Pat Benatar’s first Top 25 single, “If You Think You Know How To Love Me”, came out in 1979. Throughout the 80s, Benatar had plenty of hits at radio, including these four songs, which will always be classics.
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“Love Is A Battlefield”
A No. 1 hit for Benatar, “Love Is A Battlefield” came out in 1983. On Benatar’s first live album, Live From Earth, the song is written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman. Knight happened to be with Chapman when Benatar personally called him, asking him to write her a song.
“He says, ‘We’re going to write something really sick, like…’ and he just spit out ‘Love is a battlefield’ as an example,” Knight recalls to Songfacts. “I said, ‘Well, that works for me.’ And we wrote that song. It was just like free association.”
“Love Is A Battlefield” says, “We are strong / No one can tell us we’re wrong / Searching our hearts for so long / Both of us knowing / Love is a battlefield.”
“Invincible”
Knight teamed up with Simon Climie to write “Invincible”. Out in 1985, the song was used for the film, The Legend of Billie Jean. It also appears on Benatar’s Seven The Hard Way record.
An empowering anthem, “Invincible” says, “This shattered dream you cannot justify / We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied / What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry / What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore? / We can’t afford to be innocent / Stand up and face the enemy / It’s a do or die situation / We will be invincible / And with the power of conviction, there is no sacrifice / It’s a do or die situation / We will be invincible.”
“We Belong”
In 1984, Benatar traded her hard rock vocals for a softer sound with “We Belong”. On her Tropico record, Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro are the two writers of the sweet song.
“We Belong” says, “We belong to the light / We belong to the thunder / We belong to the sound of the words / We’ve both fallen under / Whatever we deny or embrace / For worse or for better / We belong, we belong / We belong together.”
“I was kind of lamenting an old relationship,” Navarro tells The Tennessean. “And I kind of wanted to get the point across: ‘It doesn’t matter if you agree, or disagree, if you’re here or gone. There are things that are bigger than both of us, and we belong together.’”
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
If Benatar is known for one song, it’s likely “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Released in 1980 on her Crimes Of Passion project, Eddie Schwartz is the song’s sole writer.
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” begins with, “Well, you’re the real tough cookie with a long history / Of breaking little hearts like the one in me / That’s okay, let’s see how you do it / Put up your dukes, let’s get down to it / Hit me with your best shot / Why don’t you hit me with your best shot / Hit me with your best shot / Fire away.”
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is Benatar’s first Top 10 single.
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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