The 30 Best Pat Benatar Songs, from Heartbreaker to Love Is a Battlefield

What is Pat Benatar's most famous song?

"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is Pat Benatar's signature song, her first top ten hit in 1980. "Love Is a Battlefield" and "We Belong" were her biggest chart hits, both reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Heartbreaker", "Shadows of the Night" and "Invincible" remain rock radio staples.

Pat Benatar's biggest hits

1. "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", 1980: written by Eddie Schwartz, it reached number nine and became her anthem.
2. "Love Is a Battlefield", 1983: a number five hit with a famous dance-floor video.
3. "We Belong", 1984: a soaring power ballad from Tropico, also a number five hit.
4. "Heartbreaker", 1979: her breakthrough single, number 23.
5. "Invincible", 1985: the theme from The Legend of Billie Jean, a top ten hit.
6. "Shadows of the Night", 1982: a dramatic number 13 hit from Get Nervous.
7. "Fire and Ice", 1981: a Grammy-winning rocker from Precious Time.
8. "Treat Me Right", 1980: a defiant number 18 single from Crimes of Passion.
9. "Promises in the Dark", 1981: a slow-building song co-written with Neil Giraldo.
10. "All Fired Up", 1988: her last top 20 hit, from Wide Awake in Dreamland.

Pat Benatar songs of 1979 and 1980

11. "I Need a Lover", 1979: her debut single, a song written by John Mellencamp.
12. "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", 1979: a cover of the Smokie song, from her first album.
13. "We Live for Love", 1979: a number 27 hit from In the Heat of the Night.
14. "You Better Run", 1980: a cover of the Young Rascals song and the second video ever played on MTV.
15. "Hell Is for Children", 1980: a fierce song about child abuse.
16. "Wuthering Heights", 1980: her bold cover of the Kate Bush song.

Pat Benatar songs of 1981 to 1983

17. "Precious Time", 1981: the title track of her first number one album.
18. "Little Too Late", 1983: a number 20 single from Get Nervous.
19. "Looking for a Stranger", 1983: a moody top 40 hit.
20. "Anxiety (Get Nervous)", 1982: the edgy title song of her fourth album.
21. "Lipstick Lies", 1983: a studio track from Live from Earth.

Later Pat Benatar songs

22. "Ooh Ooh Song", 1985: a number 36 hit from Tropico.
23. "Painted Desert", 1984: a single from Tropico.
24. "Sex as a Weapon", 1985: a number 28 hit from Seven the Hard Way.
25. "Le Bel Age", 1986: a single from Seven the Hard Way.
26. "Don't Walk Away", 1988: a single from Wide Awake in Dreamland.
27. "True Love", 1991: the title track of her blues album.
28. "Somebody's Baby", 1993: a single from Gravity's Rainbow.
29. "Papa's Roses", 1997: a single from her 1997 album Innamorata.
30. "Dancing Through the Wreckage", 2017: a song for the documentary Served Like a Girl.

Who is Pat Benatar?

Pat Benatar was born Patricia Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953, in Brooklyn and grew up in Lindenhurst on Long Island. She trained as a classical singer before turning to rock, and her power and precise phrasing set her apart from every other rocker of the era. Her 1979 debut, In the Heat of the Night, launched a run of 15 top 40 hits between 1979 and 1988, and her second and third albums, Crimes of Passion and Precious Time, made her one of the best-selling female rock artists of the decade.

Four Grammys in a row

Pat Benatar won the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance four years running: for Crimes of Passion, "Fire and Ice", "Shadows of the Night" and "Love Is a Battlefield". The streak made her the defining female rock voice of the early MTV era.

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo

Guitarist Neil Giraldo joined her band in 1979 and became her producer, arranger and songwriting partner. The two married in 1982 and have performed together ever since, and many of the hits on this list carry his guitar parts and arrangements. In 2022, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together.

The story behind Love Is a Battlefield

"Love Is a Battlefield" was written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight and recorded as a new studio track for the 1983 live album Live from Earth. Its video, in which Benatar plays a young woman who leaves home for the city and leads a dance-floor revolt against a club owner, became an MTV favorite, and the song reached number five. For more hits from the decade, see our 80s songs.

The story behind Hit Me with Your Best Shot

"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" was written by the Canadian songwriter Eddie Schwartz, not by Benatar herself, and she recorded it for her second album, Crimes of Passion. Released in 1980, it became her first top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and its punchy riff and dare-you attitude made it the song most people still connect with her name. Crimes of Passion went on to win her first Grammy.

You Better Run and the first day of MTV

When MTV went on the air on August 1, 1981, the first video it played was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star". The second was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run", her tough cover of the 1966 Young Rascals song. Her striking look and strong videos made her one of the channel's first stars, and "Love Is a Battlefield" and "Shadows of the Night" kept her in heavy rotation.

Invincible and The Legend of Billie Jean

"Invincible" was the theme song of the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean, starring Helen Slater as a teenager who becomes a folk hero after standing up to injustice. The song reached number ten, her last top ten hit, and it later appeared on her album Seven the Hard Way.

Pat Benatar songs for a workout

For a run or a gym session, start with "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Invincible" and "Treat Me Right", then add "All Fired Up" and "Heartbreaker" for the final push. For more, see our motivational songs.

Pat Benatar songs for karaoke

"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is the karaoke classic, and "Heartbreaker", "Love Is a Battlefield" and "Invincible" are close behind. "We Belong" is the big singalong for a group. For more, see our best karaoke songs.

Pat Benatar songs for a wedding

"We Belong" is the natural choice for a first dance or a wedding slideshow, and "Promises in the Dark" suits a dramatic entrance. For more ideas, see our 80s wedding songs.

More female rock voices

If you love Pat Benatar, explore our 80s female singers, Stevie Nicks songs and songs about strong women.

A rock anthem about them

Pat Benatar's songs are about standing your ground and loving fiercely. A personalized rock song can celebrate someone you love the same way: their name, their strength and the stories only you two share. It makes a great birthday, anniversary or Mother's Day gift for a rock fan.

How to create a personalized rock song

1. Choose a style from 14 genres: rock, pop, country and more.
2. Add their name.
3. Share three memories or details about them.
4. Review the lyrics and edit or regenerate them for free before any music is made.
5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $35.99, or $40.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Give them an anthem of their own: create a song and hear four previews for free.