Pat Benatar is known for quite a few hits, namely those released during the 1980s. “Love Is A Battlefield” and “Shadows Of The Night” are just a couple of noteworthy hits. And, of course, there’s her 1980 breakthrough single, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. That song might just be the most well-known power pop song of the era.
And while it’s a fun little song inspired by an odd therapy session that songwriter Eddie Schwartz endured back in the day, there are some connotations in the song that might be misunderstood. Because of that, in 2022, Benatar officially retired the song from her setlist. Considering she still actively tours to this day and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is one of her biggest songs, that was quite the intensive decision.
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Here’s the real reason Benatar retired the song.
The Real Reason Pat Benatar Stopped Performing “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” Live
In an interview with USA Today back in 2022, Pat Benatar officially announced that she would be retiring “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. This news came in the middle of Benatar’s De Novo Tour and ahead of her Summer Carnival tour in 2023, in which she’d be supporting Pink along with Brandi Carlile. Not including the song in her setlist would be a huge deal. She even acknowledged that herself, calling the song one of the “holy 14,” referring to 14 of her songs that if she doesn’t play, her fans “give us [a hard time.]” Still, she opted to remove “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” out of respect for victims of mass shootings.
“Fans are having a heart attack and I’m like, I’m sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it,” said Benatar. “I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. [The title] is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t.”
According to setlist.fm, Benatar hasn’t performed this song in quite some time. Though, the platform only appears to show performances through 2009. Benatar has toured since then, notably with Pink and Brandi Carlile, so it’s not abundantly clear if she has stuck to her mantra of not performing “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” since she announced the song’s retirement in 2022. However, I trust her. She’s probably also sick of performing this song constantly, anyway.
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