As a fan of Sylvester Stallone and his « Rocky » saga, I can’t help but just love the track « No Easy Way Out » that could be heard in the fourth movie of the saga. Featured in an unforgettable soundtrack, that song remains a timeless hit as well as a topic that doesn’t leave me unmoved. For those reasons I decided to contact Robert Tepper, its singer-songwriter, to try to get an interview with him. Still, when I discovered his latest album entitled « Better Than The Rest », some more questions flew to my mind and I felt like discussing it too. To me, it’s a real heart-stopper and I’m really happy that it’s immortalized here.
First of all, can you start by telling us how you grew a passion for music and singing, and eventually made a career out of it?
I grew up on the East coast of America, in New Jersey and we were very close to New York City so we got all the music, all the songs and basically music all over the place – Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Stones! I was very fortunate to be born in the time when brilliant music was being made, like great pop records. You have to realize this was the first time people were listening to Rock’n’Roll and everybody was discovering all of it at the same time. I heard so many great songs – The Beach Boys and it just goes on and on!…
So I asked my parents for a guitar and they got me a crappy little cow-boy guitar but they saw that I was really trying, that I really wanted to play and I loved to sing. I had an older sister and she liked to sing too so we would sing together, like harmonies, all the time. There was music around us and I got passionate about it. By the time I was 7 or 8, I was already doing little shows in the basement of my house! (laughs)
At 12-13 years old, we were putting bands together and playing in pizza parlours, in bars… The first time I ever played was in a strip joint when I was 16 years old upstate New York! I was always in front of people, not only singing but just playing – I played bass in a band for a while. A good friend of mine was a Jazz pianist so I would listen and fake it on bass, you know! During the summers, we would play at these clubs on the Jersey Shore where Bruce Springsteen started because everybody went out to clubs and listened to music. We did a whole Beatles set where I wasn’t the lead singer but I did The Doors, The Stones… We were 16, 17 or 18 years old and we never thought that we would be famous like these guys because they just all seemed like they were up on a pedestal, like the gods! It wasn’t something I thought I would ever be able to do…
When and how did you get your first contract with a record company?
Well, I started working for a singer named Benny Mardones in New York. By that time, I was in my twenties and living in New York and I had a family. I met Benny and we wrote a song called « Into The Night ». This song has been a hit in America twice – actually, it’s on the dance charts right now because they did a remix of it and they play it in the clubs! So we played together with Benny and went on tours and traveled across America. We were on Polydor Records from Germany and I told them that I wanted to do my own thing. I didn’t want to be a bass player in someone else’s band. I was in my apartment and I would get up every day and turn on tape machines and start writing, writing, writing… That’s how I wrote my whole first record in my apartment in New York!
Then I came out to L.A. I sold some equipment and I flew out with my friend Guy Marshall who I still know to this day – he plays guitar on « No Easy Way Out ». So we were in L.A. and we were banging around L.A. and I was literally jumping on people’s desks! I used to grab stuff off their desks and sing the music live! (laughs) Some people got really afraid of me and would throw me out, but other people would get very excited and Scotti Brothers did and that’s how I got my first deal!
Regarding your work as a composer, what was the creative process of the song « No Easy Way Out »?
I was fooling around with the chords. Now when I hear music I think of what is going to be said lyrically. I kind of think of everything at the same time. Sometimes I write lyrics first but mostly I listen to some music and it makes me think of certain melodies and of what I want to say lyrically. That’s how « No Easy Way Out » is about the breakup of my first marriage – that was the inspiration. I had two boys who lived in New York with me and I knew that I wasn’t staying there… and no matter the reason, when you leave your kids, it’s never easy and actually very painful…
How did that song come to Sylvester Stallone’s ears and make its way to the Rocky IV movie soundtrack?
Well, Scotti Brothers was part of CBS that got the soundtrack for Rocky IV. One day, in 1985, they had Stallone up in their offices for a meeting but I was not part of any of this – I was making my record. They had him listen to « No Easy Way Out » and he went freaking crazy ! So he did come down to the studio and see me. We hung out a bit and I was with him the night it came out – we were sitting with Rob Lowe and a bunch of people. This was my first record so I was pretty starstruck, you know, sitting there with all these movie stars! Sylvester Stallone pointed to me and said : « You’re next ! This is going to change your life! » And he was right ! It had a big impact on people and how they thought about me.
The song is a defining moment in the movie as some kind of a retrospective of the whole saga. How did it feel to hear your work in a cult saga in the history of cinema?
At the time MTV was just started so all these songs that were identified with movies, the directors would see what the videos did on the audience, how people were embracing them. We loved it – it was a whole new way to listen and it was fantastic ! In that movie Stallone decided to play the whole song all the way and he practically made the video for me ! When they built my video, they just put some pictures of me singing it – there are a couple of different versions – but what became known as a trademark of that movie and of a lot of movies at that period was identified with certain songs like « St. Elmo’s Fire » and « In Your Eyes » and « Footloose » – all these songs were like branded. So I was very lucky because I sang « No Easy Way Out » and it became totally associated with Rocky IV! It’s amazing the power of film and music together – how it speaks to people in such a big way ! I think people are missing out because I still think it’s possible but it’s not done as well as it used to be. It means so much for people when you look at it. They go like : « This is not only happening – this is a part of my life now! This is a part of who I am! » I think movies could use more of that again…
Did you realize the impact it would have on your career at the time?
No, no… You know, I just came back from the Heat festival in Germany and when I play that song, it’s magical! People go absolutely crazy when I play that song! It means a lot to me but I had no idea at the time. Until social media came, many years later, I had no idea how much people really loved that song. Now it’s much easier for my fans to talk to me and to tell me how they’re keen about the music – I love that whole concept!
The track « Angel Of The City » (from the « No Easy Way Out » album) was also chosen by Stallone for the « Cobra » movie soundtrack. How did it feel to hear that he really liked your work then?
Stallone liked the emotion of what I did and he enjoyed working with me. He loved what he did with « No Easy Way Out » and I always joke around saying « Every big movie star wants to be a rock star! » (laughs) But we never did an official video for Cobra. The movie did ok, even if the critics didn’t like it, so it became more of a cult movie. People actually love « Angel Of The City » – if I don’t do it at a show, people get really angry at me! I need to do that song too. I remember seeing the movie in New York and I thought : « Hum… I don’t know if it works as well as the Rocky. » Because Rocky was a better movie, in my estimation. But people loved Cobra and years and years from then it’s still around!
Just like « No Easy Way Out », « Angel Of The City » stood out in the movie, in a scene without any dialogue but introducing the character played by Brigitte Nielsen. Have you ever discussed the importance of music in Stallone’s movies with him?
Well, things didn’t work so much like that by then. Stallone had my record and he could have picked any song off of that record. He would have relationship with my record company but me, as an artist, I wasn’t involved in those decisions at all. He didn’t say : « Hey, Robert! Sit down and write « Angel Of The City » for me! » That didn’t happen. It was almost like a collage – people would take what they wanted, throw it up against the wall and go : « Oh, I like that with this! This is good! » And then they worked out the business end of it. Nowadays, everything is much more thought of – not always but for the most part.
This fall, you are releasing a new album entitled « Better Than The Rest ». How did you bring that project to life from start to finish with only the help of guitar player Pablo Padilla?
It’s been a while since I’ve done a record like this so I’m very excited about it. Pablo Padilla is a masterful guitar player that I met through a guy named Indigo Balboa who had brought me to Spain after I had put out an acoustic type record called « New Life Story » which was after my boy Leo was born. It wasn’t a Rock record, it was a collection of songs I had written because I never stop writing. But I also got into producing and making records. So I was pretty happy with this record and Indigo asked me to come to Spain, to Madrid, to do some concerts. So I did and in my band was Pablo Padilla, and I thought he was a very good player. I came back to L.A. and Pablo called me to say that he was in L.A. too, going to school and learning lots of different things. He is a great guitar player but also into composition and a whole bunch of stuff… Eventually he became my musical director on some shows here in California – I did the Whisky a Go Go but I don’t like to play a lot in L.A. because everybody is a movie star here. I’d much rather go to Europe or to Arkansas or to the middle of the country where people appreciate you. So Pablo and I had a good relationship and we started thinking : « What would it be like if the 80s never stopped? If people just kept making those kinds of records – AOR records? What would the energy be like in a record like that with the new sounds and new loopings, the new keyboards with sequencers? » We got together and we started writing and it went great! Maybe once or twice a week we would work together by my house in my studio. The songs we wrote were sounding really good because songs come and visit you, you know. Pablo played a little music and I wrote melodies and lyrics all at the same time, and it was just coming out in a very beautiful way. We were having a ball ! I started demoing some of this stuff and we actually recorded some of the stuff that originally came up on Day 1. I said : « Let me try a vocal. » Pablo said : « But we just wrote it?! » I said : « I know but I’m feeling it – let’s do it! » It was very inspired and we did all the parts that were better than the rest. We had the writing pretty much done, maybe 8 or 9 things. Since I mix, I did a decent rough mix and friends who listened to it said to Pablo : « These are really good songs! » So we just kept going, we weren’t thinking about what we had to do – we were influenced by the bands we love like Van Halen, Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Adams… All those 80s records with the great sounding snares – what’s great about that music is how cinematic it is! The keyboards and the guitars are amazing! They’re so powerful! So we kept working like that and before we knew it we had an enormous amount of material and we were really excited about it!
What is your secret to keep the exact same voice and passion and energy that we can hear in the song « Better Than The Rest »?
I only know how to do what I do! Maybe it was a blessing that I didn’t have like a skyrocketing career, you know. I had some notoriety but I wasn’t out there banging my voice every night for years. I wasn’t doing 129 shows a year. Also, I was producing and writing so I wasn’t using my voice all the time although I love to sing. My sound is my sound. I’m 69 years old but as I like to say, I’m a very young 69! I play tennis every day and I keep myself in shape.
When I produce myself – because this record is just Pablo and I – I’m the engineer and I mixed the whole record. The only other person who touched it was the guy who mastered it. So, am I a bit of a control freak? Yes. I worked on the vocals and I can’t even remember some of the things I sang but I knew when the feeling was right, I knew when I had it. I said : « That is what I’m trying to say. » If you listen to all my records, and I know everybody loves « No Easy Way Out » and « Angel Of The City » but I think my voice on this record sounds the best because I really got it to where I felt it, where I wanted it as an engineer and as an artist. To me, making the records, engineering them and producing them along with Pablo, the whole thing is ONE thing. It’s all ONE act. At least with what I’m capable of. If I know I can make it sound a certain way, I’m going to go in there. It’s not like : « Oh, we’re going to have somebody do this now. And then we’re going to have somebody do that now. » I thought about having other people engineer this record because it’s a ton of work! But at the end of the day, everyone we tried we had to say : « You know, really nice, but no, thank you. » They were good people and I hate telling good people : « I don’t like what you’re doing… » There’s nothing worse than that…
So the way I maintain my voice is when I open my mouth, I go for something, I have a way of doing it that works for me and it still sounds pretty good to me. But if it didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it… Maybe when I’m a hundred, it will have some cracks!… (laughs)
As a sound engineer too, you can do the mixing of your work yourself. Does this enable you to get the exact sonorities you want and eventually an album that totally encapsulates your musical identity?
Absolutely! Because you start to realize that you don’t just fall in love with a song – you fall in love with the sound of a song, with the energy that comes off. Pablo and I have a great partnership and I could not have done this record without him, but he’s just turning 40 years old. So, for me, when I hear those AOR records that sound like everything you’ve been doing for the last 30 years but only not as good…(laughs) you go : « Oh my god, why did you even bother doing this? » But when I heard Pablo playing the guitar, this sounded like fresh sound to me. His guitar playing is so important to everything we do because he’s so excellent and it brings an amazing energy to what’s going on, to the writing and all that. So we’re a good team – you got the old guy and you got the young guy, and somewhere in the middle there’s newness and freshness.
I like every song on your album but my favorite ones are « My Yesterday » and « Tell Me You Love Me » – do you understand my choices?
Those are two great songs but I love « Time Just This Time », it’s one of my favorite. « My Yesterday » is my favorite mix on the record. I played bass on that one and I’m so proud of it. I also like the fact that it’s a story song and it has like a double hook because it’s all around you. I love that song!
Regarding « Tell Me You Love Me », we were concerned that it was a little too pop. I listen to all sorts of music and I love pop music – I mean, not all of it because some of it is just so formula, formula… But I thought what we caught was kind of cool almost like that 80s pop vibe! In a way I love French pop like the band Phoenix for instance – their first record was such a well-made record and it sounds amazing ! I thought « Tell Me You Love Me » captured a good feeling of 80s pop and I thought : « I would love to be able to do more like this. » Sometimes you may think it’s a little too different from the rest but eventually it all kind of made sense to me and I’m really glad I put that song on the record. There are parts of that song that I absolutely love.
As a conclusion, I want to tell everybody to listen to your album and thank you so much for that interview. Do you plan to come and present the album on stage in Europe?
Thank you! Right now, I’m talking to agents and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be back in Europe pretty soon because the response to the new record and to the concert that we just did at the Heat Festival is really big! This AOR world, I feel it’s growing. You know, the internet has its goodness and its badness. Its badness is that it’s probably destroying the world… but the goodness on the music end of it is that people keep listening to everything! I’m looking at it like stages. Part I, we finished the whole record. Part II was in my contract, I must go to Germany and play at the Heat Festival and premier the record. So we did five songs, including « My Yesterday » from the new record before we ended with « No Easy Way Out » and people went berserk! So I think we did good on every point and there were a lot of promoters in that audience. My deep feeling is I’m going to be in Europe next year. This music has tremendous feeling in it and deserves to be heard.
