Song #56: "Sex As A Weapon"--Pat Benatar (1985)

On the back end of an impressive run of singles, albums, and radio hits from one of the best female voices of the rock era came the release "Seven The Hard Way" from the great Pat Benatar in 1985. The album is best known for the single "Invincible", which also appeared in the movie "The Legend of Billie Jean".

Late that year, as I was still trying to get settled in to life in Western Massachusetts, today's song was released to radio. Having the word "sex" in a song title back then still caused quite a bit of head turning. The song peaked on the charts at #28.

This is quintessential Pat Benatar. It's straight forward, in your face rock with enough pop elements to make it radio friendly, features Pat's incredible voice, and, frankly, the message is just as relevant today as it was 32 years ago, 32 years before that, and so on, from singles looking for their love, to dating couples, and definitely to married couples.

The song also hasn't been overplayed by classic rock radio like the now-exhausted "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". A very good song when released in 1981, now, I can hardly bear to hear it. Classic rock radio programmers do, for the most part, a lousy job, in my humble opinion, and are one reason why some of their format's mainstays come nowhere near my Top 500.

So proud of Pat Benatar's Richmond roots. I do highly regret never going to see her in concert back in the day.