Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was reputed for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.

After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios (and as loanout to other studios) were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona, which has often been imitated and parodied.

Kim Carnes

Kim Carnes (born July 20, 1945) is a two-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter. Born in Los Angeles, California, Carnes now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she continues to write music. She began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a session background singer with the famed Waters sisters (featured in the documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom). After she signed her first publishing deal with Jimmy Bowen, she released her debut album Rest on Me in 1972.

As a solo artist, Carnes saw some success with her singles "More Love," "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)," "Make No Mistake (He's Mine)," with Barbra Streisand, and "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is." Her most successful single was "Bette Davis Eyes," released in 1981. The song won two Grammy Awards; Song of the Year and Record of the Year, and became the best-selling single of the year in the United States.

Carnes' self-titled debut album primarily contained self-penned songs, including her first charting single "You're a Part of Me", which reached number thirty-five on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1975. In 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. Other successes as a songwriter include co-writing the number one duet "The Heart Won't Lie" with Donna Weiss, recorded by Vince Gill and Reba McEntire, and co-writing the songs for Kenny Rogers' concept album Gideon (1980).

Bette Davis Eyes

Bette Davis Eyes is a song written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, and made popular by American singer Kim Carnes. DeShannon recorded it in 1974; Carnes' 1981 version spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Billboard's biggest hit of the entire year for 1981. The 1981 recording won the 1982 Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

History

The song was written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. DeShannon 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 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.

The Carnes version spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100 (interrupted for one week by the "Stars on 45 Medley") and was Billboard's biggest hit of the year for 1981. The single also reached No. 5 on Billboard's Top Tracks charts and No. 26 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 21 countries and peaked at number 10 in the United Kingdom.

Spandau Ballet

Spandau Ballet /ˈspændaʊ ˈbæl.eɪ/ are an English new wave band formed in London in the late 1970s. The band were inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic movement. They became one of the more successful groups to emerge during the New Romantic era. The band's classic line-up features brothers Gary and Martin Kemp on guitars, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble.

The group's debut single "To Cut a Long Story Short", which reached No. 5 in the UK in 1980, was the first of ten UK top 10 hits, including a No. 1 single "True", a No. 2 single "Gold", and two No. 3 singles: "Chant No. 1" and "Only When You Leave". The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three "greatest hits" compilations and an album of re-recorded material. At the height of their popularity in 1984, they received the Brit Award for technical excellence. The band split in 1990 and the members pursued solo careers, with both Kemp brothers winning acting roles. Since their reformation in 2009, the band have been recognised at the Q Awards and Gary Kemp's songwriting has been honoured by the Ivor Novello Awards.

Radio edit

In music, a radio edit is a modification, typically truncated, to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may also be used for commercial single versions, which may be denoted as the 7" version. However, not all "radio edit" tracks are played on radio.

Editing for time

Radio edits often shorten a long song in order to make it more commercially viable for radio stations. The normal length for songs played on the radio is 3 to 4 minutes. Occasionally, the song will simply fade out earlier, common on tracks with long instrumental endings. For instance, the radio edit of 'Heroes' by David Bowie fades in shortly before the beginning of the third verse and fades out shortly before the vocal vamping at the end of the song. Another example is B.o.B's song, "Nothin' On You" featuring Bruno Mars, whose radio edit skips the first 5 seconds & starts with the 6th second in which Bruno Mars starts singing the first chorus. The second half of the first chorus is sometimes skipped, along with the last 24 seconds which is the normal fade-out part in which B.o.B says, "Yeah, and that's just how we do it/And I'ma let this ride/B.o.B and Bruno Mars", and the radio edit ends with the fourth and last chorus with an earlier fade-out. A 3rd example would be the song, "The Man" by Aloe Blacc, in which the radio edit skips the "I'm the man/Go ahead & tell everybody/What I'm saying ya all" part & the first 10 seconds. Also, the 3rd chorus of the song is shortened. However, many radio edits will also edit out verses, bridges, and interludes, such as the original single edit of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel which substitutes the end of the third verse for the ending of the second verse. Another example for this case is Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors", where the radio edit cuts the entire "You are the love of my life" part.