The song was sung by Lee Majors, who is best known as an actor. Majors was born on April 23, 1939 and was a prominent TV star in the 1970s and 1980s. "The Unknown Stuntman" is the theme song to the US action-adventure series "The Fall Guy", which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1986. Lee Majors played the lead role of Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who also works as a bounty hunter. The song ran over the opening credits of the series.
Lee Majors sang the song himself, which was unusual as leading actors rarely sang the theme songs for their series. His deep, distinctive voice perfectly matched the rugged image of his character Colt Seavers.
The lyrics are told from the perspective of a stuntman who takes on dangerous jobs to make stars like Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood look good, while he himself remains in the background.
In Germany, “The Unknown Stuntman” reached number 11 in the singles charts in the fall of 1985 and remained in the hit parade for around 13 weeks. This reflects the great popularity of the series in Germany, where it was particularly successful.
The song is in a country-pop style, which was popular for TV series theme songs at the time. It has a catchy melody and a relaxed, humorous tone that reflects the mood of the series.