(OCEANPORT, NJ) -- Jersey Shore singer-songwriter, recording artist and author Karen Mansfield will release her new single, "I Only Have Eyes for You," on October 29, 2026, through her independent label, Willow Bella Music. Mansfield is also introducing her children's picture book, Baby's Birthday, inspired by a song that has been sung in her family for generations.
Written by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, "I Only Have Eyes for You" became an enduring classic through The Flamingos' celebrated 1959 recording. Mansfield's interpretation carries the song into atmospheric dream-pop territory, surrounding its timeless melody with a darker, intimate and cinematic sensibility.
"I've always heard something mysterious and almost otherworldly inside this song," Mansfield says. "I wanted my recording to honor its beautiful melody while allowing it to exist in a dreamier, more haunting world."
The single continues Mansfield's musical journey from her early work with Bleeding Knees through her evolution as a solo recording artist. Rooted in the Jersey Shore music community, she has developed an identity that moves naturally between singer-songwriter intimacy, punk independence and atmospheric pop.
Tony Pallagrosi, founder of Light of Day, has described Mansfield as "the Jersey Shore's first female-hippy-beach-punk-folkie"—a phrase that reflects the unconventional blend of influences running throughout her career.
From a Family Song to a Children's Book
Alongside her new recording, Mansfield is expanding her independent creative work into children's publishing with Baby's Birthday.
The picture book grew from a song Mansfield's grandmother lovingly called "Dainty Little Flowers," after its opening words. The song had been sung within the Coyle family for more than 70 years, and many relatives believed Mansfield's grandmother had written it.
Years later, while working as a work-study student in the music department at Brookdale Community College, Mansfield discovered the original sheet music while organizing the department's collection. The unexpected discovery revealed that the song had a history beyond the family tradition that had preserved it for generations.
Through Baby's Birthday, Mansfield celebrates that musical inheritance and introduces the beloved song and its story to a new generation of children and families.
"Both projects are about the way music travels through time," Mansfield says. "One allowed me to reinterpret a classic song in my own musical language, while the other gave me a way to preserve something precious from my family."
Record Information
Artist: Karen Mansfield | Single: "I Only Have Eyes for You" | Release date: October 29, 2026 | Label: Willow Bella Music | Songwriters: Harry Warren and Al Dubin | Genre: Atmospheric dream-pop | ISRC: QT9XQ2689127
Book Information
Author: Karen Mansfield | Title: Baby's Birthday | Format: Children's picture book | Preorder information: https://square.link/u/7HQZpWre | Publication date: October 29, 2026
Karen Mansfield is a Jersey Shore singer-songwriter, recording artist, author and independent creative artist whose work blends emotionally direct storytelling with elements of folk, rock, punk and atmospheric pop. From her early days with Bleeding Knees to her solo recordings and children's publishing, Mansfield has followed a fiercely individual creative path.
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