Pat Benatar

Her first single, "Heartbreaker", was released in October 1979 and was an immediate hit, climbing to #23 in the US. Her debut LP, In the Heat of the Night, was even more successful, reaching #12 and establishing Benatar as a new force in rock. The LP featured a cover of John Cougar Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover" as well as the single "We Live for Love", an effective fusion of rock and new wave that saw it reach the US Top 30 and become a hit as far away as Australia (#28).  In August 1980, Benatar released her second LP, Crimes of Passion, featuring her signature song "Hit Me with Your Best Shot". The single was her first to break the US Top 10 (#9) and sold over a million copies, going gold. The album reached US #2 in January 1981 and a month later Benatar won a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance of 1980. Other singles released from Crimes of Passion were "Treat Me Right" (US #18) and a cover of Young Rascal's "You Better Run" (US #42, AUS #31). The album remained on the US album charts for 93 weeks.  Benatar's first (and only) US chart-topper was the LP Precious Time, released in August 1981. It was also her first to chart in the UK, reaching #30. The album's lead single, "Fire and Ice", was another big hit (US #17, AUS #30) and would win Benatar her second Grammy Award, this time for Best Female Rock Performance of 1981.

In February 1982, Benatar married her lead guitarist Neil Giraldo, with whom she would have two daughters, Haley and Hana.  A hit single, "Shadows of the Night", (US #13, AUS #19) heralded a new LP, Get Nervous, released in January 1983. The album was another smash, reaching US #4, and the single would garner Benatar yet another Grammy, for Best Female Rock Performance of 1982. The follow-up single, "Little Too Late" was also successful, hitting US #20.  By 1983, Benatar had established a reputation for writing about 'tough' subject matter, with a significant amount of songs featuring a "battle" metaphor. This was best exemplified by one of the biggest hits of her career, "Love Is a Battlefield", released in December 1983. By now her sound had mellowed from hard rock to more atmospheric pop and the story-based video clip for "Love Is a Battlefield" was aimed squarely at MTV, even featuring Benatar in a Michael Jackson inspired group dance number. This new pop direction was a huge commercial success, with the single peaking at #5 in the US, her first hit single in the UK at #49, and #1 in Australia for five weeks. The song would also net Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award, for Best Female Rock Performance of 1983. A live album, Live from Earth, from which "Love Is a Battlefield" was one of two studio recorded tracks, hit US #13.

In late 1984, the single "We Belong" became another Top 5 smash in the US (also hitting UK #22 and AUS #7) but the LP Tropico became her first studio album since the 1979 debut to fail to crack the US Top 10, reaching only #14 (AUS #9). A second single release, "Ooh Ooh Song", continued this trend by struggling to US #36.  See Pat Benatar LIVE!  Purchase your Pat Benatar tickets today!