Pat Benatar - "I''m a better singer than Liza Minnelli"

I agree.

I agree.

She might be a better singer in the technical sense; she is a trained opera singer. But in terms of charisma, personality, richness, etc., Liza blows Benatar away.

Pat's right.

Vocally, Benatar kicks Minnelli out of her Liza Collection Velvet Pants!

Pat beats Liza in all counts except maybe dancing.

Long live Pat!

Link?

Benatar said seeing Minnelli in concert was a huge inspiration to pursue pop music.

It's easy to say you're a better singer when you haven't attempted anything outside of one area.%0D %0D When Benatar does something on the level of "But the World Goes Around" then we'll talk. Not saying she isn't a good singer, but I've heard the "True Love" album.%0D %0D Plus, doesn't she have a book to sell? Stirring up controversy is always a good tactic when you've been out of the spotlight for so long.

This is what Pat said:

[quote]Benatar was classically trained as a vocalist in high school, but gave it up after she married. She was motivated to go back into music when she saw Liza Minelli in concert and thought "This is ridiculous. I%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99m a better singer than she is."

Mabe so, but I don't think Pat could sell Spandex pants and clay-inspired jewelry for 2 hours on HSN like Liza with a Z did.

Liza @ r10.

Unless Pat has designed a Boyfriend Blazer, I'm not interested.

Don't know about Liza, but she blows Martina McBride away.

Who isn't these days?

she's right

Martina McBride has always said Pat Benatar was one of her idols, and actually sang covers of her songs when she was starting out on a rock band.

Pat Benatar stole a hit from me!

[quote]Benatar was classically trained as a vocalist in high school...

HA HA HA HA!

I'm waiting for audio samples to prove how big Benatar's range is.%0D %0D Until then, Minelli is the undefeated winner of this.

Martina McBride is a freeper fundie, but watching her fangirl Pat in that video was kinda cute. Pat sounded amazing.

Benatar has a four octave vocal range, R20.

Martina McBride supports same-sex marriage, and is hardly a freeper fundie.

"I have gay friends who have partners, and I see where they would want to get married. I understand why. So, I can%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99t judge that."

(Out, March 2009)

Only audio, but this is my favorite Pat/Martina duet from that special.

When God-Fearin' Women Get The Blues

But can she play Mame?

I love how R9 tried to spin it as a compliment. "Seeing Minnelli in concert was a huge inspiration to pursue pop music." leaving out, "because she's so lame and I knew I could do better." That's not even "damning with faint praise", there's no praise from Benetar at all, except for herself.

As a teenager I would pretend to be both Pat and Liza. Pat was more fun to just stand and pose in front of the mirror and make angry rock faces. Being Liza was a WORKOUT!

Look, Pat Benatar has ALWAYS had an immensely inflated ego. She's a braggart. I have no idea why she thinks so highly of herself. %0D %0D In a radio interview I heard her refer to herself as "a beautiful woman." She must have started to believe her own publicity, which tried to market her as a sex symbol. No tits, no ass, tombstone teeth and spandex leotards...a sex symbol?%0D %0D What was she really? She was a pop singer who had some hits in the eighties. That's all. She never did anything worth remembering. As for her singing...well, there are quite a few singers who sing as well or better than she can. Cyndi Lauper and Ann Wilson are better singers than her, in my opinion. And she needs to shut the fuck up about her "classically trained" voice and the shit about her studying "opera." Someone should tell her "Pat, nobody gives a flying fuck."%0D %0D She's shilling her memoir now, so you'll probably be hearing more comments about her stunning beauty/sexiness and her incredible vocal range; she's not shy about trumpeting how great she is. She is such an asshole!

From 1980 to 1984 she won the Grammy for Rock- Female four years in a ROW!

Those four years no could touch here.

Ooh. Bitter much, R29?

[quote]She might be a better singer in the technical sense; she is a trained opera singer. But in terms of charisma, personality, richness, etc., Liza blows Benatar away

Of for fuck's sake, Liza is a trainwreck and that's the only interesting thing about her.

I love Cyndi (in the right mood True Colors can still bring me to tears) but I don't think her vocal strength or range holds up to the Pat Benatar / Ann Wilson category. Pat has an ego but she also the chops to back it up.%0D %0D I'm not sure what 4 octaves sound like but she does pretty damn well here.

At least Pat doesn't have to wear the spandex pants anymore or shake her ass.%0D %0D By the time 1982 came around, Pat was looking for a change with her "Get Nervous" album.

R32 = Pat Benatar%0D %0D Liza just did a succesful show on Broadway last year and now has a hit clothing line out. %0D %0D

R33's link is incorrectly labeled "live", it's a lipsync, and would be relatively boring even if it was a live performance.

Here's Cyndi singing "Shine" live on The Today Show. Her voice sound considerably more powerful to me.

R36, I know it's not live. She sings it the same way live. I chose the actual video because all the live links are shot with hand held cameras.

Excuse me, in Liza's heyday, she was second to none. Besides, Liza was and is the whole package: She's an entertainer--singer, dancer, actress and all-around show business legend. %0D %0D This is not to say that Pat Benatar isn't accomplished. Of course she is. Maybe her voice has even held up better than Liza's. But come on, Liza hasn't received an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and multiple Tong Awards for nothing.%0D %0D Pat Benatar didn't have the same career as Liza. Pat was very successful. Pat is a singer, but has largely faded out of the spotlight. Liza is the whole package and has continued to keep herself relevant and employed as an all-around entertainer since she was 17.%0D %0D For god's sake, Liza is show business royalty all on her own...and along the way shared the stage and performed with the Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. You don't get much more "legend" than that.

"For god's sake, Liza is show business royalty all on her own."%0D %0D I don't think you understand how royalty works.

Benatar is all right but she's a chilly personality. Kind of one-dimensional. Never a compelling personality, and now she looks like a valley mom trying to impress her daughter's friends.

R39. Yes, mama. You're the queen. But I did okay for myself--and with a great teacher.

JohnEric, your post really made me laugh. Thanks.

Pat Benetar is as sexy as FUCK!

Liza Minelli and Sammy Davis are so hard to watch. Anyone who could be described as an "all-around entertainer" is probably too souless to bear.

[quote]Liza Minelli and Sammy Davis are so hard to watch.%0D %0D Sorry you blind, pompous ass, but millions throughout the world would disagree.%0D %0D Jesus Christ, now Sammy Davis, Jr. wasn't an entertainer either? Spare us form your ignorant commentary.

Who?

No he was an entertainer, but the catagories of entertainer and artist seem to be mutually exclusive. If you ever hear any of Davis's recordings of standards, they are just embarrassing. Millions of people may like Minelli and Davis. Just like millions of people love Spam, Budweiser, and Sabado Gigante. But you cannot convince me that any of them are any good. (Shall we quote P.T. Barnum?)

Minnelli sucks.

Liza doesn't necessarily ever hit the right notes but there's more to singing than just that...right?

This is a perfect example of how someone with a much bigger and better voice (Cyndi) still sings to their best abilities, full out, but reigns themselves in enough to also let the duet partner shine. Not the ego-trip cuntery of Pat HasBenatar and meek/mild Martina.%0D %0D Cyndi Lauper & Cher, "If I Could Turn Back Time"

And don't forget I work with clay, too!

Pat Benatar on The Joy Behar Show TONIGHT!

She'll follow up on why she feels she is a better singer than Liza.

Bump.

R50, "reins,' dear. (sigh)

I am a better artist than the cave painter of Lascaux. True as this may be, more people want to see Lascaux.

What about me?

Pat Benetar is a whore who has probably slept with everyone male and female in showbiz! She's also probably an addict. %0D %0D

"Ooh. Bitter much, R29?"%0D %0D Nope. Just stating the truth. But you wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on your nonexistent ass, would you Pat?

Do you remember the story Judy told of bringing baby Lorna home from the hospital after giving birth, and Liza accidentally sat on her and nearly killed her?

Never heard that story R59 but did here the one where Lorna attacked baby brother Joe

Shit, even Liza says she doesn't consider herself a singer foremost.

r50, that's not Cyndi allowing Cher to shine, that's Cher just blowing Cyndi off the stage vocally.

R57/Bev, I've heard very differently about Benatar. Happily married to her guitarist husband (part of her band) for 28 years, and not a fan of drugs.

Really, kind of the anti-Liza.

I like Cyndi but you're right, r50. Cher does not get enough credit as the powerful singer she really is.

Loved Pat Benatar in her prime. "Love is a Battlefield" stands the test of time. But, she is now reduced to doing an oldies tour with REO sponsored by local oldies stations. "Has been" is right and me thinks she thinks too much of her vocal abilities. She can have ten octaves for all I care but she does sound thin and shrill to me at times.

Fun fact: Pat is Grace Slick's next-door neighbor in Malibu.

Pat's voice nearly breaks during the chorus in the clip with McBride. She's shouting and can barely control her vibrato. It's kinda painful.

I'm sorry but Pat Benetar has me furious right now, who does she think she is? I'll tell you who she is, a has been piece of shit! Goddammit I HATE PAT BENETAR!!!

The funny thing about Pat Benatar's career is that it lasted exactly as long as the 1980s lasted and then it was over. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" came out in 1980, which was her first hit, and then her last hit "All Fired Up" came out in 1989. After that she was over.

She had her first album called "In the Heat of the Night" in 1979. "Heartbreaker" was on that album.

I loved this video of Promises in the Dark when MTV first came out. Everything about it was great to 12 year old me, the hot sleeveless guitarist (who was he?), the pants which emphasized Pat Benetar's cunt, the beat-up drums, and "one-two-three-four DAAAAAAARK!"

"Pat is Grace Slick's next-door neighbor in Malibu."

Could you imagine the parties those two households could throw?

"You bring the shotgun, Grace. Neil and I will bring the blow."

"the hot sleeveless guitarist (who was he?)"

Pat's husband

I can totally see Pat and Grace having a barbecue together. They'd get totally hammered and then grab the shotgun to shoot cans in the backyard. Then Grace would go drive to the liquor store at 90mph to get more booze.

R38? Liza Minelli has never won a Grammy. She was awarded with a "Legend" Grammy, out of category. Never nominated in a major category.

Benatar's voice makes my ears bleed, I've never been a fan.

Has she ever done anything with those chipmunk teeth of hers? They are so unattractive, they also make her jaw protrude.

Personally, I think it's tacky for any singer to mouth off about another in an interview. The fact that Benatar's music and Liza's are so different, how can she compare?

A friend's sister attended high school with Benatar, she was a big snob even back then, she thought she was already a star because she could sing.

That's OK, Minnelli can drink her under the table.

don't know what YOU consider the 'major categories' but Liza has been nominated a couple of times for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, which is where her music fits.

Their singing is apples and oranges. %0D %0D %0D %0D On the other hand, Pat raised the cuntiest most self entitled bitch of a daughter

Liza never had her own style, she sounds just like her mother. At least Pat has a sort of unique sound. Cher really is underrated, I've been saying that for years, she can sing anything. She's particularly good at old torch songs. She's very expressive, also as an actress, she makes you FEEL. "I feel! I FEEL!" - Rebecca DeMornay to Vince Spano in "And God Created Woman." Pat's playing Nokia Theater in Times Sq. in August.

[quote]On the other hand, Pat raised the cuntiest most self entitled bitch of a daughter%0D %0D Details, R77. We want details.

Dear God I'm a better singer than Liza Minnelli and I'm tone deaf.

[quote]The funny thing about Pat Benatar's career is that it lasted exactly as long as the 1980s lasted and then it was over. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" came out in 1980, which was her first hit, and then her last hit "All Fired Up" came out in 1989. After that she was over.

What do you mean over? You equate singer's careers with just hit songs? She is currently touring all over America, then off to Australia and has a book on the NY Times best seller list.

Pat is a great singer but there was never anything interesing about her. She was a rock singer without rock credibility or a rock lifestyle.%0D %0D She toured recently with Blondie, which I thought was interesting. She and Debbie Harry said that they've been friends for years and years, which I'm not sure I believe. %0D %0D It was n an interesitng pairing. Pat has the voice but no cred. Debbie has cred but no voice.

Cyndi Lauper - hurts my ears. sorry%0D %0D Liza Minnelli is a trainwreck now. However, LOVE her performance of "Maybe this time" from Cabaret.%0D %0D Pat Benatar - nothing compares to her performance of "Hell is for Children" (at link). She is a better vocalist of Cyndi and Liza.

It's a strange world where not having drug or other personal problems is considered detrimental.

More details about the cunty daughter, please!

Minelli lost her voice at a young age, around 1975-78, due to all the heavy, heavy drug use. Seriously. Compare her voice then to her pre-1970's vocals, esp those on stage with her mother, and the decline is obvious.

She should've quit at least 20 years ago, and just switched to acting. She definitely is an underrated comedic talent.

Benatar started the trend towards shouting instead of singing.

r86

Not a big Minnelli fan. But she sounds good doing Some People on her Radio City album, and that was 1991.

R86 ought to give Liza At Carnegie Hall a listen. She was in great voice then and that was the late '80s.%0D %0D People's voices change. You can't expect someone to sound like they're 19 forever. You have to appreciate the character of a person's voice; a lot of singers become better at interpreting music and lyrics as they age.

I'm just glad that Pat Benatar didn't have to be a drug addict or an alcoholic during her heyday in the 1980's.

You do realize that singers go into the studio and doctor their performances on live albums, no? I repeat, Minelli's style is a carbon copy of her mother's, much as Julian Lennon sounded exactly like John Lennon. Blondie is also playing Nokia Times Square in August.

[quote]People's voices change. You can't expect someone to sound like they're 19 forever.

Her voice didn't change, she destroyed it.

Liza Minnelli never had good technique, though. Listen to how she shrieks the end high note of Mein Herr.

I saw her in concert around 1980 and she does have a strong, well-trained voice, which is pretty unusual in rock and roll. She's the only pop singer I've ever heard live that I could imagine being able to make herself heard in a theater without amplification. But though I don't know this for a fact, I'm guessing that in its prime Liza's voice was even stronger than Pat's and a lot more flexible.

R94

No way was Minnelli's voice more flexible. Check out for her version of Frank Mills, for proof.

Sally Bowles was supposed to be a not-very-good singer. They cast Liza Minelli in the role for a reason, bitches.

Linda Ronstadt has a better voice than any of 'em. And she wouldn't need a mic in some venues.

Yes r97, but you'd have to pry her away from the buffet first.

I never liked Ronstadt's voice. Yes, she can sing but there's something about her tone that just doesn't agree with me.

Barkley, you're full of shit. Liza has a different voice and a different style than Judy Garland.%0D %0D I bet you think Bette Midler sounds like Barbra Streisand, because they're both Jewish.

Benatart might think she's a better singer but she obviously still needs to ride Liza's name to get publicity.

[quote]Minelli lost her voice at a young age, around 1975-78, due to all the heavy, heavy drug use. %0D %0D R86. Get the fuck out of here. Liza Minnelli did not lose her voice in the mid-'70s. I saw her in concert several times throughout the '70s, '80s and 90s. Liza was amazing...at the Music Hall in Boston to the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles to the Sports Arena in San Diego where Liza performed with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. %0D %0D And she still has a voice. Granted, it's not what it was, but she's still a great enetertainer. And I'm seeing Liza again in August. I'll report back after the show.

All this because Benatar said, back in the late 1970s when she was all of 19 years old, that she thought she was better than Liza? I imagine a LOT of singers thought they were better than Liza in 1973, especially if they were still freakin' teenagers. Besides, she's told that story before, so why Salon quoted it is beyond me. There has to be juicier stuff in her memoir.

"You equate singer's careers with just hit songs? She is currently touring all over America, then off to Australia and has a book on the NY Times best seller list."%0D %0D I think having hit records IS a pretty good indicator of how well a commercial singer's career is going. And Pat Benatar hasn't had a hit record since the eighties. %0D %0D Of course she tours. That's what has-been pop singers do to make money: go on tours as a nostalgia act. %0D %0D Yeah, she has "a book on the NY times best seller list"...at number 35. Why it's flying right off the shelves!%0D %0D Pat Benatar is very much a manufactured, superficial product of the the eighties. She had a few hits and then her career faded out.%0D %0D In interviews she comes across as arrogant, egotistical and dumb as a tree stump. She also likes to tell stories about how tough she is. One story was about how a when she was a child a little boy threw a rock at her, so she and some others ganged up on him and beat him up. She seemed very proud of that. %0D %0D She is an ASSHOLE. I'd like to knock her numerous gigantic teeth out. She's probably be more attractive if she lost a dozen or so. %0D

My dog's a better singer than Minnelli.

Don't bother r102. You're clearly insane and maybe you won't get a day pass out of the crazy ward to see your idol massacre some songs.%0D %0D Keep taking the meds and who knows maybe your hearing will improve?

Bump.

R97

You obviously didn't see Linda Ronstadt on stage in Pirates of Penzance.

I did see Linda & Rex in the park in "Pirates." It wasn't right for her and I hate Gilbert & Sullivan, they're too twee for me! Saw Linda at The Beacon a few years ago and her voice was better and stronger than ever. The extra weight helps her project, project!!

R109

It tested her voice and her voice didn't pass muster. She even had to be helped with the high notes and she couldn't have performed without amplification in the theatre

Why did you say that Pat Benatar was a manufactured, superficial product, r104?

Bump.

The bitch is delusional and the 80's is so ovah.%0D %0D Benetar why the Liza hate?

What was she really? She was a pop singer who had some hits in the eighties. That's all. She never did anything worth remembering. As for her singing...well, there are quite a few singers who sing as well or better than she can. Cyndi Lauper and Ann Wilson are better singers than her, in my opinion. And she needs to shut the fuck up about her "classically trained" voice and the shit about her studying "opera." Someone should tell her "Pat, nobody gives a flying fuck."%0D %0D So true Fuck her I hope her album or what ever the fuck she calls doing flops big time.%0D %0D I'm sure it will.%0D %0D

Benatar had a tour with blondie I think about a year ago.%0D %0D I'm sure more than 3/4 of the people came for Blondie.

With a 4 octave range you'd think she would have cut a record or toured more over the decades.%0D %0D Guess its kind of hard when you have a limited fan base.%0D %0D Fuck the bitch. %0D %0D You don't fuck with Liza!

Pat Benetar is as sexy as FUCK!%0D %0D Yeah and those teeth will take your dick off!

Okay, now how about someone bump up the Liza on HSN thread? It's buried somewhere and I can't find it.

More on Bitch's daughter!

In Pat Benetar's defense once she started having children, she was not really driven in her career as she was in the past.

Having read her book, she said once her daughter was born, she couldn't care less about the next album or the next award. She just wanted to stay home and take care of her daughter.

But of course she had to pay the bills, so she only went on tour in the summer. And the whole family went, like a traveling circus.

She even had a clause with promoters that she did not perform after August 31, cause she had to get her children ready for the school year.

Having read her book, she said once her daughter was born, she couldn't care less about the next album or the next award. She just wanted to stay home and take care of her daughter.%0D %0D %0D Honey they al saw shit like that when their career is over.%0D %0D Blame the husband & kids.

Pat's first daughter was born in 1985.

While she was pregnant "We Belong" became another Top 5 smash in the US (she was actually pregnant in the video

After her daughter was born, "Invincible" hit the U.S. Top 10 with the #10 single.

She was nominated for a Grammy later that year (having won the award four years in a row)

Doesn't sound like a career in decline.

"Why did you say that Pat Benatar was a manufactured, superficial product, [R104]?"%0D %0D Because she WAS. A lot of pop singers of that time were. That's why so many of them didn't last beyond the eighties.%0D %0D "Doesn't sound like a career in decline."%0D %0D It declined soon enough at the end of the decade.%0D %0D %0D %0D

Because she wanted to be a stay-at home mom, nothing wrong with that.

She always had the attitude of "I'm here. Where are the accolades?"%0D %0D Whatever else you can say about Liza Minnelli, she has always understood the value of hard work and long rehearsals and preparation.

Pat's sort of boring. Anyone who could more or less stay in tune would have had a hit with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." Britney could have had a big success with it.%0D %0D My voice is probably better than Liza's right now as well. But I don't now and will never have the performance skills she possesses (or possessed.) Neither does Pat, if her music videos are sufficient evidence.

Pat Benatar? I shhimply have no idea who he ishh.

It was one of those nights long, long ago, dear, so don't worry about it now. But Pat was, and probably still is, better looking than David Gest.

I saw Pat in concert a few years ago. I love her voice and music, but I also find her pretty arrogant. I can't remember how she got to talking about other bands, but she said something derogatory about a few bands (Styx and Night Ranger were two of them). That comment turned me off.

Pat Benatar is a true survivor of the 1980's. She has never been a drug addict or an alcoholic. Pat stayed true to herself. Though she may no longer be on the charts anymore. Pat Benatar was a force to be reckoned with.

"Pat Benatar is a true survivor of the 1980's. She has never been a drug addict or an alcoholic. Pat stayed true to herself. Though she may no longer be on the charts anymore. Pat Benatar was a force to be reckoned with.'%0D %0D Oh, shut up. She's not a "survivor" She's a douchebag who thinks her shit don't stink. %0D %0D

Bump.

R131, can you prove that Pat's shit stinks? Have you been hiding out in her bathroom? Until I get a firsthand account of her shit stinking, I firmly believe Pat has unscented turds.

She's a better singer than Christina Aguilera, Britney, Madonna, Lady Gaga and her material rocks. I'm going to see her at the Nokia Times Square in August. Who's with me?

I had no idea that Pat gave up her career for motherhood, I might have to rethink my opinion of her. Still I assume if Liza had been able to have a child (a subject which I'm sure must bring her much heartache as I recall her and Mark Gyro talking about wanting to start a family) she would've given up her career as well. Sadly for Liza her career IS her baby.

Pat is an amazing singer with incredible control. She was trained as an opera singer and knows how to sing properly.%0D %0D Liza had a brief moment in the sun as a singer, but she never was very good. And her mother was a hundred times better even when high.

Why call her a douchebag, r131?

R136 get back to us when Pat Benatar's length of career matches Liza's.

"R131, Why call her a douchebag?"%0D %0D Have you ever heard anything she's said in interviews? She brags about her singing. She brags about her looks. She disses other singers. And she didn't "give up her career" for motherhood. Very much a product of the eighties, her popularity was waning but she wants people to believe that it was her dedication to motherhood that made her disappear, rather than tanking record sales. %0D %0D And please, enough with the "training as an opera singer" shit! Who gives a fuck about her so-called "opera training?" I think that whole bit about her opera training is probably a load of shit. It seems like a publicity ploy, since it seems to get mentioned in every single article and interview about the cuntish Pat.

Fair enough, r139.

Liza recounted on Rosie Radio recently the experience of seeing her stillborn baby. Her voice broke while telling it. She's usually such a frustrating interview ("I think x,y,z is TERRIFIC!"), but she opened up to Rosie.

I think she was beyond her voice breaking. It sounded like she was really choked up, maybe crying a little. She also spoke about the first time she tried to cook for Peter Allen after they were married, that she didn't know how to and broke down when he criticized her admittedly bad results of an earnest attempt.

There was a joint review of Pat Benatar and Belinda Carlisle's memoirs in the New York Times recently. Basically, the review said that the memoirs were ok, but nothing special.%0D %0D The review of Benatar's memoir says that after she had a "revelation" at a Liza Minnelli concert (the revelation that she could sing better than Liza, I suppose) she decided to pursue a show business career "for real." She hooked up with Neil Giraldo and they created a "formula" that produced a string of hits.%0D %0D The review stated: Throughout her career, Benatar remained committed to combating the focus on selling female performers for their sex appeal. %C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9CSexy didn%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99t even occur to me,%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9D she says. %C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9CI was much more interested in showing how strong-minded I was.%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9D When her record company tries to play up her looks, she finds it %C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9Coffensive but also boring %C3%A2%C2%80%C2%94 typical of most men%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99s thinking in postfeminist America." WTF?! This coming from a woman with a spiked hair-do, wearing hooker-like makeup, her standard stage costume consisting of spandex leotards cut so high in back that it was painfully obvious that she had no ass?%0D "Sexy" didn't occur to her? What a crock of shit! She played UP the sex angle, in order to sell more records.%0D %0D When her popularity slacks off as the eighties came to a close she decides it's time embrace the digital age and "remake herself" as a "brand." "While I made a pretty good rock star, I made an even better businesswoman" she brags. %0D %0D I flipped through her book in a Barnes and Noble. There's a picture of her daughters in it. They both look like overly made-up, very blonde hookers/bimbos. %0D %0D As for Carlisle's memoir, it's a typical, standard story; after going through a lot of crap she gets famous, becomes a drug addict/alcoholic, then cleans up and now everything is hunky dory. %0D %0D Benatar and Carlisle got a joint review, but the review for the biography of Karen Carpenter got a full page. Even now, Karen Carpenter is a bigger star than Benatar or Carlisle ever was.

Agreed, r143.

How did this thread get resurrected?

Pat's book sales are slow, so her street team is hitting all the queer sites, I guess.

"She brags about her looks."

What LOOKS? I always found Pat Bent Guitar incredibly unattractive, that horrible overbite with bizarre huge teeth, which were/are too big for her tiny face and that scrawny unsexy skinny body. She looks like an elf!

Pat is typical of female singers of that era, the New Wave/Punk era produced very little relevant long lasting music. She was on the pop end of that era's music.

She certainly wasn't an important songwriter/singer to come out of that era, such as Elvis Costello or Sting, nor did she have longevity, such as The Cure. She didn't change music history as The Sex Pistols, she was simply another loud mouth singer jumping on the New Wave/Punk bandwagon.

Debbie Harry might not have had a powerful voice, but she's more iconic and important to that era's music, than Pat will ever be. Blondie mixed the punk sensibility with pop and dance music. Pat's music was simple pop music dressed up as New Wave, I never got her appeal.

Singing loudly doesn't make one a good singer, Rod Stewart technically never had much of a voice, but he was great interpreter/stylist of other people's songs, check out his first two albums! They are brilliant!

Pat seemed to latch onto a popular music scene of he time, I'm sure if she succeeded in having a Broadway singing career, she would have never become a pop/rock singer.

Not to denigrate Karen Carpenter's talent, but she got a full page review because of her troubled life (anorexia etc.) Carlisle has had problems as well (her son was, what, 12? before she quit drugs) but she's writing her own story and telling it how she wants. A biography of Carpenter is potentially a much juicier read.

But Karen's records are terrible, overly twee, sentimental and don't have anything to do with rock. Y'all just like her because she's dead. And Pat & Debbie are both bigger stars than Karen ever was. Most young people aside from grandmothers hated the Carpenters. Pat's made some great records, Billy Steinberg's a genius songwriter. Check out some of his early songs on early Pat CDs.

Next?

Pat Benatar hated wearing those black spandex pants and shaking her ass. She had a song later on in her career called "Sex As A Weapon."

I've seen Pat Benatar in concert many times. She IS a better singer. But not the most pleasant person. I've met her many times backstage, at interviews, at parties. Not the friendliest, unfortunately. Her husband Neil is a doll, though.

Thanks for the info, r152.

"Pat Benatar hated wearing those black spandex pants and shaking her ass."%0D %0D If she hated wearing black spandex and shaking her ass then why did wear black spandex and shake her ass during her entire career in the eighties? %0D %0D Benatar is one of the most unlikeable female singers I've ever heard of. In interviews and in her book she seems like a bitch par excellence.

Both of these women are incredible in their own way. They would most likely get a big laugh out of how all of their fans are taking up arms against each other. I am more of a Pat Benetar fan but I also acknowledge how incredible Liza is. Who care who claims to be better or best. Lets just sit back and enjoy the fantastic music these two have created and given to us all.

I don't think Cher has much vocal range, but she sure does have a powerful voice and can sing live well. You can't deny that.

Neither Liza nor Pat have 107 million You Tube hits. It's obvious I'm better than both.

Pat Benatar bores me to tears. People will still be discussing Liza long after Pat is forgotten.

Pat Benatar did not take very good care of her voice at all and a recent Oprah Show appearance she made proves that. Pat's voice aged horribly because she did not take good care of it at all. So, she now concentrates on what little she has wound up being able to do vocally instead of bringing any sort of passion or emotion to her performance.

Meanwhile...

Liza brings what she can now do vocally to the audience 100% of the way all hit or miss (sometimes) or even due or die style like her late mother always did. And, she has a true and obvious passion for what she brings to a performance.

So...

Liza will always bring it come heck or high water. But, Pat will always be to focused on what she was once able to do but no longer can.

Liza wins. Case closed.

You gurls sound like you're gay, are you gay?

Pat Benatar's weighted underwear is definitely sexier than Liza Minnelli's gym shorts any day as well.

I LOVE Pat Benatar. I have loved her since 1979. She is the greatest rock singers of all time, this is my "tone-deaf" opinion. I have watched every interview, and have read every article that I have come across in the past 30+ years. That said, I do not believe that Pat ever said this. The quote I recall is: "I was invited to attend the concert with some co-workers...I have never really liked her (Liza's) music, but I love her mother...during the concert I was sitting there thinking, I can do this". Pat is truly a humble type of star, she doesn't brag or fight for a microphone. She is always gracious to other performers. She is a class-act!

[quote]Benatar said seeing Minnelli in concert was a huge inspiration to pursue pop music.

I believe that. I'm sure after the show she said to herself, "Well, I could do what she does and make a living performing unoriginal material and selling it as shmaltz to old coots stuck in the past. Or I could write and perform my own songs, pack stadiums, not supper-clubs, and reach an audience that is young and hip and closer to my age."

I used love Pat back in the day when I was 12-14 yrs old but honestly have not given her a lot of thought until I saw this thread!

"And Pat & Debbie are both bigger stars than Karen ever was."

You are SO full of shit. I have no liking for Karen Carpenter, but her popularity way surpassed that of "Pat and Debbie." And still does.

Comparing Karen Carpenter to Pat Benatar is foolish. Carpenter was from a totally different era, had a totally different audience and was a totally different genre of music.

what r3 said

yeah but does Pat have a retarded brother?

R164 Actually You Better Run was the most overplayed. I remember seeing one of those history of MTV documentaries and they didn't have too many videos at the beginning….they all came to hate You Better Run because it ran, like, every hour.

This is why I always liked Olivia Newton John. She knew she was a cute pop and kept her ego in check.

and Pat Benatar would be totally right, if she indeed said this. She has a multi-octave voice. No way would mediocre Minnelli ever be able to compete with her, even if drugs and booze were never a factor. Minnelli was never that great of a singing talent. Her fans are delusional. Benatar should have been a much bigger star given her talent.

Liza Minelli's voice was nothing special and a snooze fest. I'll take Pat any day.

I too also read Pat's book and she said of watching Liza concert "I'm better than this"

Yes, but Pat is the ultimate winner because she got THIS:

While Liza got THIS:

And THIS:

If she's better than Liza, we'll put her in [italic]Chicago[/italic]. Can't hurt to have an actual singer do it for once.

She must hope that the mere mention of her name comparing herself to her betters will somehow enhance her career. Benatar is just a little cuppie doll with a good voice but no real talent to speak otherwise.

and Pat Benatar ain't lying! She has a nice voice. Minnelli is and always has been mediocre at best.

I've never understood the appeal of Minnelli. She was fine on Arrested Development but that was basically a parody of herself. Would she be anywhere if it weren't for nepotism?

OP, Why rip her apart? She's absolutely right. Pat blows Liza out of the water.

I have always been baffled by the Liza obsession. I will be 50 later this year and I always thought of her (as well as Barbra) as "old people's music." She never did a thing for me, though I did like her in the movie "Arthur" back in '81 or so.

I love Benatar. She was my generation. I am 45. Liza? Not so much. She was just another glittery gowned diva.

Liza is the least of her problems, her never-was-famous-in-the-first-place husband needs to stop show boating during her i-love-the-80's-has-been tours.

Pat's better.

I no longer hold this to be true, but I used to say of Liza that she was just a big bunch if noise.

I no longer hold such a harsh assessment, and that persona of hers is what, for me, made Cabaret a pleasure to watch.

Liza's a legend.

Pat, not so much.

From a technical standpoint Pat Benatar, hands down, has the better voice. I wish Benatar chose better songs and showed more of a vocal range.

Liza Minnelli is likeable but she is pretty much known for three things Cabaret, Arthur and being Judy Garland's daughter. That's pretty much it. In a way she is pretty much famous for being famous.

(Regarding Arthur - would Dudley Moore's character really go for someone who looked like Minnelli? God, he had to just thrilled when he found she was cast!)

Pat is OK for what she is, but Liza is a star

Minnelli sings better songs, but Pat stayed away from the drugs and booze.

Amen, r189.

No.

Pat is a belter. Liza is an interpreter. The latter takes far more skill and intelligence.

[quote]Liza Minnelli is likeable but she is pretty much known for three things Cabaret, Arthur and being Judy Garland's daughter. That's pretty much it.

What are we? Chopped liver?

Whasct? Whosh thish?

Do we know thish Benastar pershon?

I thinshk I needs some of pillsch, Schweetie....

Benatar had a better voice in technical terms, but Liza was a throwback to old school showbiz. As stated upthread, she is more of an interpreter and also far more of a performer.

This thread is still open!

I love Liza in Cabaret❤️However, Pat Benatar’s Greatest Hits rocks! Hell is for Children, Love is a Battlefield, Promises in the Dark, Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Shadows of the Night are classics!!

As much as I like Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors, she don’t hold a candle to Pat Benatar (or Nancy Wilson) vocally.

[quote] As much as I like Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors, she don’t hold a candle to Pat Benatar (or Nancy Wilson) vocally.

I agree. None of them heifers could hold a candle to Nancy Wilson.