as the collection No Rest for the Wounded Heart.