Pat Benatar Dished Out More Than a Few Best Shots

Today is the 60th birthday of a woman whose influence on the rock quadrant of the music industry is undeniable. She first stepped onto the scene in 1979 with In The Heat of The Night which yielded the monster rock track "Heartbreaker". As she sliced her way through the '80s the hits seemed to extend forever. With "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" she showed off the grit that became her trademark. In the mid 80s "We Belong" demonstrated she could depart from the straight ahead provocative sound her record label pushed her no end to duplicate in favor of artistic statements that revealed her softer, maternal side. The goddess I'm referring to is Pat Benatar. If you don't have it as part of your library I highly recommend you get your mitts on a copy of her memoir Between a Heart and a Rock Place. In it you'll follow her process through the shark-infested waters of the music industry, for the most part a playground for the boys only. She discusses how Chrysalis Records drove she and her incredible backing band to the limits of what they could create. From 1979 to 1985 Pat was contractually obligated to put out album after album until finally the creative well dried up. The 1985 release Seven The Hard Way was so called out of reference to Pat's none too subtle commentary that seven albums in seven years was an impossible order to live up to in much the same way one cannot roll doubles at a crap table and expect to come up with an odd number. What I admire most about Pat is that, despite her record label idiotically trying to push her sexy image over the fierce talent blasting out from between her lips, she blazed the trail for success and did it on her terms. Chrysalis didn't want her to make Tropico, the album that "We Belong" came from because it didn't want her abandoning the proven hitmaking formula which landed strictly in the all out rock territory. She did so anyway and proved her instincts were spot on. "We Belong" zoomed up to #5 in Billboard Magazine, and rightfully so since the song brings a welcome lightness of mood to her overall body of work. Her other #5 hit was "Love Is a Battlefield". To those of you who were diehard MTV viewers from the very start the infamous (or not) shoulder shake in the video was quite possibly a jaw dropping part of your music education. Again, Chrysalis wasn't pleased with the musical direction the song hinted at but couldn't argue with the results. I confess I wasn't pleased with her decision to make a blues record True Love in 1991. Still, she more than earned the right to walk away from her label's meddling and craft the sort of records she wanted to make. I prefer her tiny tiger roar to a remake of B.B. King's "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss" but I likely feel this way for the same reason Adam Sandler fans shudder when he tries to lean towards weightier fare instead of overgrown teen fare like Billy Madison. His fans want to see him play the socially retarded dumbass and when the likes of Punch Drunk Love hits the multiplexes they get turned off. Guilty as charged. Pat is and, to my mind always will be a badass rock chick. She's a tiny creature but has the voice and intense range of The Fifty Foot Woman. She's that much of a world beater. Only she could've given The Legend of Billie Jean a reason to be something other than a pop culture punchline. "Invincible" was a white hot laser to the skull. Neil Giraldo, Pat's longtime husband, producer, and guitar wizard really laid down sinister licks. I'm just sorry it came out of the tortured writing sessions that led to Seven The Hard Way. Even the video reflects how frayed Pat likely was. Check out her makeup job and the look in her eyes. That's what a trooper artist stretched to the gills looks like. Still I absolutely swooned over this jolt of her take no prisoners attitude. She always had that "I'm not your baby, poser. Don't make me have to rough you up just to prove it" demeanor. Offstage she's girl next door approachable. Her place is in the pantheon of great female artists is secure. Pick any one of a number of contemporary artists from Pink to Beyonce to Melissa Etheridge and you'll find Pat's influence either in the way they command attention on stage or cling doggedly to independent spirit. Happy birthday Pat. The musical memories you've gifted me with are numerous and far reaching. You're one of those musicians who gets my blood flowing the right way every time one of your shining jewels pops up on radio. Keep on daring others to challenge your mettle and I'll reciprocate by daring others to stop me from being your loudest cheerleader.