Robert Hazard - Til We Meet Again
Sep. 5th, 2008 07:33 pmI just learned Robert Hazard passed away last month.
An unbelievably talented Philadelphia area singer/songwriter/performer - most widely know for having written Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".
What was so strange was - if you were ever fortunate enough to have caught Robert in concert you would have said . . . "Nah, this can't be the guy who wrote the Cyndi Lauper song" (not that there's anything wrong with the song). He was an unbelievably talented writer and performer - a talent on the order of a Springsteen, Dylan or Simon.
We caught him a few times in the 80s playing bars at the Jersey Shore in the winter time (very strange). In places where you'd expect to hear a "bar band" - and instead were treated to an unforgettable concert of original music that you'd expect to hear at Madison Square Garden, not a local bar.
Last winter I was invited to a coffee shop in the Village where Rykodisc had arranged for Robert to play a set to kick off the release of his new album. I couldn't make it, I was ill; I'm sorry now that I didn't go anyway.
A huge talent gone. But I'll never forget his live performances of "Escalator of Life", "Change Reaction", and how he finished every concert with a hard drivin' electric version of "Blowin' In The Wind".
An unbelievably talented Philadelphia area singer/songwriter/performer - most widely know for having written Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun".
What was so strange was - if you were ever fortunate enough to have caught Robert in concert you would have said . . . "Nah, this can't be the guy who wrote the Cyndi Lauper song" (not that there's anything wrong with the song). He was an unbelievably talented writer and performer - a talent on the order of a Springsteen, Dylan or Simon.
We caught him a few times in the 80s playing bars at the Jersey Shore in the winter time (very strange). In places where you'd expect to hear a "bar band" - and instead were treated to an unforgettable concert of original music that you'd expect to hear at Madison Square Garden, not a local bar.
Last winter I was invited to a coffee shop in the Village where Rykodisc had arranged for Robert to play a set to kick off the release of his new album. I couldn't make it, I was ill; I'm sorry now that I didn't go anyway.
A huge talent gone. But I'll never forget his live performances of "Escalator of Life", "Change Reaction", and how he finished every concert with a hard drivin' electric version of "Blowin' In The Wind".
Robert Hazard
Date: 2008-09-06 01:42 pm (UTC)