Bette Davis Eyes

"Bette Davis Eyes" is a song made popular by the American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes.

The song was written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. DeShannon recorded the song that same year on her album New Arrangement. But it was not until 1981, when Kim Carnes recorded her version of the song, that it became a commercial success.

The Kim Carnes recording of the song spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (interrupted for one week by the "Stars on 45 Medley") and was Billboard's number one single of 1981. The single also peaked at number twenty-six on the dance charts . The song won the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The song was also a number one hit in 31 countries, including Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Japan, and Brazil, but it achieved more moderate success in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number ten. The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy.

According to producer Val Garay, the original demo of the tune that was brought to him sounded like "a Leon Russell track, with this beer-barrel polka piano part." Keyboardist Bill Cuomo came up with the signature synth riff, using the then-new Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, which now defines Carnes' version. The song was recorded completely live in the studio on the first take.

Bette Davis admitted to being a fan of the song and approached Carnes and the songwriters to thank them for making her "a part of modern times."

The song was ranked at number 12 on Billboard's list of the top 100 songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1]

Cover versions

• The Chipmunks covered this song in 1982 on their album Chipmunk Rock.
• The East German band Silly (then still known as Familie Silly) made a note-for-note cover of the song in 1982, released as a single with three other cover hits by East German stars. Performance of covers of western pop hits was a contractual requirement for East German recording artists, to avoid having to pay the performance royalties for the original versions. As such, it is the only song ever released by Silly in English.
• Actress Gwyneth Paltrow performed the song in the movie Duets (2000), and her single release was a hit in some parts of the world.
• Handsome Devil covered the song in 2004, featured on their second CD Knock Yourself Out.
• American indie band Sexton Blake covered the song for their 2007 album Plays the Hits.
• Australian singer Paul Dempsey covered this song on his 2009 solo single Ramona Was A Waitress
• Actress Leighton Meester (of Gossip Girl fame) recorded a cover of the song which was leaked via Perez Hilton.

Live cover performances

• French singer Sylvie Vartan performed the song during her Live in Las Vegas Concert in 1982. It is included in her Integrale Live box set.
• A live recording by Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies was included on his first solo CD, 2001's Crash Test Dude.
• Tori Amos performed the song at one of her concerts at Phoenix, Arizona in 2005 .
• Australian Idol contestant Brooke Addamo performed the song on the Top 11, 80's themed night on the 2008 season of the show.
• American Idol contestant Jesse Langseth performed the song on the Top 36 round on February 25, 2009, and although she wasn't voted through by the public, she was granted a second chance by the judges with a wild-card.
• Brandon Flowers of The Killers has been performing the song during his Flamingo tour including one of his concerts at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel & Casino

Sampling

• Scottish electronica artist Mylo sampled this song for his 2005 single "In My Arms".
• Swedish singer September sampled the track for a song called "Midnight Heartache" on her 2005 album In Orbit.
• Play-N-Skillz sampled the tune of the original song for hip hop artist Akon's 2009 song "Angel Eyez".

Appearances in other media, etc.

• The song itself was used in a Pac-Man themed 7 Up ad.
• Voice of America used the song as background when announcing the death of Bette Davis on October 6, 1989, as did other radio and TV stations around the world that day.
• Part of the song was used during the NBC intro for Game 2 of the 1993 NBA Playoffs match between the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets.
• The song was used in an episode of the TV show Cold Case entitled "Love Conquers All".
• As of September 2010, the song has been used since 2008 to advertise the Clairol Nice 'n Easy hair products.
• The song is referenced in Glory of the '80s by Tori Amos.
• In Brett Easton Ellis's novel Glamorama, the line "All the boys think she's a spy" is used twice to describe a character.

Parodies

• The song was parodied by Bruce "Babyman" Baum in 1981, as "Marty Feldman's Eyes".
• The title was also parodied by Half Man Half Biscuit in their song "Dickie Davies' Eyes" (where Dickie Davies was the presenter of the British sports programme World of Sport). Shirley Stockewell recorded a parody called "Lizzy Taylor Thighs."
• Eddie Murphy's character Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live parodied the song in a commercial parody named "Buh-Weet Sings". He sang the lyrics so incoherently that question marks appeared on the screen instead of the song's title.
• A Norwegian parody was made in 1981 called "Ivar Medaas Øyne" (Ivar Medaas Eyes) by Prima Vera. The parody made fun of the folk singer Ivar Medaas' eyes. The song spawned controversy and Ivar Medaas ended up suing Prima Vera.
• Various parodies that were played on the Doctor Demento Show included: "Jimmy Durante Nose", "Col. Sanders Thighs", and "Lou Ferrigno Thighs".
• Dire Straits made a joking reference to the song on the track "Industrial Disease" from the album Love Over Gold ("I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees / But worst of all young man, you've got Industrial Disease.")
• The song also appeared in the UK advert for Clairol nice n' easy hair dye

Chart positions

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles
• Official German Charts "Number 1 Finder"
• Classic Tracks - Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
• EMI music video