Her birthday was yesterday. Pat Benatar, who some have called "Queen of Rock" reigned in the late 1970s to early 1980s, and mainly in the USA. I don't recall her name or her records being well known in the UK at that time - but what do I know? I wasn't a rock fan. She was among the first female artists to break into what had been seen as a male preserve in music : hard rock. Her looks didn't match her style at all. She's pretty and petite - 5 ft tall, but the voice was anything but petite. Her musical training focused on her singing opera, which didn't appeal. She gravitated to cabaret which still didn't satisfy her. She swapped it all for an image and sound closer to current musical taste among the young and became "a rock chick".
She was born in Brooklyn, New York on 10 January 1953. I'm surprised that Astrodatabank has no entry for Pat; Astrotheme has no time of birth for her either. So, a 12 noon chart must suffice. Rising sign and Moon degree will not be accurate.
In her own words: “Most chick singers say 'If you hurt me, I'll die'...I say, 'if you hurt me, I'll kick your ass.” I chuckled after reading that quote of hers and seeing her natal chart.
I see it reflected in Venus (the musical planet) conjunct Mars (planet of aggression) and Neptune (creativity) conjunct hard-ass Saturn. Neptune conjunct Saturn though could also connect to her early opera training. Tradition and anything "classical" links to Saturn too.
Her natal Moon would have been in Scorpio, whatever her time of birth - somewhere between 10 and 23 degrees of the sign. Here's the sexy edge she portrayed in her heyday, such an edge was, and is, a part of all good rock performance.
In an old interview, available at YouTube, Pat tells that she had to invent an alter ego to go on stage and rock as wildly as she did. That didn't surprise me. Sun and Mercury in practical, common sense Capricorn doesn't immediately spell out hard-rock-chick. She acted it, but she wasn't, really, ever that. In real life she's no Janis Joplin - that's for sure! After an early failed marriage she wed guitarist Neil Giraldo and their marriage survives. She abandoned her successful career for some years in order to properly raise their two daughters. More recently she performs, with her husband on guitar, unplugged, in a very different style to that of her former years - and I reckon it's better, and more in line with her true self . Examples of both follow: first an early but brief clip of her performing her hit "Heartbreaker" live, then an unplugged version of "Love Is A Battlefield", performed on TV in 2002, husband Neil on guitar.
She was born in Brooklyn, New York on 10 January 1953. I'm surprised that Astrodatabank has no entry for Pat; Astrotheme has no time of birth for her either. So, a 12 noon chart must suffice. Rising sign and Moon degree will not be accurate.
In her own words: “Most chick singers say 'If you hurt me, I'll die'...I say, 'if you hurt me, I'll kick your ass.” I chuckled after reading that quote of hers and seeing her natal chart.I see it reflected in Venus (the musical planet) conjunct Mars (planet of aggression) and Neptune (creativity) conjunct hard-ass Saturn. Neptune conjunct Saturn though could also connect to her early opera training. Tradition and anything "classical" links to Saturn too.
Her natal Moon would have been in Scorpio, whatever her time of birth - somewhere between 10 and 23 degrees of the sign. Here's the sexy edge she portrayed in her heyday, such an edge was, and is, a part of all good rock performance.
In an old interview, available at YouTube, Pat tells that she had to invent an alter ego to go on stage and rock as wildly as she did. That didn't surprise me. Sun and Mercury in practical, common sense Capricorn doesn't immediately spell out hard-rock-chick. She acted it, but she wasn't, really, ever that. In real life she's no Janis Joplin - that's for sure! After an early failed marriage she wed guitarist Neil Giraldo and their marriage survives. She abandoned her successful career for some years in order to properly raise their two daughters. More recently she performs, with her husband on guitar, unplugged, in a very different style to that of her former years - and I reckon it's better, and more in line with her true self . Examples of both follow: first an early but brief clip of her performing her hit "Heartbreaker" live, then an unplugged version of "Love Is A Battlefield", performed on TV in 2002, husband Neil on guitar.
I don't recall her at all in the UK, and I was a strong follower of rock. Mindst you, by the late-70s my interest was waning.
ReplyDeleteanthonynorth ~~~ She probably came along at a time when the UK had more than enough home-grown rockers, so didn't make an impression. I don't think she's widely remembered here in the US, actually - except among her most ardent fans.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't remember her, either. I much preferred the first rock video to the more laid-back style with hubby. But, then, I'm just an old rocker!
ReplyDeleteRJ ~ Were you, RJ? Well, well, well! I guess that coming from around Liverpool, the hub of British avant garde music back then, you couldn't be anything else. :-)
ReplyDelete