The Hooters are a Philadelphia rock band whose music combines
elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music. They achieved major commercial
success in the US in the mid-1980s because of several songs broadcast on MTV, including
"All You Zombies", "Day by Day", "And We Danced",
and "Where Do the Children Go", and because of radio airplay by
stations like WMMR. The Hooters achieved international success a decade later.
In 1980, Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian (classmates from the University of
Pennsylvania) formed the band, taking its name from a nickname for the melodica,
a type of keyboard harmonica. Prior to forming the Hooters, in the late 70s,
they were members of a band called Baby Grand, which released two Arista albums.
The Hooters released their first album “Amore” in 1983, which included
songs "All You Zombies", "Hanging On A Heartbeat",
"Fightin' On The Same Side", and "Blood From A Stone". That
same year, Bazilian and Hyman were asked to write, arrange, and perform on the
debut album “She’s So Unusual” of a relatively unknown singer named Cyndi
Lauper. Hyman co-wrote the song "Time After Time" (and he also sang
the lower harmony vocal in the choruses), which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and
was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. On July 26, 1984,
at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia, Columbia Records signed the Hooters
to their first major recording contract.
The Hooters’ 1985 Columbia Records debut album “Nervous Night” achieved platinum status around the world,
selling more than 2 million copies. It included “Billboard” Top 40 hits "Day By Day" (No. 18),
"And We Danced" (No. 21), and "Where Do The Children Go" (featuring
accompanying vocals from Patty Smyth) (No. 38). Rolling Stone named The Hooters
the “Best New Band of the Year”.
The Hooters appeared on the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, where they were
nominated for “Best New Artist in a
Video” for "And We Danced." They performed two songs on the
show, "And We Danced" and "Nervous Night." At Billboard's 8th Annual Video Music
Conference on November 22, 1986, The Hooters won two awards: “Best Concert Performance” for the
"Where Do the Children Go" video and “Best Longform Program” for the full length “Nervous Night” home video. They also
placed in five categories in Billboard's Top 100 of 1986: Top Pop Artist, No.
41; Top Pop Album, No. 23; Top Pop Album Artists/Groups, No. 16; Top Pop Album Artists
based on one album, No. 27; and Top Pop Singles Artists based on three singles,
No. 3.
Guitarist Eric Bazilian became recognized internationally for being a
songwriter, session musician, arranger, and producer for numerous artists
throughout the United States and Europe. In 1995, he played all those roles
except producer for Joan Osborne's debut album “Relish”, which was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including “Song of the Year” for the No. 4 Billboard hit "One of Us".
The 2017 tour that we saw at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside was titled
“Give the Music Back”. We had a great time at the retro venue while we listed
to songs from our past.
Hooters Setlist
1. You Never Know Who Your Friends Are
2. I'm Alive
3. Hanging on a Hearbeat
4. Johnny B
5. Day by Day
6. The Boys of Summer (Don Henley cover)
7. Graveyard Waltz
8. 500 Miles (Hedy West cover)
9. One Too Many Nights
10. Silver Lining
11. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Beatles cover)
12. Where Do the Children Go
13. All You Zombies
14. Karla with a K
15. Twenty-Five Hours a Day
16. Satellite
17. And We Danced
Encore:
18. ?? (Minstrels)
19. Nervous Night
20. Until I Find You Again
21. Time Stands Still
22. Mr. Big Baboon
Encore 2:
23. Give the Music Back
24. South Ferry Road
25. Amore
26. Fightin' on the Same Side
Encore 3:
27. One of Us (Joan Osbourne cover)
28. Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper cover)
29. Beat Up Guitar
