Kim Carnes discusses her journey as a legendary songwriter and performer, featuring her hit 'Bette Davis Eyes'.
Kim never set out to be a pop star. But life had a way of nudging her toward the spotlight, and before long she was belting out hits that defined an era. Growing up in Los Angeles, Kim was the kind of kid who could lose herself in a song, spending hours at the piano, crafting melodies.
She started as a songwriter, penning tunes for others long before the world ever heard her own husky, unmistakable voice. Her first real break came when she landed a songwriting contract in the late ‘60s. It wasn’t long before people started to notice that this young woman wasn’t just writing good songs—she had a voice that could make them unforgettable.
In the ‘70s, Kim found herself working with some of the best. She teamed up with David Essex. Their friendship led to collaboration.
She also became close with Kenny Rogers. Kim co-wrote Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer with her husband, Dave Ellingson, and when she and Kenny recorded it as a duet in 1980, magic happened.
But it was Bette Davis Eyes that changed everything. The song was originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon in the mid-’70s. But when Kim got her hands on it, she and producer Val Garay transformed it into something completely new. The arrangement was stripped down, the synths were bold, and Kim’s raw, smoky vocals carried a haunting kind of power."When I first heard Jackie’s version, I loved it," Kim says. "But it was so different from what we ended up doing. The minute we started playing around with it, I knew we had something special. That intro, those drums, the way it just pulls you in—I still get chills when I hear it."
When Bette Davis Eyes hit the airwaves in 1981, it was like a shockwave. It climbed the charts fast, sitting at No. 1 for nine weeks—longer than any other song that year. It wasn’t just a hit; it was THE hit.
Even Bette Davis herself loved it, sending Kim flowers and thanking her for the song that made her a household name all over again. "Getting that letter from Bette Davis was surreal," Kim recalls. "She was so gracious, so kind. She told me she played the song at her parties, which just blew my mind."
Kim could have ridden that wave forever, but she was never one to rest on past success. She kept writing, kept recording, and kept working with the people she admired.
One of those people was Barbra Streisand."Barbra is a force," Kim says. "When we worked together on Make No Mistake, He’s Mine, I knew I had to bring my A-game. She has this presence—she knows exactly what she wants, and she’ll work until it’s perfect. And that’s why she’s Barbra Streisand."The song felt like a conversation between two women who knew exactly what heartbreak sounded like. Their voices blended in an unexpected way—Barbra’s controlled precision meeting Kim’s gravelly warmth—and the result was stunning.
Through the ‘80s and into the ‘90s, Kim remained a force in the industry, both as a performer and a songwriter. She wrote for some of the biggest artists out there, proving again and again that she had a gift not just for melody, but for telling stories that stuck with people.
Fast forward to today, and Kim is still making music, still revisiting the songs that made her who she is. In 2024, she released Bette Davis Eyes (Kim’s Version), a new take on her signature song. This wasn’t just a rehash—it was a love letter to the original, re-recorded with some of the same musicians who helped shape it the first time around. "I wanted to do it justice," Kim explains. "I wasn’t interested in just re-recording it for the sake of it. I wanted to feel that magic again."
And the response? Incredible.
Looking back, Kim Carnes' career wasn’t about chasing fame—it was about making music that mattered. Whether writing for others or stepping up to the microphone herself, she’s always been an artist first. And that’s exactly why, all these years later, we’re still listening.
