Pat Benatar- Crimes of Passion- Pat & Neil Giraldo
In the court of public opinion, Pat Benatar’s August 1980 second album Crimes of Passion was found guilty of greatness on all counts. The diminutive diva threw big haymaker hooks with “Treat Me Right”, combination punches “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”, and a post-punk cover of the Rascals’ “You Better Run”, and then countered with the anti-child abuse expose’ “Hell is for Children”. And that was just side one.
The first time I interviewed Pat Benatar about her August 1979 debut In the Heat of the Night, plus the breakthrough second album Crimes of Passion, she was very wary of being interviewed by a stranger, 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 my classic rock interview detailing In the Heat of the Night plus Crimes of Passion. -Redbeard
