Monday, September 15, 1980

Pat Benatar “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” released

Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Pat Benatar

Writer(s): Eddie Schwartz (see lyrics here)

Released: September 15, 1980

First Charted: October 4, 1980

Peak: 9 BB, 7 CB, 5 GR, 5 HR, 9 RR, 2 CL, 15 MR, 10 CN, 33 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 14.30 video, 233.18 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Pat Benatar was born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski in New York City on January 10, 1953. Her debut album, 1979’s In the Heart of the Night, was a platinum seller propelled by top-30 hits “Heartbreaker” and “We Live for Love.” Her sophomore effort, Crimes of Passion, was released in 1980 and became the biggest album of her career, reaching #2 on the Billboard album chart and going four times platinum.

Surprisingly, the lead single – “You Better Run” – just missed the top 40, but it became a staple on album rock, as did the follow-up singles “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” (#9 BB) and “Treat Me Right” (#18 BB). Benatar had three more top-10 hits in her career, but “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” arguably was the one which became her signature song.

The song was written by Eddie Schwartz who said he came up with the title after going to a “pillow punching” therapy session. The song has been misinterpreted as being sexist and encouraging violence against women, but Schwartz explained that the title was “meant metaphorically – no punches are actually thrown in the song.” ^SF He said, “The song is laden with sexual innuendo, but at the core is a song about self confidence. It’s a song saying, ‘no matter what you throw at me I can handle it.” ^SF

In 2022, Benatar announced she would no longer play the song in concert in protest of mass shootings in the United States. She said the title “is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face I just can’t. I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox – I go to my legislators – but that’s my small contribution to protesting. I’m not going to sing it.” ^UT