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Born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10,
1953 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY and raised in Lindenhurst, Long
Island, this young woman of Polish ancestry would grow up to be
one of the most recognized Rock Divas of all time.
Pat Benatar as she is known today throughout
the world, is a certified rock ’n’ roll superstar, a four-time
Grammy winner with six platinum and four gold albums to her
credit. She has been acknowledged as one of the leading female
rock vocalists in the industry.
After capturing the industry’s ears with
her showcases at New York’s Catch A Rising Star venue, Pat
signed on with Chrysalis Records in 1977 and released the million
selling album “In The Heat Of The Night” in 1979, followed by
the multi-platinum “Crimes Of Passion” a year later. From
1980-83 she captured an unprecedented four straight Grammy’s in
the category “Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female”.
She lists among her discography a total of
twelve album/CD releases with a variety of other compilation and
“Best of” releases with the most recent a 3 CD disk boxed set
featuring 53 of her best songs from 1979 to 1999. This collection
is called Synchronistic Wanderings and was released by EMI/Capitol
Records on October 5, 1999.
Pat and her husband Neil Giraldi were married
on February 20, 1982 and have been a working couple since before
her first album. He has worn many hats in their combined careers,
including producer, guitarist, songwriter as well as soul mate.
They have two daughters, Haley Egeana and Hana Juliana.
Pat Benatar and her band are currently on a
national tour promoting her latest release and are again proving
to be a great live attraction, selling out every venue that they
play. Pat has always been best in a live situation, and this tour
has given a whole new generation of fans to see one of the great
rock vocalists of all time.
Despite two children and a career going on
for the last 18 years, she still has it together musically and
vocally and all you need to do is hear that classic voice and
you’ll feel it, too.
This writer also felt the energy and
intensity of her performing prowess recently at a concert held by
Pat and her band at the Navy Pier Skyline Stage in Chicago on July
17, 2001. It was a beautiful calm and warm Chicago summer night at
the pier, with another sellout crowd ready for the concert.
Although being a fan of Pat Benatar since her
beginnings in the early 80’s, I have never had the chance to see
her live in concert. Knowing almost all of her most popular tunes,
not only by the lyrics but also by the musical cohesion of her
songs and their instrumentation, I was not disappointed by her
performance this night.
I had a great seat about twelve rows back
from the stage and was able to get some really great photos, a few
of which are here to illustrate this article. She is as stunning
visually as well as musically.
Pat Benatar still has that unmistakable
voice, the music being as tight as it ever was on any of her
albums and she still has that special knack for belting out the
songs with the true feelings of her heart. It’s very evident
that she still loves to perform live and has a lot of fun
interacting with the audience. It’s those special qualities she
possesses which separate her from many of the wannabes around
today that rely more on image rather than the quality of the
music.
It’s easy for some other performers to go
out on stage and just sing the words, but it takes a special kind
of entertainer to go beyond the words and exude feelings and
emotions straight from the heart and soul.
Pat Benatar is just that kind of special
star. I guess she gets it from her Polish roots.
For more information about Pat Benatar and
her band and the 2001 tour, please visit her official web site at www.benatar.com.
For more info about the Navy Pier Skyline stage, visit www.navypier.com.
All text and photos Copyright
2001, Victor Modlinski - All Rights Reserved
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