In The Heat Of The Night  by Pat Benatar

In the Heat Of The Night, released in August 1979, is the dynamic debut of Pat Benatar, which established her as the "Queen of Rock" of the 80s. Its musical style combines hard rock with new wave, balancing between aggressive guitars and pop sensitivity. Here was born her collaboration with guitarist Neil Giraldo, who became her lifelong musical and personal partner.

The recording took place in June and July 1979 at the legendary MCA Whitney Studios in Glendale, California. The producer was Mike Chapman (along with Peter Coleman), who had just completed the successful album Parallel Lines by Blondie. The album includes iconic covers, such as Nick Gilder's Rated X and John Mellencamp's I Need A Lover, which became her first radio hit. However, ultimate success was brought by the singles Heartbreaker and We Live For Love.

Commercially, the record was a triumph, reaching No.12 on the Billboard 200 and achieving sales of over 1,000,000 copies. In Canada, sales reached 400,000, and in France, the album went gold with sales over 100,000 copies.