Unit3 80s Rock Pat Benatar  Benatar was born Patricia Andrzejewski in New York in 1953  She received classical training as an opera singer with a mezzo-sopranno voice  In 1975, Benatar moves to New York and lands a spot at the Catch a Rising Star club  They begin the process of changing her stage persona to more aggressive, Heavy Metal image  Benatar follows up with the 1980 #2 album Crimes of Passion  “Hit Me with your best shot” goes to #9 on the charts, selling millions  The track is one of Benatar’s signature songs, a high-energy rock groove often played at sporting events  It’s been covered by John Cougar Mellencamp, Joan Jett, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Catherine Zeta-Jones  From 1980-82, Benatar has three consecutive Top 5 albums and 11 Top 40 singles through the 1980s  In 1981, Benatar becomes the first winner of the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female  She will win this award for the next three years  Benatar was one of the first women rockers to adopt the hard-driving, guitar-propelled Rock and Roll style  Benatar becomes an MTV staple, with impactful videos like 1985’s “Love is a battlefield” Stevie Nicks  Vocalist Stevie Nicks is best known for her contributions to the pop band Fleetwood Mac  By 1975, Lindsey Buckingham, vocalist and guitarist, and Stevie Nicks have joined  Huge success came their way in 1977 with the multi-platinum Rumours album  By the 80s, members decide to pursue solo careers, and Nicks will enjoy seven Top 40 hits in the early 802  “Stevie Nicks had a look and voice that worked for a front woman”  “She was mysterious and enchanting with a voice quire human; a creature from the deep”  “I can’t wait” is from her 1986 Rock a Little album  The song was written by Nicks and hits the Pop and Dance charts  The song opens with swirling synths and Nicks sings with heavy reverb on her voice  Nicks did perform “I can’t wait” on her 1989 Rock a Little tour, it’s only tour appearance (Stevie Nicks with Pat Smear)  Nicks joins Fleetwood Mac for their induction the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 1

Avant-Garde Laurie Anderson  Born in Chicago in 1947, Laurie Anderson studied classical violin as a child  She later earned her master’s degree in fine arts, focusing on sculpture  Her first musical work featured her conducting an orchestra of car horns in true performance art fashion  Anderson exhibits her artwork in galleries, often adding live music by playing violin and telling stories  In late 1980, producer and musician Roma Baran convinces Anderson to record her piece “O Superman”  “O Superman” was part of a larger work by Anderson, entitled United States  The song hit #2 in the UK and was an unexpected success in the U.S. on Anderson’s 1982 Big Science album  “A delicately painted portrait of technology and power… over a tape loop of steady synthesized “ah ah” harmonies by Anderson”  This compelling work is minimalistic 