Pat Benatar - vocals; Neil Geraldo - guitar, keyboards, vocals; Scott Sheets - guitar; Myron Grombacher - drums, percussion; Roger Capps - bass; Cindy O'Connor - keyboards
Pat Benatar was skyrocketing to fame in America and abroad when this show was captured for the King Biscuit Flower Hour in the summer of 1980, at San Francisco's legendary Old Waldorf Theater. Benatar had risen to the top of the charts quickly, thanks to a total embrace from the top FM programmers around the country.
Launching her career (and this performance) with a cover of John Cougar's classic, "I Need A Lover," Benatar had strong material, a great band (led by her husband, Neil Geraldo), hot looks, and most importantly, an operatic voice that could stretch several octaves with not a shred of strain. This recording was made when Benatar had already issued two albums and had a fair number of FM radio hits. It was during this tour that her classic song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (written by Robert Palmer guitarist, Eddie Schwartz), would soon race up the charts to #1 on the AOR Radio reports, firmly establishing Benatar as one of the most popular female rock acts in the world.
She sings with incredible energy during this performance, especially on her cover of The Rascals 1966 hit, "You Better Run." She also used this tour to introduce her controversial song about child abuse, "Hell Is For Children." Dealing with an uncomfortable theme, Benatar was not only able to present it as an upbeat rocker, but as her tour-de-force closing number. Considering most of the audience had never heard the song before, it was a bold move.
Born Pat Andrzejewski, the petite vocalist from Brooklyn, NY, married her high school boyfriend and retained his surname after they divorced in the early 1970s. She moved from Virginia (where she had settled) back to New York and began developing her ability to belt out pop and rock songs while playing bars and theatre clubs. Benatar was discovered by Randy Newman, who helped get her a deal with Chrysalis Records. Her first album had three breakout hits, and her second, Crimes of Passion, would earn her two Grammy awards and reach #2 on the LP charts. Benatar is still married to Geraldo, and they continue to tour and record year after year.