Born in the city of Brooklyn in January of 1953, Pat Benatar began her music and theater career at a very early age. No one expected however, that she would go on to be one of the leading female rockers of all time. Sheltered from the ilk of rock n' roll until late in her high school career, Benatar studied the classics relentlessly under her parents' direction. Ironically, no one knew that she, herself, would eventually become a classic.

Pat Benatar

Most chick singers say, 'If you hurt me I'll die.' I say, 'If you hurt me, I'll kick your ass.'

Born in the city of Brooklyn in January of 1953, Pat Benatar began her music and theater career at a very early age. No one expected however, that she would go on to be one of the leading female rockers of all time. Sheltered from the ilk of rock n' roll until late in her high school career, Benatar studied the classics relentlessly under her parents' direction. Ironically, no one knew that she, herself, would eventually become a classic.

Big City Girl

Growing up in the city of Brooklyn, New York, Benatar began singing during her childhood. By the time she reached high school, she was one of the leading vocalist in her high school choir. This stemmed from the fact that as a child, Benatar would take on any role she could htat involved singing, and eventually her determination paid off. Along with singing, she also dabbled in the world of theater and ended up playing a role in her high school production of Camelot during her final year.

Although accepted into the Juilliard School, Benatar, to the shock and disbelief of her family and friends, chose to go to State University of New York, to study health sciences only to eventually drop out and marry Dennis Benatar whom she had known since high school. Due to Dennis' position in the U.S. Army, the two traveled extensively during their first few years together eventually settling in Richmond, Virginia, where Pat took a job as a bank teller.

However, she was more interested in pursuing her life long passion of music and in 1973 quit her job at the bank to begin singing in various night clubs and music halls around Richmond. Benatar scored her first regular singing gig after performing a Judy Garland tune in a nightclub and this afforded her the opportunity for regular work. She began to sing more and more and after the discharge of Dennis from the Army, the two moved back to New York.

Stars Begin To Align

While gaining a bit of local fame and attention from the inner city of New York, her headlining debut at The Tramp nightclub go the attention of a few record executives and Benatar was finally signed to Chrysalis Records in 1978. The release of her first few albums and singles was soon to follow and in August of 1979 with her album In the Heat of the Night hit the shelves. The single I Need A Lover was released and the wheels began turning.

With success looming around the corner, Pat Benatar began to take the rock n' roll nation by storm and was finally reward for her all of her hard work where she received a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for four straight years. During this time, Benatar became the envy of the rock n' roll world and created fan base of dreamy teenage girls. Her style of dress also inspired somewhat of a fashion trend where many females dressed in her signature bright spandex costumes.

At the Top

Benatar would go on to be nominated for other Grammy Awards throughout the 1980's and was also named the Favorite Female Pop Rock Video Artist twice by Rolling Stone Magazine. She released a total of thirteen albums over her musical career under names such as Crimes of Passion, Live From Earth, Precious, and many more. All albums featured singles that would make it to the rock n' roll charts.

A compilation album was released in 1989 with many of Benatar's hits and was titled Best Shots. During the release of her thirteen albums, Benatar was constantly touring under her self titled name although obviously she had a and ensemble that accompanied her. She would eventually divorce Dennis Benatar and remarry a musician by the name of Neil Giraldo who played on most of her albums as the lead guitarist.

Philanthropy

Although Pat Benatar had a very busy schedule, she would still find the time to let her political voice sing as well. She performed on numerous occasions for charitable organizations such as the Pediatric Aids Foundation, and lent her voice to the anti Apartheid album called Sun City. Along with her charitable work, Benatar remained one of the largest female rock n' roll influences for up and coming female vocalists of the 1980's and 90's and is still referenced today by new musicians as one of their leading influences.

Later on in her life, Benatar also began using her fame to endorse products and is currently a spokesperson for Energizer Batteries and had her song We Belong featured on Sheraton Hotels commercials. Along with her endorsements, Benatar allowed her song Passion to be a free music download sponsored by the JELL-O Corporation.

Did You Know

• Benatar played with Beverly D'Angelo in the Performing Arts Foundation.
• Her original last name was Andrzejewski.

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