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'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' Scribe Dies

Hazard, 59, best known for writing Lauper hit

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 7, 2008 1:31 PM CDT

(Newser) – Philadelphia music icon Robert Hazard, best known for writing the Cyndi Lauper hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” died at the age of 59 on Tuesday from cancer complications, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. "He was one of the biggest local performers ever," Hazard's former road manager says. "He literally exploded out of Philadelphia."

Hazard’s band, Robert Hazard and the Heroes, gained local and national acclaim in the '80s with New Wave hits like “Escalator of Life.” Later in life, he turned increasingly to folk music, recently releasing two folk-tinged albums. "His roots were in folk music," another former manager says. "His local fame and international notoriety were not for the types of music that was the essence of his soul.”

[Images (2)]

[Videos (4)]

Robert Hazard died Tuesday at the age of 59. (KRT Photos)

Cyndi Lauper, made famous by Hazard's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," performs on ABC's "Good Morning America" show in Bryant Park on Friday, June 13, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

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Robert Hazard's final show, on July 18. (massbroadcast)

Robert Hazard performs "Lucky Hat" at Cooldog Concert Series in Delaware on September 16, 2007. Robert died at age 59 on August 5, 2008. (bethfizz)

Robert Hazard's "Escalator of Life" (1982). (redwhirl)

The music video for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." (lshelby29)

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'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' Scribe Dies