Chrissie Hynde at 60

Chrissie Hynde, the lead singer and main songwriter of the Pretenders, turns 60 today.  Though the Pretenders are a British-based band, Hynde hails from Akron, Ohio, and formed the band after moving to London in the early 1970s.

The Pretenders have become fairly well-known since their debut in 1978, and the band’s discography includes nine studio albums, with the most recent being Break Up the Concrete in 2008.  In that time, Hynde and the Pretenders have scored six top 40 hits on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, two of which hit the top 10:  “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” which went to number 10 in December of 1986, and the band’s biggest hit, “Back on the Chain Gang,” which rose to number 5 in March of 1983 and is featured above.

For more on the Pretenders, check out the band’s official website.