Pat Benatar “Heartbreaker” released

Heartbreaker Pat Benatar

Writer(s): Geoff Gill, Cliff Wade (see lyrics here) Released: October 26, 1979 First Charted: December 15, 1979 Peak: 23 BB, 19 CB, 16 GR, 19 HR, 20 RR, 3 CL, 30 MR, 16 CN, 34 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 20.3 video, 92.03 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rock singer Pat Benatar was born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski in 1953 in New York, New York. She became interested in theater and singing in elementary school. She became a trained opera intending to attend Julliard, but she went to Stony Brook University instead. At 19, she dropped out to marry Dennis Benatar, her high school sweetheart. He served in the Army from 1973-75. During that time, she recorded “Day Gig,” her debut single. After he was discharged from the Army, the couple moved to New York so she could pursue a singing career. They didn’t work out as a couple, divorcing in 1978, but her career was just beginning. Her debut album, In the Heat of the Night, was released in August 1979. The lead single was a cover of John Mellencamp’s “I Need a Lover,” followed by “If You Think You Know How to Love Me,” originally a #3 UK for the British rock band Smokie. Neither single dented the Billboard Hot 100, but the album’s third single, “Heartbreaker,” proved to be Benatar’s breakthrough reaching #23. The song was first recorded in 1978 by an English singer named Jenny Darren. Benatar adjusted some of the lyrics which originally contained “English expressions and colloquialisms that would be foreign to the American ear.” SF Benatar’s version became a staple on classic rock radio. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/14/2024.