Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo met back in 1979, when he was recruited to help arrange and write songs for her debut album, “In the Heat of the Night.”
Forty-five years later it’s a partnership, and a marriage, that’s still going strong.
“in the Heat…” was a platinum success that set Benatar and Giraldo up for a career that’s included 10 more albums, 15 Top 40 hits, four Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards and a 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Later that year they also debuted a stage musical, “Invincible,” telling the “Romeo & Juliet” story via a selection of their songs.
This year the couple — parents of two, grandparents of three — is back on the road, enjoying what they still consider to be, as per the title of their third album, “Precious Time…”
• Reflecting on the anniversary of “In the Heat of Night” and hits such as “Heartbreaker” and “We Live For Love,” Benatar, 71, says that “some days it feels like it’s been five minutes, some days it’s, ‘Holy s***, this is a long time!’ But it feels mostly like five minutes.” Giraldo, 68, adds that “We remember being in the studio doing (the first album), everything about it. We connected on so many levels. The minute we met we knew we were gonna do something that was really special. I’m not a metaphysical guy, but the idea it was aligned the two of us would meet like that is remarkable. All I was looking for was a great singer and form a band and…we got so much more, y’know? It’s great.”
•In fact, the two moved several years ago to being billed as both of them rather than just Benatar. “We’re so tightly woven in all aspects of our life,” she explains. “It still feels great on all of our levels — for us as a couple, still made for each other, and then musically everything is so fresh. Every day we go out it’s like a new day. We have such gratitude for that We couldn’t have asked for a better life than this.”
•It’s been awhile since they’ve released new music; 21 years since their last album, “Go,” and four years since the one-off single “Together.” Benatar says that “we have about 125 songs around, waiting to be recorded” but laughs as she adds, “If you can get my husband in there to do it, please by my guest.” Giraldo — who’s writing a memoir, recording a holiday album and starting work on another project with former Benatar band drummer Myron Grombacher — seconds that “we do have a lot of songs” but says time considerations are the holdup. “The best records, I believe, are done in 29 days,” he explains. “You just get in there, do it and get done. You have to be able to block that time out so your primary focus is on that recording. That is the most difficult part. As you get older…it’s hard to find that block.”
•The two are, however, working on a children’s book that’s due out next year, inspired by the relationship with their grandchildren. “It’s about everything we do and everything they do…and it’s about music,” Benatar says. “It’s sweet. We loved raising our kids so much, but (being grandparents) is a whole other level. It’s been really fun to write this book for them.” She and Giraldo are also “working on songs to go with the book” when it’s published.
•After its debut in Los Angeles during late 2022, the “Invincible” musical is being revised, with work scheduled for this fall in New York. “The place we’re at right now is about tearing it to shreds and starting over,” says Benatar. “We have the liberty to do that because we haven’t gone to even Off-Broadway or anything like that. So we’re tearing it apart, doing a similar show but with a lot of different elements to it.” Giraldo expects the result to be “different and the same at the same time. I think we got too far in the weeds with it and it started getting a little messy. So maybe we’ll be going back to breaking the rules a little bit, trying to be brave.” No date has yet been set for its next staging.
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, with the Vindys, perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16 at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre on the campus of Oakland University, Rochester Hills. (313)471-7000 or 313Presents.com.
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