The Movie That Made Peter Cetera's 'Glory Of Love' An '80s Power Ballad Turns 40 Today
Forty years after its release date, fans of the 'Karate Kid Part II' and Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" are still synonymous with each other.
The film, starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, which was released on June 20, 1986 was not only a hit on its own, but made the former Chicago singer's solo debut a hit as well. (Even though "Glory of Love" was originally meant for Sylvester Stallone film 'Rocky IV,' but was ultimately passed on to the 'Karate Kid' sequel.)
The song which, ultimately became the theme song 'Karate Kid Part II,' was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1986, but lost to "Take My Breath Away" from Tom Cruise's 'Top Gun.'
Upon the song's release, it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Unfortunately though, since the song's release and his departure from the band were so close together, "Glory Of Love" was initially mistaken for a Chicago song, Cetera told the Los Angeles Times in 1987.
"People thought ‘Glory of Love' was the new Chicago song. A lot of them went looking for the Chicago album. They didn't know about me as a solo artist," he recalled. "They said, ‘Peter who?'"
Cetera also noted that since the track became the theme song to the movie, he lost out on album sales as fans bought the soundtrack instead of his first album, which was self-titled.
Later in the year, Cetera's "The Next Time I Fall," a duet with Amy Grant, also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The movie, which was a sequel to the 1984 original, grossed $121 million at the box office, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and has continued to live on in pop culture within the last forty years - which included a reimagined version made for streaming.
Cobra Kai, the Netflix series that followed Macchio's character as an adult, ran for six seasons, wrapping in 2025. While longtime fans hoped "Glory of Love" would be featured in the series, it was ultimately cut, according to the show's producer Jon Hurwitz.
"We actually filmed a goodbye scene between Daniel and Kumiko in Season 3 that had them slow dancing to 'Glory of Love,' he said in an X Q+A last year. "It was really sweet and one of my favorites scenes that didn't make a final cut."
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.