“In The Heat Of The Night” by Pat Benatar (1979)
Release Date: August 27, 1979
Produced by Peter Coleman, Mike Chapman
Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Pop-Rock, Classic Rock, Alternative Rock
Label: Chrysalis
Chart Positions: #12 (US), #3 (Canada), #8 (New Zealand), #20 (France), #25 (Australia), #98 (UK)
Certifications: Gold (France), Platinum (US), 4xPlatinum (Canada)
Singles: “If You Think You Know How To Love Me,” (No Chart Data), “Heartbreaker” #3 (France), #14 (New Zealand), #18 (Canada), #23 (US), #95 (Australia), “We Live For Love” #3 (France), #8 (Canada, New Zealand), #27 (US), #28 (Australia), “I Need A Lover” #19 (Belgium), #31 (Netherlands), “Rated X” #28 (France)
Other Charting Tracks: N/A
Best Tracks: “Heartbreaker,” “My Clone Sleeps Alone,” “ We Live For Love,” “Rated X,” “So Sincere”
Pat Benatar blast on to the music scene in a big way with her debut album “In The Heat Of The Night,” she was the very pulse of popular music. Her sound, style and look could not go unnoticed. Despite her huge popularity in the US and Canada, the album only made it to #95 in the UK and none of the singles charted in the UK. It wasn't until 1981's "Precious Time" and 1983's "Shadows Of The Night" that Pat had a hit album and single respectively in the UK.
The album included 3 original songs written either by Pat Benatar or her partner Neil Giraldo. Despite the originals the albums was largely full of cover tunes. Three of those covers were written by producer Mike Chapman and his songwriting partner Nicky Chinn. Those three are “If You Think You Know How To Love Me” and “In The Heat Of The Night” (both originally recorded by Smokie) and a cover of the Sweet tune “No You Don’t.” The other covers include John Cougar Mellencamp’s “I Need A Lover,” Nick Gilder’s “Rated X” and Alan Parson’s “Don’t Let It Show.”
“In The Heat of The Night” laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most remarkable careers in rock music. People Magazine called the album, "Perhaps the hottest debut of the year."
The first single released from the album, "If You Think You Know How To Love Me," was Pat's second single in her career. The song was original recorded and released in 1975 by Smokie and was a Top 3 hitting the UK. Pat's release of the song failed to chart and signaled a slow start to her career with Chrysalis records.
But hold on... it wasn't over yet for Pat... the very next single, "Heartbreaker," with its Cars like bass line, garnered the attention of hard rock and FM radio programmers. Before you knew it her voice was on almost every rock and Top 40 station across the US and Canada. Though, the song only reached US #23 it spent a very impressive 18 weeks on the charts and the album was taking off like wildfire. Pat Benatar was instantly a star that could not be ignored.
Though most of the chart success of the album and it's singles happened in 1980, the album itself and the first two singles were released in 1979, thus is a product of the 1970s.
"Heartbreaker" got Pat all the way in the door and the next hit "We Live For Love" kept her in. The song written by boyfriend Neil Giraldo, sounded very similar to Blondie's "Heart Of Glass," though Benatar's song did't hit the top of the charts as Blondie did but it still performed well scoring Pat her second Top 30 hit in the US and made it to #3 in France and the Top Ten in Canada and New Zealand. Benatar was certainly firmly on her way to superstardom.
"We Live For Love" (1979)
John Mellencamp, who at the time was known as John Cougar, just a few months earlier had a hit with "I Need A Lover," a song he wrote and recorded in 1977 and released initially in 1978. His 1978 release did not chart but he did not give up on the song and rereleased it again in 1979 and the song made it to US #28. Pat's hypnotic mid tempo rocking version of "I Need A Lover" was initially released as the b-side to "We Live For Love" but radio programmers in the Netherlands and Belgium picked up the song and it became a hit charting in both areas.
Finally, that brings us to "Rated X," a promiscuous song with a rock steady beat was written by Nick Gilder (Hot Child In The City) and was featured on his 1977 album "You Know Who You Are," which also included the song "Roxy Roller," initially recorded in 1975 by his band Sweeney Todd and then recorded in 1977 by Suzi Quatro. Benatar's "Rated X" was released only in France where it charted at #28.
Other songs that received minor amounts of airplay were; "In The Heat Of The Night," "My Clone Sleeps Alone," "Don't Let It Show" and "No You Don't."
Pat Benatar (1979)
PAT BENATAR
