Kim Carnes

Kim Carnes (2008)

Kim Carnes (born July 20, 1945 in Pasadena , California ) is an American musician and composer . She wrote songs for many successful artists, but in 1981 she also had her own world hit with a cover version of Bette Davis Eyes .

Beginning of the career as a singer

Kim Carnes was a member of the folk band New Christy Minstrels from 1962 to 1970 , in which musicians such as Kenny Rogers , John Denver , Barry McGuire , Gene Clark ( The Byrds ) and Larry Ramos ( The Association ) also played. Here she met her future husband and occasional songwriting partner Dave Ellingson, whom she married on November 25, 1967 and with whom she has two sons. In the same year Carnes tried unsuccessfully in the film business: In C'mon, Let's Live a Little , she played alongside fellow musicians such as Bobby Vee and Jackie DeShannon . Four years later Carnes was allowed to work on the soundtrack to the hit movie Vanishing Point ( Vanishing Point San Francisco ): The song Sing Out for Jesus , written by Carnes, was sung for the soundtrack by Big Mama Thornton . In contrast, Nobody Knows , a composition by Mike Settle, was released as a duet with Dave Ellingson. Here, Carnes' distinctive, characteristic "grater voice" was immediately noticed, which was compared with that of Rod Stewart (in later years also with that of Bonnie Tyler ).

The soundtrack for Vanishing Point was released on the Amos label, which Carnes signed in 1971 and released her debut LP Rest on Me . The album only contained two original compositions ( I Won't Call You Back , Fell in Love with a Poet ), as well as songs by the Bee Gees ( To Love Somebody ) and the legendary songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King . The work was produced by Amos label boss Jimmy Bowen , who was previously to celebrate success with Sammy Davis Jr. and later especially with country queen Reba McEntire . Rest on Me flopped, however, and Carnes had to wait a few years before she could record an album again. As a songwriter, she was still in demand: She wrote songs for David Cassidy , BW Stevenson and Frank Sinatra . For Sinatra, she and her husband Dave Ellingson wrote the text for You Turned My World Around (1974), a composition by the Germans Bert Kaempfert and Herbert Rehbein .

First successes

In 1975 she signed a new record deal with A&M. The two albums Kim Carnes (1975) and Sailin (1976) were notable successes. With You're a Part of Me Carnes had a first success in the adult contemporary charts of the USA (32nd place). Two years later she recorded this song again, this time as a duet with her colleague Gene Cotton , who was also considered a hopeful talent at the time. The song reached number 36 in the US pop and the top ten in the AC charts. The 1976 composition Love Comes from Unexpected Places by Carnes was recorded a year later by Barbra Streisand for her album Streisand Superman . In addition, Carnes won first prize at the American Song Festival with her own version. Streisand was so taken with Carnes' abilities that she recorded another song from her pen ( Stay Away ) in 1978 . She also selected them for a duet in the 1980s.

In 1978 she was the first female artist to sign a contract with the newly launched EMI America label. At the end of the 1970s Carnes had the first successes in the charts. In 1980 she made her breakthrough in the USA with the top 10 hits More Love and Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer (in a duet with Kenny Rogers).

She celebrated her international breakthrough in 1981 with the hit Bette Davis Eyes , which Jackie DeShannon wrote and recorded on her album New Arrangement in 1975 . The song was a number one hit in over 30 countries including the US, Germany and Switzerland. The song received an award at the 1982 Grammys as Record of the Year . The accompanying album Mistaken Identity was also a huge hit, selling over a million copies in the US alone. This was followed by other top 40 hits in the USA by the mid-1980s, such as Draw of the Cards (1981), Voyeur , Does It Make You Remember (1982), Invisible Hands (1983), What About Me (1984, with James Ingram and Kenny Rogers ) and Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes) (1985). In 1988, she turned for View from the House of country music to. Five years later she had another small hit in Germany with Gypsy Honeymoon .

In 2004 the album Chasin 'Wild Trains was released after a break of several years .

Carnes currently lives in Nashville , Tennessee . Stars like Tim McGraw , Reba McEntire , Vince Gill , Lila McCann , Pam Tillis and Kevin Sharp have recorded songs by Carnes.

Discography

Albums

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
year	Title album	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	Remarks
1980	Romance dance	-	-	-	-	US57 (17 weeks) US
1981	Mistaken Identity	DE3 (20 weeks) DE	-	-	UK26 (16 weeks) UK	US1 platinum (52 weeks)US
1982	voyeur	-	-	-	-	US49 (22 weeks) US
1983	Cafe Racers	-	-	-	-	US97 (16 weeks) US
1985	Barking at Airplanes	-	-	-	-	US48 (14 weeks) US
1986	Lighthouse	-	-	-	-	US116 (7 weeks) US

More albums

1971: Rest on Me
1975: Kim Carnes
1976: Sailin '
1979: St Vincent's Court
1988: View from the House
1991: Checkin 'Out the Ghosts
1999: Master Series
2004: Chasin 'Wild Trains

EPs

1981: Bette Davis Eyes
1982: voyeur

Compilations

1976: The Best of You
1982: The Best of Kim Carnes
1984: Duets ( Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes, Sheena Easton and Dottie West )
1986: The Classic Collection 17 Great Tracks
1990: Crazy in the Night
1991: Best Now
1991: To Love Somebody
1991: Greatest Hits
1992: The Most of Kim Carnes
1993: Gypsy Honeymoon: Best of Kim Carnes
1995: Ladies of Blue Eyed Soul (with Gloria Lynne )
1996: Bette Davis Eyes
1997: Meus Momentos
1999: Master Series
1999: The Mistaken Identity Collection
2000: The Divine
2003: Premium Gold Collection
2003: Young Love
2003: The Best of Kim Carnes
2008: 30 Éxitos (2 CDs)
2011: Essential

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes)					Remarks
year	Title album	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	Remarks
1978	You're a Part of Me Kim Carnes	-	-	-	-	US36 (12 weeks) US	with Gene Cotton
1979	It hurts so bad St Vincent's Court	-	-	-	-	US56 (5 weeks) US
1980	Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer	-	-	-	-	US4 (19 weeks) US	Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes
	More Love Romance Dance	-	-	-	-	US10 (19 weeks) US
	Cry Like a Baby Romance Dance	-	-	-	-	US44 (8 weeks) US
1981	Bette Davis Eyes Mistaken Identity	DE1 (27 weeks) DE	AT2 (4½ months) AT	CH1 (12 weeks) CH	UK10 silver (9 weeks)UK	US1 gold (26 weeks)US
	Draw of the Cards Mistaken Identity	DE35 (8 weeks) DE	AT16 (1 month) AT	CH13 (3 weeks) CH	UK49 (4 weeks) UK	US28 (12 weeks) US
	Mistaken Identity Mistaken Identity	-	-	-	-	US60 (6 weeks) US
1982	Voyeur voyeur	DE45 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK68 (2 weeks) UK	US29 (12 weeks) US
1982	Does It Make You Remember Voyeur	-	-	-	-	US36 (13 weeks) US
1983	Invisible Hands Café Racers	-	-	-	-	US40 (13 weeks) US
1984	You Make My Heart Beat Faster (And That's All That Matters) Café Racers	-	-	-	-	US54 (8 weeks) US
	I Pretend Café Racers	-	-	-	-	US74 (5 weeks) US
	What About Me?	-	-	-	-	US15 (19 weeks) US	Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes and James Ingram
	Make No Mistake, He's Mine	-	-	-	-	US51 (10 weeks) US	with Barbra Streisand
1985	Invitation to Dance	-	-	-	-	US68 (6 weeks) US
	Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes) Barking At Airplanes	-	AT8 (2½ months) AT	-	-	US15 (16 weeks) US
	Abadabadango Barking At Airplanes	-	-	-	-	US67 (4 weeks) US
1986	Divided Hearts Lighthouse	-	-	-	-	US79 (5 weeks) US
1999	Gipsy honeymoon	DE65 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-

More singles

1971: To Love
1971: To Love Somebody
1972: It's the Love That Keeps It All Together (with Dave Ellingson)
1975: You're a Part of Me
1975: Somewhere in the Night
1975: Bad Seed
1976: It's Not the Spotlight
1976: Sailin '
1976: Let Your Love Come Easy
1976: Love Comes from Unexpected Places
1979: What Am I Gonna Do
1979: Stay Away
1979: Lookin 'for a Big Night
1980: Changin '
1981: Mas Amor
1981: Together for the 1st Time (with Juice Newton and Sheena Easton )
1982: Breakin 'Away from Sanity
1982: Take It on the Chin
1982: Undertow
1983: I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is
1983: Hurricane
1983: Young Love
1983: The Universal Song
1985: Rough Edges
1985: Bon Voyage
1986: I'd Lie to You for Your Love
1988: Crazy in Love
1988: Just to Spend Tonight with You
1988: Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
1988: Fantastic Fire of Love
1990: Everybody Needs Someone
1991: Hooked on the Memory of You ( Neil Diamond in a duet with Kim Carnes)
1991: Checkin 'Out the Ghosts
1991: Independent Girl
1993: Don't Cry Now
2005: One Beat at a Time
2006: Just to See You Smile

Guest albums, singles and soundtracks

Presenting the Sugar Bears (Kim Carnes as "Honey Bear", 1971)
Vanishing Point (duet with Dave: Nobody Knows , soundtrack 1971)
Heroes (Song: Long Long Time , Soundtrack 1977)
Gene Cotton - Save the Dancer (Duet: You're a Part of Me , 1978)
Kenny Rogers - Gideon (Duet: Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer , 1980)
Randy Meisner ( Deep Inside My Heart Duet, 1980)
Kenny Rogers - Lady (Duet: No te enamores de un loco , Spanglish Album 1981)
Más Amor (Single More Love in Spanish, 1981)
Rod Stewart - Absolutely Live (Duet: Stay with Me with Rod Stewart & Tina Turner, 1982)
Flashdance (Song: I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is , Soundtrack 1983)
Barbra Streisand - Emotion (Duet: Make No Mistake, He's Mine , 1984)
What about me? (Trio with Kenny Rogers & James Ingram, 1984)
That's Dancing (Song: Invitation to Dance , Soundtrack 1985)
USA for Africa - We Are the World (Charity single, 1985)
Spaceballs (duet with Jeffrey Osborne: My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own , Soundtrack 1987)
Rude Awakening (Song: Comin 'Home , Soundtrack 1989)
Clarence Clemons - A Night with Mr. C (Duet: Dance, Dance, Dance , 1989)
Impulse (Song: Everybody Needs Someone , Soundtrack 1989)
Neil Diamond - Hooked on the Memory of You / Hard Times for Lovers (Duet CD single, 1991)
Kenny Rogers - All Hits & Love Songs (Duet: Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer [new recording], 1991)
Seiko Matsuda - Romantique (Song: Hold Me , 1991)
Neil Diamond - Greatest Hits 1966-1992 (Duet: Heartbreak Hotel , 1992)
The Stars Come Out for Christmas Vol. III (Song: Run, Run Rudolph , 1992)
Private Lessons (Song: Love Hurts , Soundtrack 1992)
Re-Import (Song: Shiny Day , 1992)
Tycoon (Song: Working Girl , Soundtrack 1992)
Christmas Classics (Songs: What Child is This , O Little Town of Bethlehem , 1994)
The Stars Come Out for Christmas Vol. VI (Song: Away in a Manger , 1994)
Make a Wish for Christmas Vol. II (Song: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas , 1994)
Lunch - A Modern Musical Myth (Trio with BJ Thomas & Brian Mitchell: Skyline , Soundtrack 1994)
Hope - Country's Music Quest for a Cure (Charity single, 1996)
Jim Croce - A Nashville Tribute (Song: Bad, Bad Leroy Brown , 1997)
Cleveland Browns - Greatest Hits (Song: Somebody Let the Dawgs Out , 1999)
Dave Pardue - Mrs. Lightning's Valentine (Duet: Who do You Love , 2000)
Sincerely… Mariya Takeuchi Songbook Vol. II (Song: Let's Try Again , 2003)
The New Christy Minstrels - New Kick! (Song: Beautiful, Beautiful World , 2004)
Loggerheads (Song: The Silver Chord , Soundtrack 2005)
Noriyuki Makihara - Songs from LA (Song: It's Clear Sky Again Today , 2007)
Jill Johnson - Music Row (Duet: Tumblin 'Dice , 2007)
80's Re: Covered - Your Songs With The 80's Sound (Song: Under My Thumb , 2015)