Pat Benatar & Blondie - Music History Livestream

Pat Benatar & Blondie - Music History Livestream - Hosted by Robert Kelleman

Let’s listen to a pair of female vocalists from New York City that defined American music during the 1970’s and 1980’s - Blondie (Debbie Harry) and Pat Benatar - with iconic songs like Heart of Glass and Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Music History Livestreams present noteworthy songs and a biographical overview of our featured artists along with the historical and cultural context of their music.
During and after our program you'll have the opportunity to discuss the songs with your fellow music lovers via Zoom.

Pat Benatar (Patricia Mae Andrzejewski - born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the US, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US Billboard top 40 singles, and has sold over 36 million albums worldwide. She is a four-time Grammy Award winner. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Benatar's debut album, In the Heat of the Night (1979), was her breakthrough in North America, especially Canada, where it reached No. 3 on the album chart. Two hit singles from the album were: "Heartbreaker"; and "We Live for Love", the latter written by her lead guitarist and future husband, Neil Giraldo. Her second album, Crimes of Passion (1980), was her most successful work, peaking at No. 2 in North America and France, being certified 4× and 5× platinum in the US and Canada, respectively. The single "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" reached the top 10 in the US and Canada, and is her signature song. Her third album, Precious Time (1981) topped the US Album Chart, and became her first top 10 album in Australia. Its single "Fire and Ice" charted highly in the US and Canada. Benatar's fourth album, Get Nervous (1982), sold less well than her previous two albums, but included the North American hit "Shadows of the Night".
Benatar's sound moved towards more atmospheric pop. The single "Love Is a Battlefield" (1983) was her biggest hit in most countries, reaching No. 1 in the Netherlands, Australia, the US Rock Tracks chart, and No. 5 on the US Hot 100. The live album it came from, Live from Earth (1983), was her biggest seller in Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her fifth album was Tropico (1984), and its lead single "We Belong" reached the top 10 in several countries, including No. 5 on the US Hot 100. Benatar's sixth album, Seven the Hard Way (1985), sold less well, but yielded two singles harking back to the rock vein: "Invincible", a top 10 hit in North America; and "Sex as a Weapon". Her follow-up seventh album, Wide Awake in Dreamland (1988), marked a resurgence in sales in Canada and Australia, and was her highest charting album in the UK. Its rocker, "All Fired Up", was a significant hit in Canada, Australia and the US. Benatar released four additional albums between 1991 and 2003: True Love (1991), Gravity's Rainbow (1993), Innamorata (1997), and Go (2003).

Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
https://youtu.be/0JRgHol94Xc?si=QniEYng-bfGsEu3I&t=60

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Blondie is an American new wave band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave genre and scene of the mid-1970s.
The band's first two albums also contained strong elements of punk. Although successful in the UK and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the US until the release of their critically acclaimed third album in 1978, Parallel Lines. Over the next two years, the band released a string of hit singles, including "Heart of Glass" (US No. 1), "One Way or Another", "Dreaming", "Call Me" (US No. 1), "Atomic", "The Tide Is High" (US No. 1), and "Rapture" (US No. 1). The band became noted for its eclectic mixture of musical styles, incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, funk and early hip hop music.
Blondie disbanded after the release of their sixth studio album, The Hunter, in 1982. Harry continued to pursue a solo career with varied results after taking a few years off to care for her partner Stein, who was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease of the skin. The band re-formed in 1997, achieving renewed success and their sixth number one single in the UK with "Maria" in 1999, exactly 20 years after their first UK number one single, "Heart of Glass".
The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Blondie has sold over 40 million records worldwide and continues to actively perform. The band's eleventh studio album, Pollinator, was released on May 5, 2017. A new studio album, High Noon, is expected to be released in the spring of 2026.

Blondie - Heart of Glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU&list=RDWGU_4-5RaxU&start_radio=1

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Your host for this program is Robert Kelleman, the founder/director of the non-profit community organizations Texas History & Culture and Washington, DC History & Culture.

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Robert Kelleman
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