Kim Carnes

Described as

American singer and songwriter

Other names

Kim Carnes Ellingson

Born

July 20, 1945 · 2 references

Born in

Los Angeles · 1 reference

Name at birth

Kim Carnes Ellingson

Citizen of

United States

Occupation

singer; singer-songwriter; recording artist; composer · 1 reference; musician · 1 reference

Education

San Marino High School · 1 reference; Pasadena City College

Member of

The New Christy Minstrels

Genre

pop rock; soft rock; country music; folk music

Instrument

voice

Record label

A&M Records; EMI Records; MCA Records; Warner Music Group

Known for

Bette Davis Eyes; We Are the World (1984)

Field

music composing

Website

http://www.kimcarnes.com/

Wikipedias with a page

39

Wikidata item Q4070 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q4070), public domain (CC0). Copied November 14, 2026.

Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter best known for her 1981 hit single, "Bette Davis Eyes". She embarked on a solo career as a songwriter and performer in the early 1970s and also worked for several years as a session background singer with the Waters Sisters, Maxine Waters Willard and Julia Waters Tillman, who were later featured in the 2013 documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. In 1971, Carnes released her debut album, Rest on Me. Released in 1975, Carnes's self-titled second album included her first charting single, "You're a Part of Me", which reached No. 32 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The following year, Carnes released Sailin', which featured "Love Comes from Unexpected Places". The song won the American Song Festival and the award for Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival in 1976.
In her breakthrough year, 1980, Carnes and her husband, David Ellingson, were commissioned by Kenny Rogers to co-write the songs for his concept album Gideon. Her duet with Rogers, "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer", hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned the duo a Grammy Award nomination. Later that year, Carnes's cover of Smokey Robinson's "More Love", from her fifth album, Romance Dance, hit No. 10. In 1981, Carnes released Mistaken Identity, which featured the chart-topping "Bette Davis Eyes". A worldwide hit, it became the best-selling single of the year in the United States. "Bette Davis Eyes" spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, went Gold, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Song of the Year. Mistaken Identity reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, was certified Platinum, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Carnes also had success with the singles "Draw of the Cards", "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)", "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" with Barbra Streisand, "What About Me?" featuring Kenny Rogers and James Ingram, and the Grammy Award-nominated singles "Voyeur" and "Invisible Hands". Her successes as a songwriter include co-writing the No. 1 duet "The Heart Won't Lie" with Donna Weiss; it was recorded by Vince Gill and Reba McEntire and was released on McEntire's 1993 album It's Your Call. Carnes also wrote the 1984 pop duet “Make No Mistake, He’s Mine”, which she sang with Barbra Streisand. The song was later reworked into a duet between Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers, reaching #1 on the country charts. Her most recent studio album is Chasin' Wild Trains (2004).

Born, in its opening lines

July 20, 1945

From the Wikipedia article “Kim Carnes” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Carnes), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 14, 2026; not changed.