Born in Los Angeles, Carnes penned her first song at the tender age of four and hasn’t stopped since. Her first publishing deal, which teamed her with famed producer Jimmy Bowen, had her sharing demo-recording time with Bowen’s other writers, which included future Eagles Don Henley and Glenn Frey, as well as J.D. Souther. In 1971, Carnes sang “Nobody Knows,” written by Mike Settle, over the end credits of the road film, Vanishing Point. Carnes also scored her first cut as a songwriter with “Sing Out for Jesus,” recorded by Big Mama Thornton for that same film.
While she first came to the attention of many through her 1981 history-making rendition of the Jackie DeShannon-Donna Weiss-penned “Bette Davis Eyes” – Billboard’s No. 1 hit of that year and still one of the Hot 100’s biggest chart hits of all time – the Grammy-winning tune is just another remarkable facet of a global recording, performing and songwriting career that has now spanned five decades. Her songs have distinguished the artist’s own platinum-selling albums as well as those of her many peers. And then there is that unmistakable voice. As respected Nashville music journalist Peter Cooper once noted, “Carnes’ voice is a delight: Sorghum and whiskey and a howl of the heart, with phrasing that recalls Blonde on Blonde-era Dylan.”
In 1980, Gideon, a landmark concept album recorded by Kenny Rogers, was penned entirely by Carnes and Ellingson. A No. 1 country and Top 20 pop entry, it was buoyed by the crossover success of “Don’t Fall in Love With a Dreamer,” the Rogers-Carnes duet which was a No. 4 pop hit, No. 3 on the country chart and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary survey. Gideon would go on to sell more than three million copies. Carnes’ first solo Top 10 hit followed – a sultry, soulful reworking of the Smokey Robinson classic, “More Love.”
Carnes signed with A&M Records and released a pair of albums. The second, Sailin’, produced by the legendary Jerry Wexler, featured the American Song Festival grand prize-winning “Love Comes From Unexpected Places,” which also won Best Composition at the Tokyo Song Festival and was the first of three songs she would eventually have cut by Barbra Streisand – one of which, “Make No Mistake (He’s Mine)” – Carnes wrote and co-produced. In 1978, Carnes became the first artist signed to the newly established EMI-America label and, with Gene Cotton, earned her first Top 40 hit, “You’re a Part of Me.”
After her 1981 album, Mistaken Identity, gave her a Grammy for Record of the Year from "Bette Davis Eyes", she followed with Voyeur, another Grammy-nominated collection that showcased her gift for both hard-charging rockers and passionate ballads. Her hitting streak, spread across the pop and adult contemporary charts would continue with such tunes as “Crazy in Love,” “I Pretend,” “What About Me,” “Crazy in the Night” and more. She also won her second Grammy award for “I’ll Be Here Where the Heart Is” from the blockbuster, Flashdance soundtrack. In 2000, she performed a duet with Jeff Bridges titled 'Ring of Fire' for his film 'The Contender.' Additionally, she has made notable contributions to the soundtracks of diverse films, ranging from 'Spaceballs' to 'Valentino: The Last Emperor.
In 1985, Carnes was among the cadre of singers who contributed vocals (as U.S.A. for Africa) to the all-star single and music video, “We Are the World,” which sold 20 million copies worldwide. In 1988, Carnes reunited with producer Jimmy Bowen and recorded View From the House, which featured her Top 10 AC hit, “Crazy in Love.” Continuing to perform and write songs, Carnes and family relocated to Nashville full-time in 1994.
The wonderful songwriting community in Nashville helped Carnes craft what has been one of the highlights of her professional career, the critically lauded 2004 album, Chasin’ Wild Trains. Cited by Country Music Today magazine as one of the best non-country albums of that year, the disc was praised across the globe. The collection featured guest appearances from such notables as Kings of Leon producer Angelo, Al Anderson, Matraca Berg, Chuck Prophet, Anders Osborne, Kim Richey, among others. “It’s the only album I did exactly the way I wanted,” says the singer-songwriter. “Nobody told me ‘no.’ I did it with the help of these incredible songwriters. It was a collaborative ‘love’ project.”
The writer of three No. 1 one country songs, including “The Heart Won’t Lie,” a smash duet for Reba McEntire and Vince Gill and “Make No Mistake (She’s Mine),” recorded by Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers, Carnes’ Music City experience has paired her with other top tunesmiths including (to name a few) Kim Richey, Matraca Berg, Greg Barnhill, Al Anderson, Jeffrey Steele, Tim Nichols and Connie Harrington. To date, her songs have been covered by country superstar Tim McGraw (to whose songs she has also added background vocals), as well as Deana Carter, Sawyer Brown, Tanya Tucker, Suzy Bogguss, Pam Tillis and more.
In 2011, a pair of songs she wrote for (and with) the husband-and-wife duo O’Shea topped the charts in Australia. On any given night in Nashville, it’s no stretch to find her sharing an “in-the-round” stage with the likes of John Hiatt, Michael McDonald, Lori McKenna, Barry Dean or any of her frequent collaborators. She continues to take her full band out for shows, special events and TV in the U.S., Paris, Rome, Berlin, Chile and Argentina, and other destinations worldwide.
“There’s this whole part of what I do and what I started out doing, being a songwriter, that few people know, I’ve always written songs, every day. That’s how I started out and that’s still so important to me. I’ll be doing it forever.”
In 2014 she participated in a BBC songwriter special hosted by esteemed British broadcaster Bob Harris, contributed duet vocals to an album of songs written by acclaimed tunesmith Frankie Miller, co-wrote songs for a pair of albums by Americana singer-songwriter Dana Cooper and covered the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb” for a Brazilian recording project.
“I write what I love and have always done that,” she says today. “I’m so lucky to be writing and performing with some of the best writers in the world. I’m having a blast.”
