Why LEGEND Says She Will NEVER SING This 80s Classic EVER Again | Professor of Rock

Poll: What is your pick for the best signature hit for an artist ever? A song that has to be played if they ever perform a show you're at?

Man. I was a college DJ in ‘79, and I remember the day “In the Heat of the Night” showed up. Pat’s voice and intensity blew us all away. I knew right away she was going to be a star.

I never thought of that as violent. To me it was letting people know she was no pushover.

Will never have a bad word to say about Pat, I got the opportunity to meet her when I was just 14 years old. I will never forget how nice she was in a situation where she didn't expect to meet a fan. See my aunt knew her mom, and I got to meet her when I went with my aunt to her mom's house and she just happened to be there. One of the nicest people I have ever met.

I've LOVED Pat since the first moment She, her music, her beauty entered my teen age brain! I have listened to her every chance available. I HAVE NEVER CONNECTED THIS SONG TO THE ACT OF FIRING A GUN !!!

One of my favorite concerts was Pat benatar, REO Speedwagon and Fleetwood Mac, what a night

Definitely a memory song for me. I was divorced with 2 young daughters in my mid twenties, PAINFULLY shy, but I could sing. I had offers from a couple of metro Detroit area club bands, but decided that wasn't the kind of mommy image I wanted to present to my 2 little girls. So I got into a couple of Christian groups, singing for the Lord instead of singing for money. One group was rock gospel, and we did some great music. This was one of a couple of songs that Bob, our lead guitar player, always liked for us to warm up with. He loved the guitar solo. I loved to rock those vocals. The guys would jokingly call me 'Peggy Benatar'. When singing . . . I could be that strong, self confident person that I wasn't in real life. By the end of my twenties, I had found more of that strength and self confidence in my own soul.

I've always seen this song as such a power song, when she says hit me with your best shot, I've always felt like "hit me, I can take it" with the line "I'll get back on my feet again" basically just iterating "I'll go down but always get back up" Never seen it as a sexual thing, just a song full of confidence and power.

When I was a kid my mom played Air Supply and Barry Manilow vinyl nonstop. When she bought Pat Benatar records, it was such sweet relief.

As a female who grew up in the 80’s as a product of baby-boomer parents who instilled rather Victorian values of what it meant to “act like a lady,” “Hit me with your best shot” was EARTH SHATTERING for me. This song blasted the doors wide open for me. I began to see myself, not as “of the weaker sex”, but as EMPOWERED. This song didn’t mean ANYTHING about men hitting women, or about actual shooting, it meant, “Whatever you’ve got, bring it Baby, because I CAN HANDLE IT. I am stronger than whatever garbage you are trying to throw at me.” Seriously…BOOM! This was mind-blowing and life altering to me. To this day, it is my life anthem. Cancer? “HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!” I’m really sad to hear that Pat “retired” this song. It’s too bad she couldn’t see it from another perspective.

As a teen you would think I picked up on the sexual innuendo, and I did, but I did see the song as more about self confidence. To use todays slang, the song is, basically, declaring "Bring it!"

One of the greatest voices in rock history

One thing that strikes me about Pat and Neil is that they must be one of the hardest-working couples in the music business. When Pat's career started to take off, she was playing in Houston (my home town) on such a frequent basis that I started to get the impression that she was a local act. Actually, they played Houston so often because a strong fan following had developed there, but she and her band were still playing nation-wide too. Man, did all that work and constant touring pay off! While I'm a little disappointed that she retired this song from her live set list, I really admire this woman.

Pat Benatar was one of the few artists I saw live on more than one occasion. She always threw an amazing concert. In one of them, she sang this song as an encore and the crowd went wild. She acted a little reluctant and quipped "You all know how much I hate this song!" I honestly thought she was throwing in a little comedic sarcasm because she was smiling and then commenced to sing her heart out! She is truly the Queen of Rock & Roll!

Pretty much every Pat Benatar song brings back amazing memories, such a huge part of the soundtrack of my youth.

Beginning vocals in the song Promises in the dark, are some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard. Awesome stuff

As a kid, when I first discovered Pat Benatar, it was 1988 and her song "All Fired Up" was all over MTV. I asked my mom if she had any of Pat's other music and she loaned me her copy of the "Best Shots" album where I stumbled upon what would become the song that pretty much saved my life and that song was "Hell Is For Children". At the time, I was being harmed by a neighbor and nobody knew what was happening and that song spoke to me, like there was someone out there who understood what I was going through and clearly voiced all of the pain and hurt that I had. 20-something years later, everything came full circle. My friends took me to a Pat Benatar concert and somehow got backstage passes as well for my 30th birthday, which my friends decided to celebrate in the summer. When it got near the end of the show, I watched as Pat started to give her little speech about the song and how they always played it live in solidarity for victims past and present, I instantly started crying because I knew what song it was! It had been lightly raining for most of the show but for some reason it started raining a bit harder once she started "Hell Is For Children" and once she got to the heavy Rocking part at the end, I was screaming every word with tears in my eyes! We were maybe like 2nd or 3rd row and Pat made eye contact with me and threw a fist in the air my way. When I got to meet her and Neil backstage, I instantly started crying again as I told them the whole story of what had happened to me and how that song both saved my life and became an anthem for me to keep going. Before I left, I got a big hug from Pat, a picture with her and Neil, and my copy of "Precious Time" on vinyl signed by her and Neil with the saying "Survivors are rock stars and you are one"

I'm glad that she finally got into the Rock Hall of Fame because she rocked harder than most...

Pat Benetar was the 1st music video I think I saw on MTV. I have seen her so many times and she always finished her show with hit me with your best shot. Crazy that people get offended so easy these days. I have tickets to see her in a few months. I will really miss her singing that. It was her biggest hit. How can she not play that? I wish we could rewind and go back to the 80s.

Pat Benatar is amazing. 'Invincible' holds a permanent spot on my workout mix. The fact that it took so long for her to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame is a complete absurdity.