Happy Birthday Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar's polished mainstream pop/rock made her one of the more popular female vocalists of the early '80s. Although she came on like an arena rocker with her power chords, tough sexuality, and powerful vocals, her music was straight pop/rock underneath all the bluster. Born Patricia Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the singer was raised in the nearby town of Lindenhurst on Long Island, New York. Benatar began singing regularly in the New York City area in the '70s, where she was discovered at the Catch a Rising Star club and signed by Chrysalis Records. A stellar band led by guitarist Neil Geraldo (who the singer would later marry), provided the perfect accompaniment that was able to effortlessly alternate between rockers and ballads. Benatar quickly established herself as one of rock's top vocalists, scoring a hit right off the bat with her debut album, 1979's In the Heat of the Night, which spawned such radio favorites as "Heartbreaker" and "I Need a Lover" (the latter of which was written by a then unknown John Mellencamp).
Comments