Pat Benatar In The Studio For 'In The Heat Of The Night' Anniversary

09-02-2024

The 45th anniversary of Pat Benatar's 'In The Heat Of The Night' album is being celebrated by the syndicated radio show In The Studio With Redbeard: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands.

Redbeard shared this synopsis for the episode: The first time I interviewed Pat Benatar, for her August 1979 debut In the Heat of the Night plus the breakthrough second album Crimes of Passion, she was very wary of me and visibly uncomfortable. It didn't take long to understand why: Rolling Stone's Encyclopedia of Rock'n'Roll states unequivocally in its opening line, "Pat Benatar was the most successful female rocker of the 1980s." What should be added is that she was probably the most exploited, as well. After the diminutive singer appeared on the covers of both her 1980 second album, Crimes of Passion, and Rolling Stone that year dressed in a leotard, Pat Benatar did for Danskin sales what Guns 'N Roses would later do for the tattoo industry.

Pat Benatar and her second album, Crimes of Passion, were big "hits" in 1980, but her success, and the ensuing scrutiny, became so much more than mere popular music. The diminutive yet fiery singer is joined here In the Studio with guitarist/co-writer Neil Giraldo for the real stories behind "Treat Me Right", "Hell is for Children", the rockin' Rascals cover "You Better Run", and the career haymaker "Hit Me with Your Best Shot".

Having grown up in the performance world of opera, live theater, and cabaret before embracing rock, the leotard and leg warmers were no less a common practical uniform than was the waitress whites and apron she donned while struggling in New York City to make ends meet after a failed marriage. But while Benatar's management, record label, and new media sensation MTV all co-dependently promoted her as a ballsy chick sexpot, the burgeoning women's lib movement was pointing to Pat as a sexist stereotype that objectified women! All the while Benatar was breaking the band taboo of falling in love with her musical director/co-writer, guitarist Neil Giraldo. Hear how Pat Benatar risked it all for artistic integrity and true love in this classic rock interview detailing In the Heat of the Night plus Crimes of Passion.

Stream the episode here