Unlike "Bette Davis Eyes," "More Love" is a reasonably traditional cover. [For those who have not listened to the original version of "Bette Davis Eyes," we highly recommend it, as it is one of the more dramatic re-makes that we are aware of.] "More Love" is a straightforward pop/soul song, originally recorded by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in 1967. The original version was a hit, peaking at #23 on the charts -- one of 26 top 40 hits for that band (!). The Kim Carnes version charted even higher; the song hit #10, becoming Carnes' first solo top 40 hit ("Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer," a duet with Kenny Rogers, had previously hit #4 in 1980).
While all of that is interesting, it is the video of "More Love" that secured it a place on ERV. Simply put, this is one of the great unknown early 1980s videos. The song came out before MTV and was a little too adult contemporary for the channel; as a result most folks have never seen it. However, it is a classic, and has a wonderful (and slightly off) sense of humor, with fork accidents, a burning piano and crashing dancers. It is not clear how much the video helped the song, but Carnes career really took off in 1980 and 1981, so it probably didn't hurt.
The original version of the song, by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles is below:
Cool trivia fact: the original version was written by Smokey Robinson, to his wife (Claudette Rogers Robinson) after she had a series of miscarriages (8 in total). Claudette felt responsible for the miscarriages; the song was Smokey's way of re-assuring her. The miscarriages also forced Claudette off the tours, but she and Smokey eventually had two children. They were divorced in 1986, after 27 years of marriage.
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