Neil Geraldo

Pat Benatar's guitarist (and husband), Neil Geraldo, proved to be one of the finest yet underrated guitarists of the early-'80s arena rock/MTV genre. Born on December 29, 1955, and raised in Cleveland, OH, Geraldo picked up the guitar at the age of seven (at the insistence of this father). Influenced early on by such groups as the Yardbirds, Geraldo began playing in bar bands by the age of 15, a few of which issued obscure regional singles. By the mid-'70s, Geraldo was playing bass in a local group, when he got word through a friend that Edgar Winter was looking for a bassist. It turned out to be a false alarm, but the same acquaintance mentioned that Rick Derringer was looking for a guitarist. This time, a try-out was secured, as Geraldo immediately landed the gig. But supposedly, Derringer quickly grew intimidated by Geraldo's prominent stage presence and guitar chops, which led the band leader limiting Geraldo's role on his one and only recording with Derringer, 1979's Guitars and Women (on which Geraldo supplied mostly piano).

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