Robert Hazard (néRimato;[1] August 21, 1948 – August 5, 2008)[2] was an American musician. He wrote, composed,[3][4] and recorded (as a demo) the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in 1979, which was recorded in 1983 by Cyndi Lauper, who turned it into a best-selling hit.[5] He also composed the new-wave and MTV 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.[6] These songs appeared on the five song EPRobert Hazard, released in June 1982 by his own record label "RHA Records", and the next November by major label RCA Records.[7] RCA released his first LP album, Wing of Fire, in January 1984.[8][9]
Kurt Loder profiled him in a 1981 Rolling Stone article, describing Hazard 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."[10]
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, Troubadour.[2]
Hazard died 16 days before his 60th birthday at Massachusetts General HospitalinBoston on August 5, 2008, following surgery for pancreatic cancer with which he had recently been diagnosed.[11] He was living with his wife Susan K Selander and two sons Rex and Remy near Old Forge, New York, at the time of his death. He also is survived by an older daughter from a previous marriage named Corrina.[12]
^Thornton, Linda R. (1984-05-09). "Cyndi Lauper Squeaks". Miami Herald. p. 1B. The catchy, chanting Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which Lauper rewrote from the demo by Robert Hazard, was her first hit...
^Kolson, Ann (1983-05-17). "Hazard Goes Cable". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D01.
^Sasfy, Joe (1983-04-08). "Just a Routine Hazard". The Washington Post. p. WK29.
^Tucker, Ken (1984-01-31). "A Local Hero Hoping For National Stardom". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E01.
