Bette Davis Eyes

All the boys think she's a spy

SONG: Bette Davis Eyes

ARTIST: Kim Carnes

ALBUM: Mistaken Identity

YEAR: 1981

This song was everywhere in 1981. You’d hear it at the dentist and the supermarket, in shopping malls and video arcades, at roller rinks and record stores and traumatizing school dances.

I’m talking, of course, about Bette Davis Eyes.

Things I Didn’t Know Part #1

I was surprised to learn that Bette Davis Eyes was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974. That’s right—this epic symbol of 80’s pop is actually a cover!

The original version was recorded by Jackie DeShannon. To my ears it sounds like the toothless pop & country schmaltz that was prevalent in the 1970’s. DeShannon did score a couple of well-known hits, however, with What the World Needs Now is Love and Put a Little Love in Your Heart.

Things I Didn’t Know Part #2

The aforementioned DeShannon dated Elvis Presley and Jimmy Page, and supported The Beatles on their first US tour.

But enough about Jackie DeShannon!

We’re here today to celebrate another female singer: gravelly-voiced LA native, Kim freakin’ Carnes.

Carnes released five albums between 1971 and 1980. She achieved a moderate level of success by collaborating with the likes of Kenny Rogers and David Cassidy. Then she dropped album number six.

Mistaken Identity was released in 1981 and climbed all the way to #1 on the Billboard 200. It produced three singles, but it was Bette Davis Eyes that turned Kim Carnes into a household name.

The song spent nine straight weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100. It also won a couple of Grammys: Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

Legend has it that Carnes and her band rehearsed Bette Davis Eyes for three whole days in the studio. They wanted to work on the melody, to give it a darker and more haunting punch than the original had packed. Keyboardist Bill Cuomo was noodling around when he came up with the song’s signature lick. He and record producer Val Garay composed an entirely new arrangement, then proceeded to record the monster hit in a single take.

The video for Bette Davis Eyes is about as 80’s as it gets: moody lighting, suggestive shadows, and an impromptu dance party that appears to be attended by aspiring students at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts.

Things I Didn’t Know Part #3

The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, who would go on to achieve international fame five years later with Highlander.

Kim Carnes wasn’t a one-hit wonder, exactly, but she never managed to duplicate the success she enjoyed with Bette Davis Eyes.

That’s OK. She gave us a song that still sounds fresh and continues to reverberate decades after she recorded it.

And if you listen closely, you can still hear Kim’s unforgettable voice at the dentist and the supermarket.