The Bizarre Therapeutic Inspiration Behind Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”: “It All Seemed Kind of Strange”

Pat Benatar’s 1980 hit pop tune “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is one of her most signature songs. It was a pretty big deal when it was first released, too. The song quickly became Benatar’s very first Top 10 hit in the United States, and sold over a million copies in the US as well. Even if you weren’t alive in the 80s, you’ve probably heard this song before.

Videos by American Songwriter

Interestingly enough, the story behind this hit 80s track is quite… odd. The song was written by famed songwriter and producer Eddie Schwartz, known for his work with The Doobie Brothers and Joe Cocker, among others. However, before then, he was a humble 20-something songwriter and guitarist living in Toronto, Canada. Struggling with self-improvement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Schwartz opted to give therapy a shot.

Pat Benatar Songwriter Eddie Schwartz Gave Bio-Genetics Therapy a Shot, Which Led to the Legendary 1980 Power Pop Tune

The therapy Eddie Schwartz chose to try out was something called bio-genetics. 

“I was in a kind of weird therapy when I was in my mid-20s, it was called bio-energetics, I believe,” said Schwartz. “One of the things we did was punch pillows, I guess it had something to do with getting out our hostility. I went to a session where we punched the pillows for a while.”

Paying to punch pillows and scream for therapy wasn’t totally unheard of at the time.

“It all seemed kind of strange, but I remember walking outside of this therapy session and standing on the doorstep of the building I’d been in, this small house in Toronto, and the title just came to me… ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’.” Schwartz continued. “I haven’t been to therapy before or since. Maybe I should go back.”

Once that title got stuck in his mind, Schwartz worked with publisher ATV to put a demo together. The song was almost erased by the company afterwards. However, it was saved by an angel of an engineer who gave the demo to Schwartz. He pitched it to Pat Benatar, and following a few minor lyrical changes, the rest is history. And Schwartz was proud of where the song went.

“It’s a song saying ‘no matter what you throw at me, I can handle it, I can play in your league,’” said Schwartz.

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns