Robert Hazard

Robert Hazard (born Robert Rimato,cite news |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |title=Robert Hazard, Philly rocker, dies at 59 |date=2008-08-06 |first=Michael |last=Klein |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080806_Robert_Hazard__Philly_rocker__dies_at_59.html] (August 21, 1948 – August 5, 2008)cite news |title=Robert Hazard, musician and songwriter, dies at 59 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-08-07-hazard_N.htm |date=2008-08-07 |work=USA Today |author=Associated Press] , was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, musician, probably best known for composing and recording the song "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", which Cyndi Lauper covered, turning the song into a best-selling hit. [cite news |work=The Miami Herald |title=Cyndi Lauper Squeaks |date=1984-05-09 |page=1B |first=Linda R. |last=Thornton |quote= The catchy, chanting Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which Lauper rewrote from its original version by Robert Hazard, was her first hit [...] ] He also composed the 1980s New Wave and MTV hits, "Escalator of Life" and "Change Reaction", which he performed with his band, Robert Hazard and the Heroes, which was popular in the Philadelphia club scene during the 1980s. [cite news |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |title=Hazard Goes Cable |date=1983-05-17 |page=D01 |first=Ann |last=Kolson] These songs appeared on the five song EP "Robert Hazard", released in 1982. [cite news |work=The Washington Post |title=Just a Routine Hazard |date=1983-04-08 |page=WK29 |first=Joe |last=Sasfy] Hazard's first major label album, "Wing of Fire", was released by RCA Records in January 1984. [cite news |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |title=A Local Hero Hoping For National Stardom |first=Ken |last=Tucker |date=1984-01-31 |page=E01] cite web |work=Billboard.com |title=Artist Biography — Robert Hazard |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=15404 |accessdate=2008-08-07]

Hazard was son of an opera singer. He was profiled in a 1981 "Rolling Stone" article by Kurt Loder. In the piece, Loder describes Hazard's musical history as a musician "... who started out as a Dylan-era folkie, then spent eight years singing country & western. 'I just love country music,' he explains — which of course explains nothing, least of all the two years he subsequently spent with a reggae band ... or his current electro-pop approach, which owes little to any of the above". [cite web |title=Scan of Kurt Loder's Nov. 1981 "Rolling Stone" article, "Robert Hazard, Philly Hero" |publisher=Phillyrockers.com |accessdate=2008-01-13 |url=http://www.phillyrockers.com/robert_hazard/rh_pics/1981_rollingstone.jpg]

His final recordings were country albums, beginning with "The Seventh Lake" (2003) and continuing with "Blue Mountain" (2004). In 2007, Rykodisc signed Hazard and released his album, "Troubador".

Hazard died August 5, 2008 after surgery for pancreatic cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He was living with his wife and two sons near Old Forge, New York, at the time of his death. He also is survived by an older daughter.

References

External links

* [http://www.phillyrockers.com/robert_hazard/bio.htm Robert Hazard Bio] at Phillyrockers.com
* [http://www.phillyrockers.com/robert_hazard_and_the_heroes/history.htm Robert Hazard and the Heroes history page] at Phillyrockers.com
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUCEGxM1vUA 2007 performance of "Escalator of Life"] by students of The Paul Green School of Rock Music, with Robert Hazard singing, on YouTube
* [http://www.roberthazard.com RobertHazard.com] , currently redirects to Robert Hazard's MySpace page
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-hazard-girls-just-want-to-have-fun-writer-899005.html Obituary in "The Independent"]