Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Pat Benatar

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: 

Pat Benatar

In my own personal big gay church there are many wings. One is dedicated to The Rockbirds - so named after a turn of phrase coined by Deborah Harry, one of the divas who resides there. These ladies raged against a very specific machine: the misogynistic heart of the corporate music business. They endured countless interviews asking them how they felt being a woman in the world of rock n' roll - the assumption being that it was exclusively a man's world. Are they the women of rock? Hell, no... they just rock! And they did it all with a singular style and unique voice.

One such Rockbird?

The electric Pat Benatar.

She remains a true rock 'n roll juggernaut, Unstoppable.

She burst on the scene and immediately made it her own. Those who doubted her staying power were quickly silenced and proven wrong.

She dared. She defied. And she survived.

For this diva is still going strong, touring on a regular basis... and that voice remains the same.

So many octaves! Such dedication. Such authority.

Rock 'n roll owes a huge debt to this lady. 

For, while there have been many imitators, there was only one original. 

She didn't break the mold...

She created it.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Living Without A Handbook

"First of all, I'm pretty private about my personal life."

"It was very difficult when I was trying to figure out how to have a marriage and babies and do this at the same time. There was no handbook. You were making it up as you went along."

"Everything changes all the time, and unfortunately, everyone who knows what you do by buying records only hears a small amount of what's going on in your life."

"People's lives change dramatically over such a long time period, and I think that if you're still vital, and you're still interested in writing and things like that, of course your music evolves and reflects where you are in your life."

"Hell is for Children is amazing to do every night and Promises in the Dark  and  Love Is a Battlefield,  of course, but my absolute favorite would be Heartbreaker. It's the one that started everything, so it has a very special place in my heart. And it still rocks every night! It's so fun to do."

"When the first record came out, I'd go down to radio stations pretty much every day to get the record played, and I would walk in and they'd tell us how much they loved the record, but they weren't sure how much they could play it because they were already playing a girl."

"I never looked at people or singing as commodities."

"If you're retired, it's a blessing. You know, if you want to keep working and doing what you want to do, it's not a blessing at all - it's a curse."

"You don't want to trash what you've done; that's your history." 

"But the soul of touring and the heart of it is basically every day is like putting up a circus tent."

"When you have girl children, they torture you! If at any moment of the day I ever think I'm remotely cool at all, which is hardly ever, I have two daughters who make sure that never happens. They say, 'Mom, you didn't really wear that?' And I say, 'Yes, and pretty much everyone saw it.'"
 

Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar

Love Is A Battlefield

Sex As A Weapon - Pat Benatar

"I wasn't a visionary but I literally had my finger on the pulse of the women of America."

"Most chick singers say 'if you hurt me, I'll die'... I say, 'if you hurt me, I'll kick your ass.'"