Some background information on the covers from the new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers record, Showboats and Grandstanders.
The three covers on the album are “The Rest of the Night,” “The Little Things,” and "Out of the Blue."
“Out of the Blue” is a song written by Robert Hazard.
It was released in 1982 as one of five tracks from the EP called Robert Hazard.
From the blog, Eighties Rare Videos: “Robert Hazard was a mainstay of the Philadelphia music scene during the late 1970's and early 1980's. With his band, Robert Hazard and the Heroes--Michael Pilla, Jerry Weindel, Ken Bernard, John Lilley, Rob Miller--he performed David Bowie-influenced new wave material that was modern and catchy, and generated a sizable local following.”
In 1982, Kurt Loder, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, caught Robert Hazard and the Heroes in concert.
“Loder was so impressed by the band's show that he wrote a full page article about them in the November 1981 issue of Rolling Stone. In the article, he predicted that the "limousine life" could not be far away for this band from Philadelphia.”
Source: www.phillyrockers.com
Loder’s glowing article for the mag, and the national interest led to a recording contract with RCA.
The album received positive reviews and reached #102 on the album charts. The single “Escalator of Life" peaked at #58 on the Billboard charts.
Hear the live version of “Out of the Blue” from Robert Hazard and the Heroes:
Several years later, Cyndi Lauper recorded the Hazard-penned "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" – the track from her debut album, “She’s So Unusual” was a huge hit, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard charts in 1984.
Robert Hazard died after surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on August 5, 2008. He had released his last album, Troubadour, in October 2007.
In a Billboard magazine article (10/28/1995), author Dan Delvea discusses a bit of Philly's past in "Diverse Acts, Indie Labels Discover Freedom in Philly"
"....the Hooters, Robert Hazard and Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers made [Philadelphia] a mainstream rock outpost in the '80s."Robert Hazard and Tommy Conwell collaborated on two songs for the Young Rumblers: "Love's On Fire" and "Everything They Say Is True."
Both songs were featured on two releases by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers: the 1986 indie-album, Walkin' On the Water, and the band's 1988 national major label debut on Columbia Records, Rumble.
At Ardmore Music Hall on May 13, 2017, Tommy Conwell gave a preview of “Out of the Blue” — one of the songs promoted as a track for the new Young Rumblers album.
Tommy’s live acoustic performance:
Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers also included “Out of the Blue” live in 2018 as a band, and have been performing it in concert ever since.
