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Pat Benatar
Background information
Birth name	Patricia Mae Andrzejewski
Born	January 10, 1953 (1953-01-10) (age 55)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genre(s)	Rock, hard rock, pop rock, blues
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1978 - present
Label(s)	Chrysalis Records, Vanguard
Website	http://www.benatar.com

Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on 10 January 1953) is an influential, four-time Grammy Award-winning US rock singer who has recorded several million- and multimillion-selling albums and singles. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 428 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (571 × 800 pixel, file size: 29 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other meanings, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the genre. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... For other uses, see Pop rock (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Harry Belafonte singing, photograph by C. van Vechten Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... This article is about the genre. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ...

Biography

Pat Benatar was born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski (AND-zhe-YEV-skee) in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, to a Polish/Irish family.^{[citation needed]} She initially studied voice and opera, following in the footsteps of her mother while growing up in Lindenhurst, New York, on Long Island.^[1] After graduating in 1971 from Lindenhurst High School Benatar married her high school sweetheart Dennis Benatar that same year and took his name. Landmark 19th-century rowhouses on tree-lined Kent Street in Greenpoint Historic District. ... This article is about the New York City borough, or Kings County, New York. ... A Polish American is an American citizen of Polish descent. ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... Lindenhurst is a village in Suffolk County, New York, on the southern shore of Long Island in the Town of Babylon. ... This article is about the island in New York State. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ...

Once in New York, Benatar began to pursue her singing career in earnest. She was discovered at an amateur-night contest in 1977 at the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star. After performing successfully several times at the club, Benatar finally found her on-stage persona in the form of a wild Halloween costume, Catwoman, which she had worn as a joke. In several interviews, Benatar recounted her realization for the new audience reaction: "The crowd was always polite, but this time they went out of their minds. It was the same songs, sung the same way, and I thought, 'Oh my god...it's these clothes and this makeup!'" Because of that performance, she was signed to Chrysalis Records by its founder Terry Ellis.^[2] Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts. ... Catch a Rising Star is a chain of comedy clubs, founded in New York City in 1972. ... This article is about the holiday. ... This article is about the supervillainess. ... Chrysalis logo (1987-2005) Chrysalis Records is a record label that was created in 1969. ... Terry Ellis is a British record producer and manager best known for his early work with Jethro Tull, and as co-founder of Chrysalis Records in 1969. ...

In the Heat of the Night

Her single "Heartbreaker" was released in late 1979 and was an immediate hit, climbing to #23 in the U.S. 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 three covers: John Cougar Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover," Nick Gilder's "Rated X" and the Alan Parsons Project's "Don't Let It Show," as well as the single "We Live for Love", a fusion of rock and New Wave that saw it reach the U.S. Top 30 and become a hit as far away as Australia. In the Heat of the Night is the debut album of Pat Benatar, released in 1979. ... John Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951 in Seymour, Indiana) is an American singer and songwriter, known for a long and successful recording and performing career highlighted by a series of 1980s hits, including Jack and Diane, and by his role in the Farm Aid charity event. ... Nick Gilder (born December 21, 1951) first came to prominence as frontman for the Canadian glam rock band Sweeney Todd. ... Alan Parsons Project is a British pop-rock group of the late 1970s-early 1980s, founded by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. ... New Wave was a music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. ...

Crimes of Passion and Precious Time

In August 1980, Benatar released her second LP, Crimes of Passion, featuring her signature song "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" along with the controversial song "Hell is for Children," which was inspired by reading a series of articles in the New York Times about child abuse in America. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was her first single to break the U.S. Top 10 and eventually sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. The album reached U.S. #2 in January 1981 (behind Yoko Ono and John Lennon's Double Fantasy) and a month later, Benatar won her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1980. Other singles released from Crimes of Passion were "Treat Me Right" (US #18) and "You Better Run", which gained some later notoriety when it was the second music video played on MTV, after the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star".^[2][3] The album remained on the US album charts for 93 weeks. Crimes of Passion is the second album by Pat Benatar, released in 1980. ... For the song by Die Ärzte, see Yoko Ono (song). ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... Yoko Ono chronology Double Fantasy is the comeback album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1980 initially on the newly-formed Geffen Records, and now through EMI, the distributor of all of Lennons output (including his Beatles material). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance has been awarded since 1980. ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... Buggles (the official version of the band name, used on their albums, singles, and publicity material, omits the prefix The) were a New Wave band formed in 1977 consisting of Trevor Horn, born 1949 in Durham (bass guitar, guitar, percussion, and vocals), Geoff Downes, born 1952 in Stockport, Cheshire (percussion... Video Killed the Radio Star is a New Wave song released in 1979 by the British group Buggles that celebrates the golden days of radio. ...

Benatar's first (and as yet only) U.S. 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 (U.S. #17, AUS #30) and would win Benatar her second Grammy Award, this time for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1981. Precious Time is the third album of Pat Benatar, released in 1981. ...

In February 1982, Benatar married her lead guitarist Neil Giraldo, with whom she would have two daughters, Haley and Hana.

Get Nervous and Live from Earth

A hit single, "Shadows of the Night", (US #13, AUS #19) heralded a new LP, Get Nervous, released in late 1982. The album was another smash, reaching US #4, and the single would garner Benatar yet another Grammy, again for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1982. The follow-up single, "Little Too Late", was also successful, hitting US #20. The WWII-themed music video for "Shadows of the Night" featured then-unknown actors Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton as an American fighter copilot and a German radio operator, respectively. Get Nervous is the fourth album by singer Pat Benatar, released in 1982. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Judge Reinhold is the stage name of Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr. ... William Paxton (born May 17, 1955) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor and film director. ...

By 1983, Benatar had established a reputation for singing about "tough" subject matters, 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" (penned by noted hit songwriter Holly Knight), released in December 1983. By then 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 United States, her first hit single in the UK at #49, and #1 in Australia for seven weeks. The song would also net Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1983. A live album, Live from Earth, from which "Love Is a Battlefield" was one of two studio-recorded tracks, hit U.S. #13. Love is a Battlefield was a single from Pat Benatars album Live From Earth, which was popular in 1983. ... Holly Knight is a songwriter, vocalist and musician, who has written some of the biggest hits in pop and rock music. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Live from Earth is the first and only live album from Pat Benatar and was released in 1983. ...

In late 1984, the single "We Belong" became another Top 5 smash in America (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 #14 (AUS #9). A second single release, "Ooh Ooh Song", continued this trend by struggling to U.S. #36. We Belong is a song from Pat Benatars album Tropico. ... Tropico is Pat Benatars sixth album, released in 1984. ...

Benatar would hit the U.S. Top 10 once more, with the #10 single "Invincible" in 1985, but her days of assured multiplatinum commercial success in America were over. "Sex As a Weapon" would only climb as high as #28 in January 1986 and the LP Seven the Hard Way barely dented the US Top 30, peaking at #26 and earning an RIAA Gold certification. Seven the Hard Way is Pat Benatars seventh album, released in 1985. ...

Best Shots: International Success

At the same time, her appeal in the UK began to grow, with a 1987 greatest hits LP, Best Shots, reaching #6 and gold sales status, and re-released singles "Love Is a Battlefield" and "Shadows of the Night" charting at #17 and #50, respectively. Her standing in Australia (always Benatar's most successful territory outside of North America), also remained undiminished, with Seven the Hard Way hitting the Top 10, and Best Shots and 1988's Wide Awake in Dreamland the Top 20. A single lifted from the latter, "All Fired Up" (written by Kerryn Tolhurst, ex-The Dingoes) went Top 20 in the USA and UK and was a #2 smash in Australia, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1988 in that country. Wide Awake in Dreamland is Pat Benatars eighth album, released in 1988. ... Kerryn Tolhurst is a noted Australian musician and songwriter who was based in the USA in the late 1970s and 1980s. ... The Dingoes were an Australian rock band from 1973 to 1979. ...

Benatar won four consecutive Grammy Awards for "Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female" from 1980 to 1983 for Crimes of Passion, "Fire And Ice," "Shadows Of The Night," and "Love Is A Battlefield," and was nominated four additional times in 1985 with "Invincible," 1986 with "Sex As A Weapon," 1988 for "All Fired Up," and 1989 for "Let's Stay Together." She also earned Grammy Award nominations in 1985 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female with "We Belong" and in 1986 for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Duo or Group as a member of Artists United Against Apartheid for their single "Sun City." She is also the winner of three American Music Awards: Favorite Female Pop/Rock Vocalist of 1981 and 1983, and Favorite Female Pop/Rock Video Artist of 1985). She was Rolling Stone magazine's "Favorite Female Vocalist" twice. Benatar was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Based on overall record sales, and the number of hit songs and their charted positions, Billboard magazine ranks her as the most successful female rock vocalist of all time.^{[citation needed]} This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // January 1 - The year starts off with a strong disco backlash, which causes the majority of musicians to abandon the use of real instruments in an attempt to distant themselves from anything associated with disco. ... See also: 1983 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1983 Record labels established in 1983 // Michael Jacksons Thriller, the most successful album not only of 1983, but of all time, was released in 1982 and began its epic domination of the music charts the following year, 1983. ... Crimes of Passion is the second album by Pat Benatar, released in 1980. ... See also: other events of 1985 Musical groups established in 1985 Record labels established in 1985 list of years in music 1980s in music // January 28 - Various artists, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny... See also: Musical groups established in 1986 Record labels established in 1986 // 1986 - Goo Goo Dolls are formed in Buffalo, New York. ... See also: Musical groups established in 1988 Record labels established in 1988 // Peter Ruzicka becomes director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra. ... See also: 1989 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1989 Record labels established in 1989 // January 7 - Genesis 88 and Sunrise/Back to the Future stage large-scale illegal Acid House party in London January 14 - Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in Russia. ... Artists United Against Apartheid was a protest group founded by activist performer Steven van Zandt to protest the existence of apartheid in South Africa. ... The American Music Awards show is one of four annual major American music awards shows (the others being the Billboard Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony). ... The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization located in Lake Grove, New York. ...

The 1990's

During the 1990's Pat Benatar released 3 original albums. "True Love" was released in 1991 and featured the blues band Roomful of Blues, backing up Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo and Myron Grombacher. The album reached gold status without any radio airplay and limited exposure on VH-1.

"Gravity's Rainbow" was released in 1993 and was a return to the AOR genre. "Everybody Lay Down" was released as a single to rock radio and went all the way to #3. The single was never released to Top 40 radio and a music video was never produced. "Somebody's Baby" was instead released as the 1st single to Top 40 radio and a music video produced. A third single was scheduled and a video shot for "Everytime I Fall Back", but the single was never released and the music video was lost when Chrysalis was sold to EMI records. Pat Benatar had become pregnant and this may have had an effect on her label's support of the album. This was the last album recorded for Chrysalis records.

"Innamorata" was released in 1997 on the CMC International record label. A single video was produced for "Strawberry Wine(Life is Sweet)".

The band

Although billed as a solo artist, Benatar recorded and toured with a consistent set of band members over most of her career, who contributed greatly to the writing and producing of songs and are recognizable characters on album photos and in many of her music videos.

• Neil "Spyder" Giraldo (incorrectly spelled as "Geraldo" in early liner notes/credits) is the distinctive lead guitarist of the band and has performed on all of Benatar's albums. (He is also Pat's second husband.) Neil also sings, plays keyboards and harmonica, and has many writing and producing credits on the Benatar albums. Neil performed with Myron Grombacher in Rick Derringer's touring band, appearing in a possible bootleg entitled Derringer Live At The Paradise Theater Boston, Massachusetts, July 7, 1978 (UPC 672627400428).

• Myron Grombacher is billed as drummer on nine of Benatar's albums and has numerous writing credits. Myron is easily recognizable in the music videos, particularly as the mad dentist in "Get Nervous".

• Charlie Giordano performed keyboard duties on five albums, and is identifiable by his glasses and distinctive array of berets, blazers and 80's-style ties.

• The original bass guitarist was Roger Capps, replaced on Tropico by Donnie Nossov, and then later by Frank Linx.

• Scott Sheets is credited on rhythm guitar on the first few albums.

Other achievements

Benatar still writes and tours with her husband, Neil Giraldo.

In the summer of 2005, the couple's older daughter, Haley Giraldo, starred in E!'s reality TV series Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive. E!: Entertainment Television is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite network. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed. ...

Stage and screen

In 1975, Benatar performed as the character "Zephyr" in Harry Chapin's off-Broadway sci-fi rock musical Zinger. A rendition of Zephyr's solo piece "Shooting Star" is on the Synchronistic Wanderings collection. Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. ...

In 1980, she portrayed the character "Jeanette Florescu" in Marcus Reichert's film noir Union City. Marcus Reichert (1948- ) is an American artist, author, photographer, and film writer/director. ...

Benatar had a song featured in the 1980's version of the movie Metropolis.

In 1985, "Invincible" was the title track to the cult movie The Legend of Billie Jean.

Benatar has made numerous TV appearances, mostly as herself. She appeared with her husband in the Charmed episode "Lucky Charmed", on which "Heartbreaker" was used, and in an episode of Dharma & Greg as herself (singing "We've Only Just Begun" at an impromptu wedding in an airport). In 2006, Benatar performed at the July 4th music event in Dublin, Ohio. For other uses, see Charm. ... The Charmed Ones meet Leprechauns in Lucky Charmed // Episode of the popular U.S. television series, Charmed Episode Number: 17 Season: 5 Production Code: 4301105 Airdate: April 6, 2003 Writer: Curtis Kheel Director: Roxann Dawson Cast: Alyssa Milano as Phoebe, Rose McGowan as Paige, Holly Marie Combs as Piper. ... The song Heartbreaker has appeared on many Pat Benatar greatest hits albums, but made its debut on 1979s In the Heat of the Night. ... Dharma & Greg is an American television situation comedy co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. It first aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, and starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson...

The song "Love Is a Battlefield" was featured twice on South Park, the first being the Season 2 episode "Ike's Wee Wee", but most notably in the episode "Red Man's Greed". Love is a Battlefield was a single from Pat Benatars album Live From Earth, which was popular in 1983. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Ikes Wee Wee is episode 17 of Comedy Centrals animated series South Park. ... Red Mans Greed is episode 707 of the Comedy Central series South Park, first transmitted on April 30, 2003. ...

She appeared on an episode of the short-lived sitcom That '80s Show, as herself. She was an old rival of the character Margaret. Her video for "Love is a Battlefield" appeared on an earlier episode of the show as well. That 80s Show was a television situation comedy that aired in half-hour long episodes from January through May of 2002. ... Love is a Battlefield was a single from Pat Benatars album Live From Earth, which was popular in 1983. ...

The song "Love is a Battlefield" was also used in the 2004 movie 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner. Love is a Battlefield was a single from Pat Benatars album Live From Earth, which was popular in 1983. ... 13 Going On 30 (also known as Suddenly 30 in Australia and 13 Love 30 In Japan) is a 2004 comedy movie starring Jennifer Garner. ...

On February 14 and 15, 2008, she and husband Neil "Spyder" Giraldo appeared as themselves on The Young and the Restless when they performed at the Indigo club. For other uses, see Young and Restless. ...

Advertising

In 2006, the song "We Belong" was part of a $20 million dollar ad campaign for Sheraton hotels,^[4] although the version used in the commercial was not Benatar's. Her version of the song is featured in the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, starring Will Ferrell and directed by Adam McKay. Starwood headquarters in White Plains “Starwood” redirects here. ... John William Ferrell (born July 16, 1967)[1] is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, actor and writer who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career, starring in the comedies A Night at the... Adam McKay is an Emmy-nominated American writer and film director. ...

Though she had earlier expressed dismay for rock stars endorsing products (including onetime cohort Debbie Harry, who had developed her modeling career simultaneously to her rock career), Benatar herself has now become a commercial spokeswoman for the Energizer company, and is currently being featured in an ad for Candies Vintage shoes for Kohl's department store. // Advert redirects here. ... Energizer Holdings (formerly Eveready Battery), headquartered in St. ... Kohls Corporation (NYSE: KSS) is an American department store chain headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. ...

Her 2007 song "Passion" can be downloaded free from the Jell-o Official site.

Discography

Main article: Pat Benatar discography

References

Cover of the April 1983 issue of Trouser Press magazine (#84) Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in 1974 by editor/publisher Ira Robbins. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Hell is For Children song information
• Official Site
• Pat Benatar discography at MusicBrainz
• Pat Benatar at the Internet Movie Database
• Pat Benatar Live from Austin on October 6, 1981