Pat Benatar showed resilience as one of the most consistently successful pop-rockers of the 80s. Even as musical tastes shifted wildly in a hurry throughout the decade, she managed to keep churning out hits without ever seeming to chase trends.
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Her last Top 40 hit in the US displayed her ability to tailor material that she didn’t originate to her strengths. As it turned out, she’d soon leave the pop music wars for a while not long after the song was released.
It’s Pat
Pat Benatar first made the US Top 40 in 1979 with the song “Heartbreaker”. That would give her nice momentum heading into the 80s. She would build upon that momentum and become one of the most reliable artists of the decade when it came to pop radio.
Benatar only occasionally contributed to the writing of her hits. Most of them were either written specifically for her to record or were covers of songs that had already been given a go by other artists. It says something about her performing prowess that most of the other versions ended up falling by the wayside once Benatar got a hold of these songs.
Even with all the success that she enjoyed, Benatar still had to deal with the meddling of record executives. Since she stayed at one label (Chrysalis) through her entire heyday, she often outlasted the higher-ups who would come and go. By the time she reached the middle of the decade, she could see the writing on the wall that her shelf life as a pop star was running out. But she had one more smash hit waiting.
An Aussie Surprise
In 1988, Benatar released the album Wide Awake In Dreamland. It was notable for how self-contained it was. Her musical partner and husband Neil Giraldo co-wrote seven of the ten songs. Benatar had a hand in writing three as well.
But the album’s opening track and lead single came from an outside source, an unlikely one at that. Kerryn Tolhurst is an Australian musician who enjoyed success in his native country with a band named The Dingoes in the 70s. And, for a blip, he led the band Rattling Sabres, who enjoyed minor success in 1987 with a song called “All Fired Up”.
Rattling Sabres closed up shop not long after that single was released. But a representative of their record label was in Los Angeles pitching the song to US labels when a member of Benatar’s team happened to hear it. Benatar then listened to it and decided it would make a good fit for her, with a few adjustments.
“Fired” And Tired
Benatar and her drummer Myron Grumbacher fooled around with the lyrics a little bit to make them more suitable to her artistic persona. The explosive sentiment settled right into Benatar’s wheelhouse. Her version of “All Fired Up” made it No. 19 on the US charts in 1988.
By that point, Benatar, who had recently become a mother, had tired of playing the pop star game. When she returned with her next album, True Love, in 1991, she and Giraldo indulged their love of old-time blues. The decidedly uncommercial twist project effectively signaled the end of her singles chart aspirations.
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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