On November 5th at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, Pat Benatar will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
During a recent interview with Melissa Ruggieri of USA Today, Benatar revealed that she is no longer playing one of her most popular songs at her concerts, an excerpt follows:
USA Today: You also have a big coronation in November with your Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction. It took 20 years since you were eligible to be nominated the first time and you’re finally being acknowledged. Did the delay bother you?
Benatar: "Never. What’s fun for us is to watch how excited everyone else is – our family or friends or the (DJ) in Seattle who put that first cartridge in his radio station with 'Heartbreaker' on it. But listen, it’s great. It’s great for our kids. But the truth is, they’re acknowledging work that has already been done, so it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t do anything to validate me as a person, but it’s nice."
USA Today: You’ve been singing those big vocal songs including “Heartbreaker” on this tour. You’ve also been playing (The Beatles’) “Helter Skelter”. Why that song?
Benatar: "Because I want to have some (expletive) fun! We’re doing a lot of songs we don’t always play like 'In The Heat Of The Night' and 'I Need A Lover'. We have what we call the 'Holy 14,' songs that if we don’t play them, you’ll give us (a hard time). And we’re not doing 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' and fans are having a heart attack and I’m like, I’m sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it. I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. (The title) is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t. I’m not going to go on stage and soapbox – I go to my legislators – but that’s my small contribution to protesting. I’m not going to sing it. Tough."
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"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" appears on Crimes Of Passion, the second studio album by Pat Benatar, released in 1980 on Chrysalis Records. The song was written by Canadian musician Eddie Schwartz, and has since been certified Gold in The United States and Silver in The United Kingdom.
