American singer Pat Benatar is one of the most famous musicians of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This talented artist is the owner of the prestigious Grammy music award. And her album has a "platinum" certification for the number of sales in the world.
Childhood and youth of Pat Benatar
The girl was born on January 10, 1953 in Brooklyn (New York area) in the family of a worker and beautician. Despite the fact that the family lived in the United States, the girl has very mixed roots. Her father is Polish and her mother is of German descent. Shortly after the birth of their daughter, her parents left the criminal district of New York for a small village on Long Island.
Even at school, the girl became very interested in creativity and began to study in a school theater group. Here, at the age of 8, she performed the song solo for the first time. The teachers and parents were delighted. Until the end of school, the girl actively studied vocals and played the main roles in all musical productions.
At the age of 19, the girl studied at the university, but left him to get married. Her lover was a soldier, so he was rarely at home. As a result, Pat began working as a cashier until one day she saw Liza Minnelli perform. It struck the girl so much that she decided to seriously think about the career of an artist.
After quitting her job as a cashier, she got a job as a singing waitress in one of the local clubs. She served drinks, combining it with singing. Here she met several musicians, and for some time they worked together.
Stepping on the path of the singer ...
In order for the family to live in New York (which was necessary for recording and performing), her husband decided to retire from the Armed Forces. From that moment on, his wife began performing at various club parties in the hope that influential producers or managers would notice her. The most significant performance took place at the Tramps club. Managers noticed the girl and offered her a contract with Chrysalis Records.
Already in 1979, the dream was realized - the debut disc In the Heat of the Night was released. His ascent "to the path of glory" was a long one. Despite the fact that the album appeared in the fall, the release hit the charts only the following spring. But here he got into the top 15 best albums (according to the legendary Billboard chart). The performer gained her first fame. A team of producers worked on the disc, and many of the lyrics were previously intended for other musicians.
Less than six months later, the record received a "platinum" status. This meant that more than 1 million copies were sold in the United States - a great start to a career. In some countries, the release was certified platinum more than once (in Canada, Australia, the UK and other countries).
A few months later, a new disc, Crimes of Passion, was released, which turned out to be more thoughtful, even social. The artist was inspired by high-profile articles in local newspapers that wrote about child abuse. Several texts have been devoted to this topic at once.
As a result, very scandalous compositions were obtained, thanks to which the record became successful. For almost a month and a half, the second solo album was at number 2 on the main chart in the United States. Pat's popularity continued to increase outside the country.
Clips began to get on MTV. The singer was listened to all over the world. She has continued to receive awards and certifications for the sale of physical copies of her music. Benatar appeared as a frequent guest on the covers of famous magazines. The legendary The Rolling Stones Magazine did not bypass her attention either - is this not an indicator of success?
Further work by Pat Benatar
Precious Time is the name given to the next LP. And again there was success. He was secured the 1st position in all the tops of the USA, Europe and Australia. This solo album became a real "breakthrough" in the UK, where the singer's work could not be firmly established for a long time. Then she received a number of prestigious awards, among them was the Grammy Award for the track Fireand Ice. The girl stood on a par with the stars of the first magnitude of that time.
Video clips were broadcast daily on dozens of TV channels around the world. The performer began to be invited to shoot in advertising. Unlike most artists whose popularity waned after one or two albums, Pat managed to be popular for the third consecutive release.
Video works were created with the participation of the best masters of that time. In particular, she managed to work with director Bob Giraldi. He filmed Beat It for Michael Jackson.
The Fading Popularity of Pat Benatar
The fourth album Get Nervous again confirmed the status of the artist. He entered the top 5 best-selling discs in America. However, the decline in sales still overtook the woman - in Europe, the album was perceived cooler than the previous ones. He also showed a poor result in Canada, where usually the work of the performer was sold out in thousands of copies.
A few months later she made another attempt. Love Is a Battlefield was a great creative move. In it, Benatar abandoned music aimed at MTV. She reduced the pace of the "pop" songs and began to create more soulful music. Now she has gained fame as an author who is able to beautifully perform poems on complex social topics. The track became one of the most notable in her career.
Tropico was released in 1984, followed by Seven the Hard Way. Two LPs were released one after the other and had approximately the same sound. In them, the producers decided to change hard rock (popular then and characteristic of the entire work of the musician) for something softer. In general, sales were not bad, but it was a step back. The numbers got even smaller with each new release.
Since the 1990s, the pace has gradually begun to decline. The artist continued to release new discs, but with a rarer frequency. The mid-1990s and then the 2000s were marked by significant genre diversity. This was due to a decrease in interest in the work and personality of Benatar. However, she continues to release new albums now.
