Pat Benatar is a certified rock n' roll superstar, a four-time Grammy winner with six
platinum and four gold albums to her credit as well as such hit singles as "I Need A Lover," "Heartbreaker," "Fire and
Ice," "Treat me Right," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Hell Is For Children," "Shadows of The Night," and "Love Is A
Battlefield." Long acknowledged as one of the leading female rock vocalists in the industry, Benatar in 1996 embarked
on her first live concert dates in over two years before going into the studio to record her first album since '93's
Gravity's Rainbow.
After capturing industry ears with her showcases at New York's Catch A Rising Star, Benatar signed to Chrysalis
Records and released the million-selling In The Heat Of The Night in 1979, followed by the multi-platinum Crimes of
Passion a year later. From 1980 -'83, she captured an unprecedented four straight Grammy's in the category "Best
Rock Vocal Performance-Female" for the Top Five album Crimes of Passion ('80) and the hit singles "Fire and Ice"
('81), "Shadows of the Night" ('82), and "Love Is A Battlefield" ('83). With the latter, she emerged as one of the leading
stars of the emerging music video scene with a Bob Giraldi - directed clip which proved to be an MTV mainstay.
She followed with the most successful album of her career in Precious Time ('81), which topped the U. S. charts.
Platinum records Get Nervous ('82), Live From Earth ('83), and Tropico ('84) which featured "Invincible," the theme
from the hit movie Legend of Billy Jean, starring Helen Slater, succeeded by gold records Seven The Hard Way('84),
Wide Awake In Dreamland ('88), Best Shots ('89) and True Love ('91), her critically-acclaimed blues album which had
her covering B.B. King's "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss." The record was a labor of love for Benatar and
husband/producer/long-time collaborator Neil Giraldo and proved the rock vocalist was equally adept at belting out the
blues.
In addition, Pat has been an active participant in numerous charity and fund-raising events, including Artists United
Against Apartheid in 1985, and recorded a version of "Please Come Home For Christmas" in 1990 especially for the
Desert Storm coalition troops who served in the Mideast during the Gulf War.
Benatar and Giraldo have been a working couple since Neil penned the song, "We Live For Love" from her debut
album In The Heat Of The Night, and has continued to wear many different hats, including producer, guitarist, and
songwriter, as well as soulmate.
"Musically, we're still in touch with each other. We like to play together," says Pat. "It's who's cooking dinner tonight
that's the problem."
In 1985, Pat and Giraldo became the proud parents of a baby girl, Haley, but Benatar continued to record and tour right
up until '93, when she was forced to come off the road after the release of Gravity's Rainbow to give birth to her
second daughter, Hana. Benatar began to concentrate on her writing, which led to more than two dozen new songs.
Around the same time, she decided to leave the only label she'd ever recorded for, Chrysalis.
Finding herself free of any ties fueled her creative instincts, "It's like starting over," she admits. "It's pretty liberating,
though. Like getting another chance."
Pat's tour in the summer of '95 with REO Speedwagon and Fleetwood Mac ("Can't Stop Rockin' Tour") proved to the
masses once again that she still remains one of rock's premiere female vocalists.
During the stint, Pat received such accolades as: "She's still got one of the hardest hitting voices in mainstream rock
n' roll" (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) and "Benatar proved it right off. It was her voice and stage presence that made her
the queen of rock n' roll before Madonna and Melissa Etheridge came along" (Reno Gazette-Journal). Such high praise
made Pat even more motivated to hit the road again last summer with the Steve Miller Band.
The rave reviews continued: The Austin American Statesman stated, "Benatar's show served notice she's perfectly
poised for a return to big-time musical fame and glory," while the Albany Times Union raved that, "The new songs were
well-received, giving some early indications that the upcoming album, Innamorata, would be eagerly snapped up by
Benatar fans.
Along with Neil on guitar, Pat's touring band features bassist Mick Mahan, drummer Ray Brinker, and keyboardist
Allison Cornell.
Pat and Neil have been fully devoted to recording new songs for Innamorata since the "Can't Stop Rockin' Tour" in
1995. With a new recording relationship with CMC International Records (a division of BMG Entertainment), and an
album and tour coming this summer, the word is out that Pat is back in the midst of it all once again; and that's exactly
where she likes to be.
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