  Pat Benatar was born Patricia
Andrzejewski in New York in January 10, 1953.
In the 1980s, Pat reigned supreme as the
biggest solo female rocker in the U.S. and
possibly the world. It could be said that Pat
came from meager beginnings in Long Island,
New York. Her dad was a sheet metal worker
and her mom was a cosmetologist. Pat's
earliest jobs including working at a
Friendly's restaurant and a bank. She began
singing and practicing her vocals while
young: "...we were too poor to have air
conditioning and so we had to keep out
windows open during the hot weather... I used
to do my vocal lessons everyday and the kid
across the street would shout 'shut up' and
throw rocks at me... so I had to run across
the street all the time and beat him
up." After singing in New York during
the late 70s, Pat was discovered at the
"Catch A Rising Star" club and soon
had a major record label deal in 1978 with
Chrysalis Records.
 Pat's debut LP, In
The Heat Of The Night was released
and gave Pat her first Top 40 hit, "Heartbreaker." Pat also had
success with the tracks "We Live For Love" and "I Need
A Lover." The LP went Platinum.
 # 14
Singles Artist of the Year
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Heartbreaker."
In
The Heat Of The Night was certified gold.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "We Live For Love."
 Crimes
Of Passion was released.
Other hits from the LP included
"Treat Me Right," "You
Better Run" and "Hell Is For
Children."
The LP went on to sell over 4
million copies in the U.S.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "You
Better Run."
 Crimes
Of Passion was certified platinum.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Hit Me With Your Best
Shot."
In
The Heat Of The Night was certified
platinum.
 # 25
Singles Artist of the Year
 The single "Hit Me With Your Best
Shot"
was certified gold.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Treat Me Right."
Pat won a Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female (Crimes
Of Passion).
Pat hit the Top
10
with "Treat Me Right."
 Pat released Precious
Time which contained the hits "Fire And Ice" and "Promises
In The Dark" The LP sold over 2
million copies in the U.S.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Fire And Ice."
Pat hit the Top 10 with "Fire And Ice."
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Promises
In The Dark."
Precious
Time was certified platinum.
Pat won 2 Billboard Music Awards
for Top Female Pop Artist (combined LP &
singles) and Top Pop Album Artist - Female.
 # 98
Singles Artist of the Year
Pat won an American Music
Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.
 Pat won a 2nd Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Fire & Ice").
Pat released Get
Nervous.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Shadows Of The Night."
Pat married her
producer/guitarist, Neil Giraldo.
 Pat hit the Top 10 with "Shadows Of The Night."
 # 21
Singles Artist of the Year
Pat won a 3rd Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Shadows Of The Night").
 Pat hit the Top 40 with "Little Too Late."
Get
Nervous was certified platinum.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Looking
For A Stranger."
 Pat released a live LP, Live
From Earth which also contained her
biggest hit "Love Is A Battlefield." The LP
showcased Pat's energy in concert and her
powerful vocals.
Pat hit the Top 40 with "Love Is A Battlefield."
Pat hit the Top 10 with "Love Is A Battlefield."
Live
From Earth was certified platinum.
 # 64
Singles Artist of the Year
Pat won an American Music
Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.
Pat won a 4th Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Love Is A Battlefield").
The video for "Love Is A Battlefield" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Female Video.
 When Tropico was released, Pat's
LPs weren't selling as fast, but she
continued to receive radio airplay and chart
on the pop charts. Tracks such as "We
Belong" and a song from the movie The
Legend of Billie Jean,
"Invincible" were Top 10 hits.
Pat's future LPs saw little platinum status,
but continued Pat's ability to create strong
rock from a female perspective.
Crimes
Of Passion was certified 4x platinum and Precious
Time was certified 2x
platinum.
 # 32
Singles Artist of the Year
Tropico was certified
platinum.
 Seven
The Hard Way was released with the Top 40
single "Sex As A Weapon."
Pat and Neil also had their
first child together - a daughter.
 # 126
Singles Artist of the Year
Pat won an American Music
Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female
Video Artist.
Pat was nominated for a Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("We Belong").
Seven
The Hard Way was certified gold.
Pat's video for "Sex As A
Weapon" was nominated for 7 MTV Video Music
Awards including Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Most Experimental Video, and Best Choreography.
Pat was nominated for a Grammy
Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Sex As A Weapon").
 # 102
Singles Artist of the Year
 Wide
Awake In Dreamland was released with the
hit "All Fired Up."
Pat underwent emergency
abdominal surgery.
Wide
Awake In Dreamland was certified gold.
The single "Love Is A Battlefield" was certified
gold.
Melissa was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("All Fired Up").
 Best
Shots was released.
Pat starred in an ABC
Afterschool Special, Torn Between Two
Fathers.
Pat was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Let's Stay Together").
Best
Shots was certified gold.
 Pat changed her style to
incorporate blues with the release of True
Love. The LP was a commercial and
critical disappointment.
Pat released Gravity's
Rainbow with the scathing rock track,
"Everybody Lay Down."
 A 2-CD hits collection was
released called All
Fired Up: The Very Best Of Pat Benatar.
In addition to the movie song
"Invincible," Pat recorded other
songs for movies and compilations:
"Rescue Me" (Speed
soundtrack), "Sometimes The Good Guys
Finish First" (Secret Of My Success
soundtrack), "Here's My Heart" (Metropolis
soundtrack), "Shooting Star" (Harry
Chapin tribute LP), "The Effect You Have
On Me" (Edith Piaf tribute LP), and
"Tell Me Why" (Disney's For Our
Children).
Pat released Heartbreaker:
16 Classic Performances.
 Pat released her latest LP, Innamorata and made some
appearances with the Lilith Fair tour.
8-15-80 was released - a live
recording of Pat's hits recorded in
California and New York in 1979 and 1980.
Ranked # 39 on the VH1: 100
Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.
 A 3-CD box set was released: Synchronistic
Wanderings: Recorded Anthology 1979-1999. The set includes all
of Pat's hits, soundtrack and compilation
tracks, as well as some live tracks and
demos.
VH1: 100
Greatest Artists of Hard Rock includes Pat at # 74.
 VH1: 100
Greatest Videos includes:
# 73
- "Love Is A Battlefield."
Best
Shots was certified platinum.
Pat ranked #
66 on VH1: 100
Sexiest Artists.
 Pat performed on VH1's Divas
Duets 2003.
VH1: 100 Best
Songs of the Past 25 Years includes "Hit Me With Your Best
Shot"
at # 89.
Pat released Go.
 # 74 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
Greatest
Hits was released.
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 80's included "Love Is A Battlefield" at # 30.
Greatest
Hits was certified gold.
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