Pat Benatar

Brooklyn-born Pat Benatar came into rock & roll from a theatrical background; she studied musical theater in high school and had a pivotal experience seeing Liza Minnelli perform in 1971. After leaving New York to marry military man Dennis Benatar, she returned to the city in 1975 and began performing at nightclubs doing Minnelli and Judy Garland songs; she also worked in musical theater and toured in The Zinger, a play written by songwriter Harry Chapin. Destiny struck when she played New York's Catch a Rising Star in a Spandex costume she was wearing for Halloween; this became an essential part of her rock image. Chrysalis Records founder Terry Ellis saw one of her club shows and signed her, bringing in English producer Mike Chapman who was then flying high with Blondie. The 1979 single "Heartbreaker" was an immediate hit, its more traditional rock sound appealing to radio programmers seeking an alternative to new wave. For a time sexuality was key to Benatar's image, most strikingly in the 1980 hit "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (from the second album Crimes of Passion) which became her signature tune. The same album's Rascals cover, "You Better Run," made history as the second video to be played on MTV. Also on that album was "Hell is For Children," a more daring song that addressed child abuse; though never a single it also got substantial airplay and showed she could handle a darker topic. Her hit streak lasted through the '80s, with further Top Tens in "Love is a Battlefield," "We Belong," and "Invincible." By now guitarist and cowriter Neil Giraldo was her inseparable musical partner; they also married in 1982 and had two children. Her one major departure was a jump blues album, 1991's True Love, recorded with the New England band Roomful of Blues; however she was back in more familiar rock mode with her next album, which had the Pynchon-borrowed title Gravity's Rainbow (1995). This was her last album for Chrysalis and largely ended her recording years; she has made only two studio albums since. However she remains a popular live performer and has done regular tours, usually with other hitmakers of the era (and with Giraldo now given official co-billing status). Her autobiography Between a Heart and a Rock Place was published in 2010 and discussed her Roman Catholic upbringing, her career struggles and feminist beliefs; the book made the New York Times bestsellers list. In 2019 she was nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.