Career beginnings Benatar quit her job as a bank teller to pursue a singing career after being inspired by a
Liza Minnelli concert she saw in
Richmond,
Virginia. Benatar had a gig at a Holiday Inn and got a job as a singing waitress at a nightclub named the Roaring Twenties. Between appearances at Catch a Rising Star, she recorded commercial jingles for
Pepsi-Cola and a number of regional brands. Benatar headlined New York City's Tramps nightclub over four days in spring 1978, where her performance was heard by representatives from several record companies. Benatar was signed to
Chrysalis Records by co-founder
Terry Ellis the following week. She and Dennis divorced shortly after, although Benatar kept his surname.
1979–1981: In the Heat of the Night and Crimes of Passion Benatar's debut album,
In the Heat of the Night, was released in August 1979, but only debuted on the US
Billboard 200 album chart in October, eventually peaking at number 12 in the US in March 1980.
Mike Chapman produced three tracks on the album, while engineer Peter Coleman oversaw the rest. In addition, Chapman and his songwriting partner,
Nicky Chinn, wrote three songs that appear on the LP: "In the Heat of the Night" and "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" which were previously recorded by Smokie, and a rearranged version of a song they wrote for
Sweet, "No You Don't". The album also featured two songs written by Roger Capps and her; "
I Need a Lover", written by
John Mellencamp; and "Don't Let It Show", written by
Alan Parsons and
Eric Woolfson. The album was certified
Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America in December 1980. Canada became the album's most successful market as it certified 4× Platinum there with chart peak of number 3 on the RPM albums chart. While it was a moderate success in Australia, reaching number 25, and very successful in New Zealand, reaching number 8, it barely made the Top 100 in the UK. Unusual for an English-language album, its most successful European market was France where it went to number 20. "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" was the first single to be released on September 14, 1979. However, it was unsuccessful. Her second single "
Heartbreaker" was released on October 26, 1979, and became a
sleeper hit, eventually climbing to number 23 in the US, number 16 in Canada and number 14 in New Zealand. It was later listed at No. 72 on VH1's list of the Greatest Hard Rock songs of all time. A third single "We Live for Love", which was written by her future husband Neil Giraldo, was released in February 1980, and became her first Top 10 hit anywhere by reaching number 8 in Canada, while reaching number 27 in the US, number 26 in New Zealand, and number 28 in Australia, her first hit there. In August 1980, she 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." The lyrics of the song discuss things that child abusers tell their victims, such as, "Tell Grandma you fell off the swing." Benatar was inspired by reading a series of articles in
The New York Times about child abuse in America. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (US number 9) was her first single to break the US Top 10 and sold more than one million copies (Gold status) in the United States. It was also a Top 10 hit in Canada and a moderate hit in Australia, where it reached number 33. The album peaked for five consecutive weeks at number 2 in the US in January 1981 (behind
John Lennon's and
Yoko Ono's
Double Fantasy) and a month later, she won her first
Grammy Award for "
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1980 for the album. Other singles released from
Crimes of Passion were "
Treat Me Right" (US number 18 and Canada number 12) and the Rascals' cover, "
You Better Run" (US number 42 but did not chart in Canada), which was the second music video ever played on
MTV, after
the Buggles' "
Video Killed the Radio Star". The album also featured a changed-tempo cover of
Kate Bush's "
Wuthering Heights". Produced by
Keith Olsen,
Crimes of Passion remained on the US album charts for 93 weeks and in the top 10 for more than six months, becoming her first Platinum certification by the RIAA, and was later certified as being 4× Platinum, Benatar's biggest selling album in the US. In October 1980, she (along with future husband Neil Giraldo) appeared on the cover of
Rolling Stone magazine. The album was certified 5× Platinum in Canada, and was Benatar's best selling album in that country, where it peaked at number 2 on the album charts. It was also successful in New Zealand (number 6), France (number 2) and Australia (number 16) but did not chart in the UK.
1982–1983: Precious Time, Get Nervous, and Live from Earth In July 1981, Benatar released her third album,
Precious Time, which became her first album to hit number one on the Billboard 200. In Canada, it was certified double Platinum and peaked at number 2 on the album chart. reached number 36 in the US, but fared poorly in other countries. Benatar and Giraldo said that this album was the first where they moved away from her famed "hard rock" sound and started experimenting with new, sometimes "gentler", styles and sounds. Despite not making the US Top 10, the album immediately earned her a sixth consecutive RIAA and CRIA Platinum-certified album. After the chart success of "We Belong" in the UK, "Love is a Battlefield" was re-released in the UK early 1985 and became Benatar's highest chart hit there, reaching number 17. "We Belong" was also nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1986, her first nomination in that category. In 1985, Benatar released her sixth album,
Seven the Hard Way. She hit the US Top 10 (and number 4 on the US Rock Tracks chart) with the Grammy-nominated rock single "
Invincible" (the theme from the movie
The Legend of Billie Jean), which was written by
Holly Knight (Love Is a Battlefield) and
Simon Climie, three full months before the album was released. The track also reached number 6 in Canada. Benatar's other Grammy-nominated single from the album, the guitar-driven "Sex As a Weapon", climbed as high as number 28 on the US Hot 100 in January 1986, number 5 on the US Rock Tracks chart, and reached the Top 30 in Canada. Both the
Seven and the Hard Way singles were less successful outside North America than the previous two "gentler" singles, generally reaching the Top 30 in Australia, West Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand (although
Invincible went Top 15 there), but missing the Top 50 in the UK. A third single, the mellow "Le Bel Age", made it to number 54 on the US Hot 100.
Seven the Hard Way peaked at number 26 in the US, earning an RIAA Gold certification (import CD). In Canada, it was Benatar's seventh consecutive Platinum certified album, even though it only peaked at number 35 on the albums sales chart. It also reached number 19 in Australia and was a big success in New Zealand reaching number 2, but did not reach the Top 50 in West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the UK, and for the first time, an album of hers failed to chart in France. In her autobiography,
Between a Heart and a Rock Place, she said, "Out of all the albums,
Seven the Hard Way cost the most to make and sold the least." The album sold approximately 600,000 US copies.
1987–1988: Best Shots and Wide Awake in Dreamland In July 1988, Benatar released her seventh album,
Wide Awake in Dreamland, which generally improved on the success of
Seven the Hard Way, such as peaking at number 11 in the UK and Canada, earning her eighth consecutive Platinum certified album in Canada, and number 13 in Australia. It peaked at number 26 in the US, but stalled at number 15 in New Zealand, usually one of her most successful markets. The Grammy-nominated lead single, "All Fired Up" (written by
Kerryn Tolhurst, ex-
The Dingoes) reached number 19 in both the U.S. and the UK (plus number 2 on the US Rock Tracks chart), number 8 in Canada, number 20 in New Zealand, and was a number 2 smash in Australia, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1988 in that country. Other singles released from the LP are "
Don't Walk Away" (UK number 42), the Grammy nominated "Let's Stay Together", and "One Love" (UK number 59).
1989–2012: True Love, ''Gravity's Rainbow, Innamorata and Go'' True Love was a
jump blues record, released in late April 1991, and featured the blues band
Roomful of Blues, backing up Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, and Myron Grombacher. The album sold over 339,000 copies without significant radio airplay and limited exposure on VH-1. "Payin' the Cost to Be the Boss", "
So Long", and the title cut were released as singles, with the first reaching number 17 on the US Rock Tracks chart, but not charting anywhere else. The album reached number 40 in the UK and number 37 in the US. It was certified Gold in Canada for sales of 50,000 units, Benatar's first to not achieve Platinum status and her last certified album for that country where it peaked at 22 on the albums sales chart. It reached the Top 40 in several other countries. ''
Gravity's Rainbow'' was released in 1993 and was a return to the AOR genre. "
Everybody Lay Down" was picked up by Album Rock radio and went all the way to number 3 on the Rock Tracks chart. The single was never released to Top 40/Contemporary Hit Radio and a music video was never produced. The only other country where it charted was Canada where it reached number 50. "Somebody's Baby" was instead released as the single to Top 40 radio and a music video produced, but it did not chart in the US and was only a minor success in some other countries, including peaking at number 41 in Canada. A third track, "Everytime I Fall Back", was scheduled for release and a video was filmed, but the single was never released and the music video was lost when
Chrysalis was sold to
EMI Records. She had become pregnant again and it may have had an effect on her label's support of the album. The tour for this album was only seven dates, cut short due to the pregnancy. It was Benatar's last album recorded for Chrysalis. With very little promotion from Chrysalis, ''
Gravity's Rainbow failed to have the same commercial success as her previous work. According to SoundScan, the album sold approximately 160,000 copies in the United States and it reached number 85 on the album chart. It is currently available in a two-in-one release with True Love'' (import). The album only charted in one other market – that being Canada – where it reached number 44.
Innamorata (US number 171) was released in 1997 on the CMC International record label. A single video was produced for "Strawberry Wine (Life is Sweet)". According to
SoundScan, the album sold close to 65,000 copies. Benatar has released only one album of new material since 1997's
Innamorata, which is 2003's
Go (US number 187). The album included the 9/11 charity single "Christmas in America" as a bonus track. A video was produced for the single "Have It All", but was never released until it was leaked on YouTube in 2012; the only video from this album is for the bonus track. They reunited with
Holly Knight with Neil and Holly cowriting the tune "Girl". The hard rock title track "Go!" became a popular performance song for Benatar's future concerts. According to SoundScan, the album has now sold nearly 34,000 copies.
2013–present In November 2015, Benatar recorded and released a holiday song called "One December Night". In January 2017, Benatar recorded the song "Shine" to support the Women's March on January 21, 2017, which was her first original non-holiday recording in over 10 years. That September, Benatar again teamed with songwriter and producer Linda Perry for the song "Dancing Through the Wreckage", which was the lead single from the soundtrack for the documentary
Served Like a Girl. In October 2017, the song entered the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, eventually peaking at number 22 in November. The song also received a nomination for Best Song from a Documentary from the Critics' Choice Awards. In 2020, Benatar was co-nominated with her husband for induction in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside fifteen other artists but despite coming in second in the fan vote was not among the inductees. She and Giraldo were co-nominated for a second time in 2022. On May 4, 2022, the Hall of Fame announced Benatar and Giraldo would be included in the 2022 class of inductees. On July 22, 2022, Benatar announced that she would stop performing "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" on her current tour "in deference to the victims of the families of these [recent] mass shootings". == Personal life ==