Robert Andrew Hyman (born April 24, 1950) is an American singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

player, producer, arranger and recording studio owner, best known for being a founding member of the rock band

The Hooters The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-198 ...

Early life

Hyman started taking

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

lessons at the age of four and grew up playing in local bands in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven and Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.

, including The Trolls and the Pro-Teens. He attended Francis T. Maloney High School, where he was the editor of the

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

, "Most Likely to Succeed" and class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

. While attending the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, Hyman met future bandmate and composing partner Eric Bazilian and producer Rick Chertoff. In the late 1960s, Hyman and Chertoff, along with local singer David Kagan formed a band called Wax, who recorded an album in the early 1970s.

The Hooters

Hyman and Eric Bazilian formed The Hooters in 1980. The band played its first show on July 4 of that year. They took the band's name from a nickname for the

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...

, a type of keyboard harmonica. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-1980s due to heavy radio airplay and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

rotation of several songs, including " All You Zombies", "Day by Day", " And We Danced" and "Where Do the Children Go". The band played at the

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

benefit concert in Philadelphia in 1985, at A Conspiracy of Hope, a benefit concert on behalf of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

, at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted spo ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, and at The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 1995, The Hooters went on hiatus, although Hyman and Bazilian would continue to collaborate on musical projects for other artists. Hyman reunited with The Hooters on headlining European summer tours in 2003, 2004 and 2005. On May 11, 2004, The Hooters were presented with a

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

from the Philadelphia Music Awards.

Other musical projects

In 1983, Hyman and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

wrote and sang the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' number one hit " Time After Time," which earned him a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for Song of the Year in 1984. Hyman collaborated with Patty Smyth on her 1987 solo album ''Never Enough'', Joan Osborne on '' Relish'' and '' Little Wild One'', Rick Chertoff on ''Largo'' (a concept album based on the largo movement of

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...

's '' Symphony No. 9, in E Minor From the New World''),

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

on the 1999 single "

Private Emotion "Private Emotion" is a song recorded by American band The Hooters for their fifth studio album, '' Out of Body'' (1993). The song was written by Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman, while the production was handled by Bazilian, Joe Hardy, and Hyman. It w ...

" (originally a Hooters song), Dar Williams on ''The Beauty of the Rain'' and ''

My Better Self ''My Better Self'' is the sixth album by singer/songwriter Dar Williams. It was released on September 13, 2005, by Razor & Tie. Track listing All songs written by Dar Williams, except where noted. #"Teen for God" – 3:28 #"I'll Miss You Ti ...

'' (2002 and 2005), and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

. In 2000, Hyman contributed to the

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

movie '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'', by co-writing, co-producing, arranging and playing on "Christmas of Love", performed by Little Isidore and The Inquisitors.

Philadelphia Walk of Fame

On November 17, 2000, Hyman was inducted into the Philadelphia Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the Arts.

References

External links

Rob Hyman
official website *
Elmstreet Studios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Rob Living people 1950 births 20th-century American keyboardists American accordionists American rock singers American rock pianists American male pianists Melodica players American male singer-songwriters The Hooters members Musicians from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni 20th-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American pianists 21st-century accordionists 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews