Benatar's debut album "In the Heat of the Night" was released in August 1979, but only debuted on the US Billboard 200 album chart in October, eventually peaking at number 12 in the US in March 1980. Mike Chapman produced three tracks on the album, while engineer Peter Coleman oversaw the rest. In addition, Chapman and his songwriting partner, Nicky Chinn, wrote three songs that appear on the LP: "In the Heat of the Night" and "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" which were previously recorded by Smokie, and a rearranged version of a song they wrote for Sweet, "No You Don't". The album also featured two songs written by Roger Capps and Benatar, "I Need a Lover" written by John Mellencamp, and "Don't Let It Show", written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.