Pat benetar biography
There she pat benetar biography the club scene, performing classic songs that she believed her audiences wanted to hear. Her talent was hard to miss, and during a performance at the Manhattan club Catch a Rising Star, she caught the attention of a producer from Chrysalis Records, which soon signed her to a record deal. But Benatar was tepid about continuing on with what she'd been doing.
The sound I heard in my head was raucous, with hard-driving guitars speeding everything forward. I was a classically trained singer with a great deal of musical knowledge, but I had no idea how to make that visceral, intense sound happen. I had to evolve, but I didn't know how to make that evolution happen. Everything changed when she was introduced to Neil Giraldo, a hard-charging rock guitarist whose licks gave Benatar the exact sound she'd been looking for.
The record was a smash success and included two monster hit singles, "Heartbreaker" and "I Need a Lover. A year later, Benatar cemented her status as rock's premier female vocalist with her second album, Crimes of Passion. As the decade continued, Benatar's career only grew. It was a horrible, depressing experience. We couldn't get along anymore.
Personal problems overshadowed everything. Perhaps at the center of the difficulties surrounding Precious Time was Benatar's relationship with guitarist-writer-producer Neil Geraldo, which was falling apart under the strain. The two barely communicated during the taping sessions, and the situation deteriorated while Benatar and Geraldo toured with the rest of the band.
We were oversaturated with everything--music and pat benetar biography other We didn't know if the band was going to stay together. The smoke began to clear during her hiatus. She and Geraldo decided that they were better together than apart; they married in Hawaii in February of When a rested Benatar went back into the studio to record Get Nervous, she was much better equipped to weather record company problems and band stresses.
Get Nervous showed Benatar in top form and was considered her best album by several critics. Using the tumultuous preceding years as inspiration, Benatar showed considerable depth and range in her compositions. Tropico, Benatar's next release, was a decided departure from her established hard-edged, confrontational tone. Songs about romance and motherhood were featured.
Benatar was pregnant while she developed much of the release, and her band had matured and changed. They no longer went into each recording session just to bang out hard rock; they were now taking more time to formulate their artistic vision and plan its execution. Sales of Tropico did not match those of Benatar's previous efforts, but the singer remained steadfast about her career's direction.
With the release of Seven the Hard Way, Benatar's band sought to combine their new-found sophistication with some of their older, more aggressive energy. Her third album, Precious Timewas another success, topping the US Album Chart and becoming her first top 10 album in Australia. Her next release, Get Nervoussold less well than her previous two albums, but did include the North American hit " Shadows of the Night ".
InBenatar's sound began to move towards more atmospheric pop. The single " Love Is a Battlefield " was her biggest hit in most countries, reaching No. The live album it came from, Live from Earthwas her biggest seller in Australia, Germany and the Netherlands. Inshe released Tropico and its lead single " We Belong ", which reached the top 10 in several countries, including No.
Benatar's album, Seven the Hard Waysold less well, but it yielded two singles harking back to the rock vein: " Invincible ", a top 10 hit in North America, and " Sex as a Weapon ". She released four additional albums between and She trained as a coloratura with plans to attend the Juilliard Schoolbut decided instead to pursue health education at Stony Brook University.
At 19, after one year at Stony Brook, she dropped out to marry her first husband, high school sweetheart Dennis Benatar, a U. She worked as a bank teller near Richmond, Virginia. Benatar quit her job to pursue a singing career after being inspired by a Liza Minnelli concert she saw in Richmond. She had a gig at a Holiday Inn and got a job as a singing waitress at a nightclub named the Roaring Twenties.
The period also yielded Benatar's first single: "Day Gig"written and produced by Coxon and given a limited local release. Dennis Benatar was discharged from the Army and the couple moved to New York in May so she could pursue a singing career. Halloween proved a pivotal night in her early, spandexed stage persona. Later that evening, she went onstage at Catch a Rising Star still in costume.
She headlined New York City's Tramps nightclub over four days in springwhere her performance was heard by representatives from several record companies. She was signed to Chrysalis Records by co-founder Terry Ellis the following week. Mike Chapman produced three tracks on the album, while engineer Peter Coleman oversaw the rest. Unusual for an English-language album, its most successful European market was France where it went to number However, it was unsuccessful.
Her second single " Heartbreaker " was released on October 26,and became a sleeper hiteventually climbing to number 23 in the US, number 16 in Canada and number 14 in New Zealand. It was later listed at No. It was also a Top 10 hit in Canada and a moderate hit in Australia, where it reached number In Octobershe along with future husband Neil Giraldo appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
In JulyBenatar released her third studio album, Precious Timewhich became her first album to hit number one on the Billboard In Canada it was certified double Platinum and peaked at number 2 on the album chart. The album was another success, reaching number 4 in the US, although it sold less well in most other countries, generally only reaching the Top 20 Canada number 16and only reached number 73 in the UK.
The follow-up singles, "Little Too Late" and "Looking for a Stranger", were also successful in the US, hitting number 20 and number 39 plus number 4 on the Rock Tracks chart but did not chart outside the US, even in Canada. By she had established a reputation for singing about "tough" subject matters, best exemplified by one of the biggest hits of her career, " Love Is a Battlefield " penned by noted hit songwriter Holly Knight with Mike Chapmanreleased in December By then, her sound had mellowed from hard rock to more atmospheric pop and the story-based video clip for "Love Is a Battlefield" was aimed squarely at MTV, even featuring Benatar in a Michael Jackson -inspired group dance number, using Jackson's Beat It director Bob Giraldi and choreographer Michael Peters.
This included it peaking at number 5 on the US Hotnumber 1 for four weeks on the US Rock Tracks chart, number 2 in Canada, number 1 in the Netherlands for four weeks ending as the number 2 song for the yearher first Top 30 hit there, and at number 1 in Australia for seven consecutive weeks, her first Top 25 hit there, number 3 in West Germany, number 5 in Switzerland, number 6 in New Zealand, and number 17 in the UK, her first Top 50 song there.
It was her first song to chart in Switzerland, reaching number 11 there. The album had mixed success in different countries: it peaked at number 2 in Australia, number 12 in New Zealand, number 13 in the US, and became her first hit album in Germany number 7 and the Netherlands number 4but only made the Top 25 in Canada and France, and number 60 in the UK.
InBenatar released her pat benetar biography studio album, Tropicowhich, aside from reaching number 7 in New Zealand and number 31 in the UK, was generally a step back in most other countries US number 14, Canada number 21, AUS number 9, France number 16, Germany number 26, Netherlands number The single " We Belong ", a slow-tempo pop song, released in Octobera month prior to the album's release, became another top 10 hit in the US peaking at number 5, reaching the Top 10 in several other countries, including number 7 in Australia, number 9 in West Germany, and number 5 in Switzerland, her most successful but last hit single there.
It also peaked at number 22 in the UK. A second single release, "Ooh Ooh Song", [ 20 ] reached number 36 in the US, but fared poorly in other countries. She and Giraldo said that this album was the first where they moved away from her famed "hard rock" sound and started experimenting with new, sometimes "gentler", styles and sounds. After the chart success of "We Belong" in the UK, "Love is a Battlefield" was re-released in the UK early and became her highest chart hit there, reaching number Inshe released her sixth studio album, Seven the Hard Way.
The track also reached number 6 in Canada. In Canada, it was her seventh consecutive Platinum certified album, even though it only peaked at number 35 [ 21 ] on the albums sales chart. It also reached number 19 in Australia and was a big success in New Zealand reaching number 2, but did not reach the Top 50 in West Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the UK, and for the first time, an album of hers failed to chart in France.
In her autobiography, Between a Heart and a Rock Placeshe said, "Out of all the albums, Seven the Hard Way cost the most to make and sold the least. In JulyBenatar released her seventh studio album, Wide Awake in Dreamlandwhich generally improved on the success of Seven the Hard Waysuch as peaking at number 11 in the UK and Canada, [ 22 ] earning her eighth consecutive Platinum certified album in Canada, and number 13 in Australia.
It peaked at number 26 in the US, but stalled at number 15 in New Zealand, usually one of her most successful markets. It was during this time that she was noticed by producer Rick Newman, who gave her the stage name "Benatar" and guided her towards a more rock-oriented vocal style. She joined a group led by guitarist and composer Neil Giraldo, who later became her husband.
Pat benetar biography
InBenatar signed a contract with Chrysalis Records, and the label assigned her a new producer, Michael Chapman, who had previously worked with bands like Blondie and The Knack. This album had a more pop sound compared to her previous rock-oriented work. Her third album, "Precious Time," topped the American charts throughout the summer of The successful streak continued with the album "Get Nervous" infollowed by "Live From Earth," which featured the international hit single "Love Is A Battlefield" and an innovative music video for its time.
In latethe song "We Belong" from the album "Tropico" became an international hit.