Betty Davis
Betty Davis on the cover of her They Say I'm Different LP, 1974.
Background information
Birth name	Betty Mabry
Born	July 26, 1945 (1945-07-26) (age 62) Durham, North Carolina
Origin	New York City, New York
Genre(s)	Funk, Soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter
Years active	1973-1976
Label(s)	MPC
Associated acts	Miles Davis

For the actress, see Bette Davis, for the meteorologist, see Betty Davis (meteorologist).

Betty Davis (née Betty Mabry) is an American funk and soul singer. She was also Miles Davis's second wife. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nickname: Location in North Carolina Country State County Durham County Government  - Mayor Bill Bell Area  - City  94. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the state. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African-Americans, e. ... This article is about the novel Soul Music. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... // MPC or Mpc or mpc stands for: Media PC, a computer used to replace typical TV peripherals Media Player Classic (a free software media player) Microspace PC Music Production Center, series of electronic musical instruments Multimedia PC, hardware standard of Microsoft Musepack, an audio compression format Multi Project Chip, a... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician widely considered to be one of the most influential of the 20th century. ... For the singer, see Betty Davis, for the meteorologist, see Betty Davis (meteorologist). ... Bold text Betty Davis is currently a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, on Weekend Weather Center. ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... This article is about the novel Soul Music. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician widely considered to be one of the most influential of the 20th century. ...

Background

She worked as a model, appearing in photo spreads in Seventeen, Ebony and Glamour.^[1] In her time in New York, Mabry met several musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. Seventeen is an American magazine for teenage girls. ... Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, and Jamie Foxx on the 60th anniversary cover of Ebony Magazine, November 2005 Ebony, a magazine for the African American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has been published since the autumn of 1945. ... Glamour is a womens magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. ... Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter. ... Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, 15 March 1943, in Denton, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and...

Marriage to Miles Davis

Mabry met Miles Davis in 1966 and married him in September 1968. In just one year of marriage she influenced him greatly. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro included a song named after her and her photo on the front cover. In his autobiography, Miles credits Mabry with helping to plant the seeds of his future musical explorations by introducing the trumpeter to psychedelic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone. Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Filles de Kilimanjaro (Girls of Kilimanjaro) was a 1968 album by Miles Davis, which featured extensive use of looser rhythms and an electric piano. ...

It is believed that Hendrix and Betty Davis had an affair that hastened the end of her marriage to Miles Davis, but Betty denies this. What's more is that Hendrix and Miles stayed close after the divorce, even planning to record until Hendrix's death. The influence of Hendrix and especially Sly Stone on Miles Davis was obvious on the album Bitches Brew which ushered in what some call the era of jazz fusion. The origin of the album's title is unknown, but some believe Miles was subtly paying tribute to the woman whose intersecting relationships helped spur the album's genesis. In fact, it is said that he originally wanted to call the album Witches' Brew — it was Betty who convinced him to change it. Bitches Brew is an album recorded by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1969. ... Jazz fusion (or jazz-rock fusion or fusion) is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, country, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. ...

Music career

After the breakup of her marriage with Davis, Betty moved to London to pursue her modeling career. She wrote music while in the UK and returned to the US with the intention of recording songs with Santana. Instead, she organized a group of talented West Coast funk musicians to make her own recordings.

Her first record, Betty Davis, was released in 1973. It had impressive lyrics and funky grooves on songs such as "Anti Love Song," as well as an impressive list of musicians:

• Neal Schon (Santana/Journey) - guitar
• Gregg Errico (Sly & The Family Stone) - drums
• Larry Graham (Sly & The Family Stone and eponym of Graham Central Station) - bass
• Patryce Banks (Graham Central Station) - percussion
• Willie Sparks (Graham Central Station) - drums
• Hershall Kennedy (Graham Central Station) - horns
• Greg Adams (Tower of Power) - horns
• Mic Gillette (Tower of Power) - horns
• Merl Saunders - electric piano
• Pete Sears - acoustic piano
• The Pointer Sisters - background vocals

Davis released two more studio albums, They Say I'm Different (1974) and Nasty Gal (1975). None of the three albums were commercial successes. Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her open sexual attitude, which was controversial for the time. Some of her shows were boycotted and her songs not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups. With the passage of time her records have become highly regarded by collectors of soul and funk music. Davis eventually stopped making music and returned to Pennsylvania. Both "Betty Davis" and "They Say I'm Different" were re-released by Seattle's Light in the Attic Records on May 1, 2007. Neal Schon (b. ... Santana (originally the Santana Blues Band) is a flexible number of musicians accompanying Carlos Santana since the late 1960s. ... Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California. ... Greg Errico (also spelled Gregg Errico, born September 1, 1949 in San Francisco, California) is an Italian-American musician, best known for being the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone until 1971. ... Sly & the Family Stone was an American rock band from San Francisco, California. ... Larry Graham on the cover of his 1981 LP Just Be My Lady. ... Graham Central Station was a funk band named after founder Larry Graham and Grand Central Station in New York City. ... Greg Adams is an American trumpet/flugelhorn player and music arranger, probably best known for his work with the band Tower of Power. ... Tower of Power is a horn-based soul band from Oakland, California. ... Mic Gillette is an American brass player born in 1951 and raised in northern Californias East Bay area. ... Merl Saunders (sometimes spelled Merle), born February 14, 1934, is a multi-genre musician who plays piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B3 organ. ... Pete Sears has played Keyboards or Bass Guitar with a large variety of artists, including the classic Rod Stewart albums, Gasoline Ally, Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment and Smiler. Pete was with the Jefferson Starship from 1974 to 1987 and currently plays in the Jorma Kaukonen... The Pointer Sisters was an American vocal group and recording act that achieved great success during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Material from a 1979 recording session was eventually used for two further albums, Hangin' Out In Hollywood (1995) and Crashin' From Passion (1996). A greatest hits album, Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis, was released in 2000.

She was the embodiment of funk music and a true sex symbol, the forerunner to Madonna, Joi, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Macy Gray. The list goes on to include the less obvious, such as electro shockstar Peaches and Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux. She has also been sampled by the likes of Ice Cube and Talib Kweli. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), better known as simply Madonna, is a six-time Grammy[1] and one-time Golden Globe award winning American pop singer, songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author and fashion icon. ... Joi is a British/Bangladeshi alternative dub/dance music DJ team, originally comprised of London brothers Farook and Haroon Shamsher. ... Erykah Badu (born Erica Abi Wright, February 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas) is an American neo-soul, R&B/hip hop artist whose work crosses over into jazz. ... Lauryn Noel Hill-Marley (born May 25, 1975) is an American vocalist, singer, rapper, musician, record producer and film actress. ... Macy Gray (born Natalie Renee McIntyre on September 6, 1967[1]) is an American Grammy Award winning R&B, soul, and neo soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis. ... Peaches may refer to: Peaches, a type of fruit Peaches, an Electroclash musician Peaches, a song by The Stranglers Peaches, a character in the motion picture Ken Park Peaches, a song by The Presidents of the United States of America Peaches, a musical artist. ... Jennifer Herrema born March 1st 1972 in Washington, DC is a rock music singer, song writer, record producer, artist, and model. ... Royal Trux was an American rock band, founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals). ... OShea Jackson (born June 15, 1969) better known by his stage name, Ice Cube, is an American rapper, actor and film director. ... Talib Kweli (born Talib Kweli Greene in Brooklyn, New York City on October 3, 1975) is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. ...

"Betty Davis is the funk," says poet and rapper Saul Williams. "It's not just that she's sexy and the music is sexy, but she's just so in the pocket! The notes she chose, the placement, to be able to dance around the music. Man, she killed that shit." Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is most known for his blend of spoken word poetry and hip-hop. ...

"She's a badass," says Herrema. "She was so multitalented, it seemed that she could do anything she wanted. Everything she did seemed so pure....Back then you had Funkadelic, you had Sly and the Family Stone, and Cher all dressing in an over-the-top way. With Betty's look, it was more the way she carried herself and presented herself."

"She was the first Madonna," says guitarist Carlos Santana. "But Madonna is more like Marie Osmond when compared to Betty Davis."

Discography

• Betty Davis (Just Sunshine, 1973)
• They Say I'm Different (Just Sunshine, 1974)
• Nasty Gal (Island, 1975)
• Hangin' Out In Hollywood (recorded 1979, released 1995)
• Crashin' From Passion (re-titled re-release of Hangin' Out In Hollywood) (1996)
• Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis (2000)
• This Is It! (2005)

Reference

External links

• The Sound of Young America: Betty Davis Interview – June 21, 2007: Betty Davis gives her first radio interview in 30 years.
• Betty Davis: Betty Davis – Album review
• Betty Davis at All Music Guide