Pat Benatar, a 1980s pop rock icon, four-time Grammy Award winner, and Lindenhurst High School graduate, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday alongside her guitarist and husband, Neil Giraldo.
Known for her top 10 hits “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “We Belong,” and “Invincible,” Benatar received the top music industry honor on Nov. 5 at the 7th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles. The ceremony will then air on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. on HBO.
“It’s exciting – it’s great to be acknowledged for a body of work,” Benatar said in an interview with the Hall of Fame. “It doesn’t change anything because the work had already been done, but it’s nice to go forward with that [honor].”
Benatar and Giraldo were inducted along with Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon.
“Pat always reached into the deepest part of herself and came roaring out of the speakers,” Sheryl Crow said in her speech inducting Benatar.
Benatar took the stage with Giraldo and displayed that power moments later.
“We are young!” the 69-year-old sang, her long, gray hair flowing as she soared through a version of 1983’s “Love is a Battlefield.”
Born Patrician Mae Andrzejewski, Benatar was born in Brooklyn and raised in Lindenhurst. She originally didn’t have musical aspirations, and briefly attended Stony Brook University while pursuing a health education degree.
Along her rise to stardom, she met and fell in love with Giraldo, and they were married in 1982. The duo still tours together, have two children, and live in Los Angeles.
-With Zack Tirana and Associated Press
