Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From '' Summer Jam III ''
Label: AMR – SJ-3-81
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1981
Tracklist
A1 The Free Spirits - You Make My Dreams Come True
A2 The Free Spirits - All Those Years Ago
A3 The Free Spirits - Sukiyaki
A4 The Free Spirits - I Don't Need You
A5 Black Gold - Take It On The Run
A6 Black Gold - Boy From New York City
A7 Black Gold - Bette Davis Eyes
B1 Star Stuff - Elvira
B2 Star Stuff - This Little Girl
B3 Star Stuff - America
B4 Star Stuff - A Woman Needs Love
B5 Sweet Breeze - The Waiting
B6 Sweet Breeze - Nobody Wins
B7 Sweet Breeze - Morning Train
Black Gold Members:
Arlene Gold, John Robie
Record Company – AMR Record & Tape Corporation
------------------------
"Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974.
It was originally recorded by DeShannon in that year for her album New Arrangement but it was made popular by American singer Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
The song was No. 1 for five weeks, interrupted for just one week by "Stars on 45" before it returned to the top spot for another four weeks and became Billboard's biggest hit of the year.
The single also reached No. 5 on Billboard's Top Tracks charts and No. 26 on the Dance charts. It was also a No. 1 hit in 21 countries and peaked at No. 10 in the United Kingdom, to date her only Top 40 hit in that country.
It also reached No. 2 in Canada for twelve consecutive weeks, and was the No. 2 hit of 1981 in that country after "Stars on 45".
The song won the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year; it also ranked at No. 12 on Billboard's list of the Top 100 songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Background
The song was written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, the latter of whom recorded the song that same year on her album New Arrangement.
In this original incarnation, the track is performed in an 'R&B lite' arrangement, featuring a prominent uptempo piano part, as well as flourishes of pedal steel guitar and horns.
However, it was not until March 1981, when Kim Carnes recorded her version of the song in a radically different synthesizer-based arrangement, that "Bette Davis Eyes" became a commercial success.
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." The demo can be heard in a Val Garay interview on TAXI TV at 21:50.
Keyboardist Bill Cuomo came up with the signature synth riff, using the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, which now defines Carnes's version.
The song was recorded in the studio on the first take.
Actress Bette Davis was 73 years old when Kim Carnes's version became a hit.
She wrote letters to Carnes, Weiss, and DeShannon to thank all three of them for making her "a part of modern times" and stated that her grandson now looked up to her.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year / Chart / Peak position
1981
Australia (Kent Music Report) / 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) / 5
Canada Top Singles (RPM) / 2
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) / 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) / 1
France (IFOP) / 1
Ireland (IRMA) / 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) / 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100) / 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) / 2
Norway (VG-lista) / 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio) / 1
Spain (AFE) / 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) / 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) / 1
UK Singles (OCC) / 10
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) / 15
US Billboard Hot 100 / 1
US Cash Box Top 100 / 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) / 26
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard) / 5
US Record World Singles / 1
West Germany (Official German Charts) / 1
1997 / Ireland (IRMA) / 21
2002 / Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 67
2007 / Denmark (Tracklisten) / 14
2013 / Slovenia (SloTop50) / 45
Year-end charts
Chart (1981) / Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report) / 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) / 37
Brazil (ABPD) / 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM) / 2
France (IFOP) / 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) / 6
South Africa (Springbok Radio) / 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) / 2
US Billboard Hot 100 / 1
US Cash Box / 2
West Germany (Official German Charts) / 10
All-time charts
Chart / Rank
US Billboard Hot 100 / 17
Gwyneth Paltrow version
American actress Gwyneth Paltrow covered "Bette Davis Eyes" included on the soundtrack to the 2000 road trip film Duets.
It was released as a single in Australia on March 26, 2001, debuting and peaking at number three on the ARIA Singles Chart on April 8, 2001.
It spent nine weeks in the top 10.
Paltrow's cover ended 2001 at number 35 on Australia's year-end chart and earned a platinum certification.
From '' Summer Jam III ''
Label: AMR – SJ-3-81
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1981
Tracklist
A1 The Free Spirits - You Make My Dreams Come True
A2 The Free Spirits - All Those Years Ago
A3 The Free Spirits - Sukiyaki
A4 The Free Spirits - I Don't Need You
A5 Black Gold - Take It On The Run
A6 Black Gold - Boy From New York City
A7 Black Gold - Bette Davis Eyes
B1 Star Stuff - Elvira
B2 Star Stuff - This Little Girl
B3 Star Stuff - America
B4 Star Stuff - A Woman Needs Love
B5 Sweet Breeze - The Waiting
B6 Sweet Breeze - Nobody Wins
B7 Sweet Breeze - Morning Train
Black Gold Members:
Arlene Gold, John Robie
Record Company – AMR Record & Tape Corporation
------------------------
"Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974.
It was originally recorded by DeShannon in that year for her album New Arrangement but it was made popular by American singer Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
The song was No. 1 for five weeks, interrupted for just one week by "Stars on 45" before it returned to the top spot for another four weeks and became Billboard's biggest hit of the year.
The single also reached No. 5 on Billboard's Top Tracks charts and No. 26 on the Dance charts. It was also a No. 1 hit in 21 countries and peaked at No. 10 in the United Kingdom, to date her only Top 40 hit in that country.
It also reached No. 2 in Canada for twelve consecutive weeks, and was the No. 2 hit of 1981 in that country after "Stars on 45".
The song won the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year; it also ranked at No. 12 on Billboard's list of the Top 100 songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Background
The song was written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, the latter of whom recorded the song that same year on her album New Arrangement.
In this original incarnation, the track is performed in an 'R&B lite' arrangement, featuring a prominent uptempo piano part, as well as flourishes of pedal steel guitar and horns.
However, it was not until March 1981, when Kim Carnes recorded her version of the song in a radically different synthesizer-based arrangement, that "Bette Davis Eyes" became a commercial success.
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." The demo can be heard in a Val Garay interview on TAXI TV at 21:50.
Keyboardist Bill Cuomo came up with the signature synth riff, using the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, which now defines Carnes's version.
The song was recorded in the studio on the first take.
Actress Bette Davis was 73 years old when Kim Carnes's version became a hit.
She wrote letters to Carnes, Weiss, and DeShannon to thank all three of them for making her "a part of modern times" and stated that her grandson now looked up to her.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year / Chart / Peak position
1981
Australia (Kent Music Report) / 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) / 5
Canada Top Singles (RPM) / 2
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) / 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) / 1
France (IFOP) / 1
Ireland (IRMA) / 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) / 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100) / 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) / 2
Norway (VG-lista) / 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio) / 1
Spain (AFE) / 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) / 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) / 1
UK Singles (OCC) / 10
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) / 15
US Billboard Hot 100 / 1
US Cash Box Top 100 / 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) / 26
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard) / 5
US Record World Singles / 1
West Germany (Official German Charts) / 1
1997 / Ireland (IRMA) / 21
2002 / Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 67
2007 / Denmark (Tracklisten) / 14
2013 / Slovenia (SloTop50) / 45
Year-end charts
Chart (1981) / Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report) / 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) / 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) / 37
Brazil (ABPD) / 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM) / 2
France (IFOP) / 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) / 6
South Africa (Springbok Radio) / 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) / 2
US Billboard Hot 100 / 1
US Cash Box / 2
West Germany (Official German Charts) / 10
All-time charts
Chart / Rank
US Billboard Hot 100 / 17
Gwyneth Paltrow version
American actress Gwyneth Paltrow covered "Bette Davis Eyes" included on the soundtrack to the 2000 road trip film Duets.
It was released as a single in Australia on March 26, 2001, debuting and peaking at number three on the ARIA Singles Chart on April 8, 2001.
It spent nine weeks in the top 10.
Paltrow's cover ended 2001 at number 35 on Australia's year-end chart and earned a platinum certification.
