Pat Benatar

**Patricia Mae Giraldo** (née **Andrzejewski**; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as **Pat Benatar**, is an American singer-songwriter and four-time Grammy Award winner. She has two RIAA-certified multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 *Billboard* Top 40 singles. She was nominated in 2020 for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Benatar took voice lessons as a child and took part in musical theatre and other performances in high school. In her 20s, she performed as a singing waitress, in a lounge band, in musicals, singing commercial jingles, and at nightclubs. Her debut album, *In the Heat of the Night* (1979), reached #12 in the US, #3 in Canada, where it went 4x platinum, and the Top 25 in Australia and France. Two singles, the hard rocking “Heartbreaker”, and “We Live For Love”, written by her lead guitarist and future husband, Neil Giraldo, were Top 30 hits in several countries, with the first going Top 10 in Canada.

Benatar's second album, *Crimes of Passion* (1980), featuring her best-known song, "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" (a Top 10 hit in the US and Canada), went to #2 in France, the US and Canada, and is her largest seller in latter two countries (4x and 5x platinum), plus went Top 15 in Australia. A second single, "Treat Me Right", was a Top 20 hit. Benatar’s third album, *Precious Time* (1981) peaked at No. 1 in the US, #2 in Canada, and in the Top 10 in Australia and France, while marking her first success in the UK (#30). The song "Fire and Ice" went to #4 in Canada and #2 on the US Rock Tracks Chart. Her next release,*Get Nervous* (1982), featuring the Top 15 North American hit, "Shadows of the Night", reached #4 in the US, but peaked in the teens elsewhere, but still went platinum in Canada, the fourth of eight straight for Benatar.

Late 1983’s smooth-sounding "Love is a Battlefield" was her biggest hit in most countries, such as #5 (Hot 100) and #1 (Rock Tracks) in the US, #1 in the Netherlands (4 weeks) and Australia (for 7 weeks), #2 in Canada, #3 in Germany, and was her first Top 40 hit in the UK (#17). It was off the live album, *Live from Earth*, which was her first and biggest hit album in Germany (#7) and the Netherlands (#4), plus her biggest hit in Australia (#2), while hitting #12 in the US. In 1984, Benetar released, *Tropico*, which was a Top 10 album in Australia and Top 20 in other countries, while its lead single, "We Belong", was her second straight #5 on the US Hot 100 and reached the Top 10 in several other countries.

Benatar’s 1985 album, *Seven the Hard Way*, provided "Invincible", a Top 10 hit in North America (Top 30 Australia), and "Sex as a Weapon", a Top 30 hit in North America and Australia, where the album also reached the Top 30. The album and singles charted lower in the UK/Europe, becoming her first not to make the Top 20 in France. Her follow-up, *Wide Awake in Dreamland* (1988) contained "All Fired Up", a #2 hit on the US Rock Tracks Chart, #2 in Australia, Top 10 in Canada and Top 20 in the UK. The album marked a resurgence for Benatar as it just missed the Top 10 in Canada, UK and Australia, and peaked at #26 in US. After a break, Benatar released a jump blues record in 1991, *True Love*, followed by a return to rock with *Gravity's Rainbow*, which included "Everybody Lay Down", a #3 song on the US Rock Tracks Chart; the album reached the Top 30 in several countries. Her last albums were *Innamorata* (1997) and *Go* (2003).