Robert Hazard (''né'' Rimato; August 21, 1948 – August 5, 2008) was an American rock musician from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He wrote, composed, and recorded (as a demo) the song " Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in 1979, which was recorded in 1983 by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

who turned it into a best-selling hit. He also composed the new-wave and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

songs " Escalator of Life" and "Change Reaction", which he performed with his band, Robert Hazard and the Heroes, that was popular in the Philadelphia club scene during the 1980s. These songs appeared on the five song EP '' Robert Hazard'', released in June 1982 by his own record label "RHA Records", and the next November by major label

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. RCA released his first LP album, '' Wing of Fire'', in January 1984.

Biography

Early life and studies

Robert Hazard was born on August 21, 1948, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the son of an opera singer. He grew up in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Springfield High School in 1966.

Music career and genres developed

Kurt Loder profiled him in a 1981 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' article, describing Hazard as a musician "...who started out as a Dylan-era folkie, then spent eight years singing

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

. 'I just love country music', he explains, which of course explains nothing, least of all the two years he subsequently spent with a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band... or his current electro-pop approach, which owes little to any of the above."

Last albums made of country music

His final recordings were country albums, beginning with ''The Seventh Lake'' (2003) and continuing with ''Blue Mountain'' (2004). In 2007,

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

signed Hazard and released his album, ''Troubadour''.

Death and Family

Hazard died at the age of 59 at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on August 5, 2008, following surgery for

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

with which he had recently been diagnosed. He had been living with his wife, Susan Selander, and two sons near Old Forge, New York. He also had a daughter from a previous marriage.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Wing of Fire'' (1984) *'' Darling'' (1986) *''Howl'' (1998) *''The Seventh Lake'' (2004) *''Blue Mountain'' (2004) *''

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

'' (2007)

Extended plays

* '' Robert Hazard'' (1982) – No. 102 ( ''Billboard'' 200)

Compilation albums

* ''Out of the Blue'' (as Robert Hazard and the Heroes) (2005)

Singles

* " Escalator of Life" (1982) – No. 58 ( ''Billboard'' Top 100) * "Change Reaction" (1982) – No. 106 ( Bubbling Under Hot 100) * "Hard Hearted" (1984)

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090106180501/https://roberthazard.com/ (Robert Hazard on MySpace)
Robert Hazard and the Heroes homepage
at phillyrockers.com

at phillyrockers.com

at phillyrockers.com (archived)
Robert Hazard
on MySpace * by students of

The Paul Green School of Rock Music School of Rock is a music education program. This for-profit educational company operates and franchises after-school music instruction schools in the United States, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, Paragu ...

, with Robert Hazard singing
Robert Hazard
(obituary) in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hazard, Robert 1948 births 2008 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia People from Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania RCA Records artists Rykodisc artists Songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American songwriters Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Massachusetts