Between a Heart and a Rock Place_ A Memoir Part 8

Quintessential '80s: lots of eyeliner and bad clothes. Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer

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This photograph was taken during an HBO special that we did in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982. Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer

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A shot from the set of the video for "Love Is a Battlefield." It took forty-eight hours of intense rehearsal to get ready for the dance sequence in the video. The end results were worth it, but I couldn't walk for days afterward. Photograph by Misha Erwitt Photograph by Misha Erwitt

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During the video shoot for "Lipstick Lies" this is the band having a laugh between takes. Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer

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Spyder and me in 1983. Photograph by Laura Levine Photograph by Laura Levine

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The schedule of touring and promotion was never-ending. When we weren't recording an alb.u.m, we were either on the road or promoting it with publicity photographs like this one. Photograph by Mathew Rolston Photograph by Mathew Rolston

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This photograph was from an article in Harper's Bazaar. Photograph by Mathew Rolston Harper's Bazaar. Photograph by Mathew Rolston

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A publicity shot from 1984. Photograph by Wayne Mazer Photograph by Wayne Mazer

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This was taken on the set of the video for "We Belong," which was featured on our alb.u.m Tropico. Tropico. It was while we were recording this record that I learned I was pregnant with our first daughter. It was while we were recording this record that I learned I was pregnant with our first daughter. Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer

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On Tropico, Tropico, we took our sound in a different direction, taking a step away from our signature, electric-guitar-driven sound. This photograph was taken during the video shoot for "Ooh Ooh Song." we took our sound in a different direction, taking a step away from our signature, electric-guitar-driven sound. This photograph was taken during the video shoot for "Ooh Ooh Song." Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer Photograph by Jeffrey Mayer

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The song and video for "Invincible" were recorded and shot only a few weeks after I gave birth to Haley in 1985. The song was on Seven the Hard Way Seven the Hard Way and became a top ten hit for us. and became a top ten hit for us. Photograph by Lester Cohen Photograph by Lester Cohen

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An outtake photograph from the cover of Wide Awake in Dreamland Wide Awake in Dreamland. Photograph by Moshe Brakha Photograph by Moshe Brakha

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This photograph, taken in L.A. in 1988, was a promotional shot for Wide Awake in Dreamland Wide Awake in Dreamland. Photograph by Moshe Brakha Photograph by Moshe Brakha

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A shot from the video for "Let's Stay Together" off of Wide Awake in Dreamland Wide Awake in Dreamland. Photograph by Lester Cohen Photograph by Lester Cohen

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This photograph is from the video for "All Fired Up." Even though the single was a hit, it couldn't save the tour we embarked on in support of Wide Awake in Dreamland. Photograph by Lester Cohen Wide Awake in Dreamland. Photograph by Lester Cohen

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After the fiasco with Wide Awake in Dreamland Wide Awake in Dreamland, I was ready to walk away from singing for good. This photograph was taken for the alb.u.m True Love True Love. Spyder's crazy idea. A collection of blues songs that inspired us to continue making music. Photograph by Randee Saint Nicholas Photograph by Randee Saint Nicholas

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This shot was taken during our Can't Stop Rockin' tour with REO Speedwagon and Fleetwood Mac (from left to right: Myron, Spyder, and Mick Mahan). Myron, Spyder, and Mick Mahan). Photograph by Brigette Leonard Photograph by Brigette Leonard

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A photograph from our Innamorata Innamorata cover session. cover session. Photograph by Dennis Keely Photograph by Dennis Keely

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Me signing photographs backstage during the 2001 Summer Vacation tour. We've toured every summer for the past thirteen years. This allows us to be hands-on parents during the school year. Photograph by Roxanne Lowit Photograph by Roxanne Lowit

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Spyder and I have been together for thirty-one years. Raising kids, making music, it's been an amazing journey. Photograph by Beth Herzaft Photograph by Beth Herzaft

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Our daughters, Hana and Haley. Photograph by Dana Fineman Photograph by Dana Fineman

"Just listen to the vocal on the chorus. I know I can sing the s.h.i.t out of that."

"I don't know," he said. "It seems like a predictable love song."

"But you can do your thing, churn it up. Make it sound huge, not like a ballad anymore," I said insistently. "Let me sing it for you."

Then he started warming up to it. In a few days he returned with an epic, beautifully constructed song with an arpeggiated keyboard intro that would become the most identifiable part of the monstrous. .h.i.t that was "We Belong." By working it out on his own, he'd sold himself on it. Now he was professing his love for the song, to which I promptly responded, "You're such a pain in the a.s.s." He smiled back, and said, "Thanks, that's my job." He didn't care how it got done as long as it was great in the end. such a pain in the a.s.s." He smiled back, and said, "Thanks, that's my job." He didn't care how it got done as long as it was great in the end.

"We Belong" was released on Tropico, Tropico, our first full studio alb.u.m in two years at the time. But that wasn't all that we produced. During the making of our first full studio alb.u.m in two years at the time. But that wasn't all that we produced. During the making of Tropico, Tropico, we finally got pregnant. we finally got pregnant.

AFTER THE SUCCESS OF "Love Is a Battlefield," "Love Is a Battlefield," Live from Earth Live from Earth went platinum, and I won a Grammy for "Battlefield." The alb.u.m stayed on the charts nearly three years. Those awards, the twenty-sixth annual Grammy Awards at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, on February 28, 1984, marked the reign of Michael Jackson as the King of Pop. Michael won record and alb.u.m awards in the overall categories for "Beat It" and went platinum, and I won a Grammy for "Battlefield." The alb.u.m stayed on the charts nearly three years. Those awards, the twenty-sixth annual Grammy Awards at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, on February 28, 1984, marked the reign of Michael Jackson as the King of Pop. Michael won record and alb.u.m awards in the overall categories for "Beat It" and Thriller; Thriller; Best Pop Performance, Male, for Best Pop Performance, Male, for Thriller; Thriller; Best Rock Performance, Male, for "Beat It" and Best Video for "Thriller." Best Rock Performance, Male, for "Beat It" and Best Video for "Thriller."

In my category, Best Rock Performance, Female, I was up against Joan Armatrading for The Key, The Key, Kim Carnes for "Invisible Hands," Stevie Nicks for "Stand Back," and Bonnie Tyler for Kim Carnes for "Invisible Hands," Stevie Nicks for "Stand Back," and Bonnie Tyler for Faster than the Speed of Night Faster than the Speed of Night. "Love Is a Battlefield" became my fourth Grammy win. Ironically, we didn't attend the awards show, but they did finally televise the category and someone accepted for me. The video was nominated for an MTV Award. Those were heady days. In the midst of the awards, Crimes of Pa.s.sion Crimes of Pa.s.sion went five-times platinum and went five-times platinum and Precious Time Precious Time was certified double platinum. was certified double platinum.

Despite everything that was going on, our break from recording emphasized that this was a time of commitment for us. Once we had made the decision to marry, everything had solidified. I was the most important person in his world, and he was the most important in mine. We shared the same goals and aspirations, the same values, and the same professional dedication. One goal in particular that we shared would have caused hysterics at our record label if they'd known about it. Spyder and I were determined to start a family.

Ever since we'd gotten married, we'd both wanted children. We actually started trying right away because we wanted more than one child, and at twenty-nine, I was not getting any younger. But it hadn't been working. Mother Nature played her cruel hand, and after two years we still didn't have a baby. By the time we went into the studio to record the material that would become our fifth studio alb.u.m, Tropico, Tropico, Spyder and I had just about given up trying to get pregnant. Spyder and I had just about given up trying to get pregnant.

Thanks in part to our prolonged break, the recording of Tropico Tropico began without much of the stress that had followed our earlier trips into the studio. We had cultivated some really strong songs and we both felt very optimistic about the ideas we had for "We Belong." began without much of the stress that had followed our earlier trips into the studio. We had cultivated some really strong songs and we both felt very optimistic about the ideas we had for "We Belong."

Of course, Chrysalis was still pushing an intense timeline for us, in which we were recording the alb.u.m and shooting the videos for the singles at the same time. The first video we shot was for the song "Painted Desert," and not surprisingly the shoot took place in the desert outside of L.A. We hired an Italian director and began filming on June 21, which was the summer solstice-the longest day of the year.

It was also the hottest. I remember that the glue that held the soles of my shoes together melted. We had to improvise and make it work, but the heat was making me incredibly sick that day. Normally I'm not affected by warm temperatures, but I felt awful. I stayed in my air-conditioned trailer, only coming out when they needed me in the shot. To make matters worse, my clothes were stretched tight on every part of my body. Two weeks prior to the video, the wardrobe person had done a fitting for the clothes I'd be wearing on camera, but for some reason, now the clothes no longer fit. The pair of black pants she'd fit me for, which were supposed to be tight to begin with, were now cutting off the circulation in my waist and legs.

We filmed all day, and I struggled with my concentration the entire way. I couldn't focus and felt sick. The heat was agony, and my clothes were vacuum-sealed to me. I counted the minutes until it was finally finished.

The next day we went to the post-production site. This director liked to edit on a big screen, and the images from the footage we'd shot were huge. Surprisingly they looked pretty good, considering the main character had been barely able to partic.i.p.ate.

At one point I was in the editing room alone with the director; he leaned over and in his thick Italian accent, he quietly asked, "You are with child?"