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Betty Davis (born Betty Gray Mabry; July 26, 1944 – February 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually-oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
. Her
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
profile describes her as "a wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals ... hocombined the gritty emotional realism of
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
, the futurist fashion sense of
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis".


Early life

Betty Gray Mabry was born in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, on July 26, 1944. She developed an interest in music when she was about ten, and was introduced to various blues musicians by her grandmother, Beulah Blackwell, while staying at her farm in Reidsville. At 12, she wrote one of her first songs, "I'm Going to Bake That Cake of Love". The family relocated to
Homestead, Pennsylvania Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the Monongahela River valley southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an imp ...
, so her father, Henry Mabry, could work at a
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
steel mill. Davis attended and graduated Homestead High School. She decided to pursue a career in showbusiness after watching her father dance like
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
.


Career

When she was 16, Betty left Homestead for New York City, enrolling at the
Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...
(FIT) while living with her aunt. She soaked up the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
culture and
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
of the early 1960s. She associated herself with frequenters of the Cellar, a hip uptown club where young and stylish people congregated. It was a multiracial, artsy crowd of models, design students, actors, and singers. At the Cellar she played records and chatted people up. She was a friend and early muse to fashion designer Stephen Burrows, who also studied at the FIT at the time. She also worked as a model, appearing in photo spreads in ''
Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
'', ''
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
'' and '' Glamour''. In New York, she met musicians including
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
. Crowhurst, Anna-Marie (March 7, 2018
"Forgotten Women: The taboo-smashing queen of funk"
''Stylist.co.uk''. Retrieved February 10, 2022
The seeds of her musical career were planted through her friendship with soul singer
Lou Courtney Lou Courtney (born Louis Russell Pegues, August 15, 1943 – June 25, 2021) was an American soul singer and songwriter who had several hit records in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a performer and writer. Biography Born in Buffalo, New York, he ...
, who reputedly produced her first single, "The Cellar", though the existence of that record has been questioned."Betty Mabry: 'Get Ready for Betty'", ''On the Record'', November 8, 2011
Retrieved February 10, 2022
She secured a contract with
Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''. ...
, who had written arrangements for
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
. As Betty Mabry, she recorded "Get Ready For Betty" b/w "I'm Gonna Get My Baby Back" in 1964 for Costa's DCP International label. Around the same time, she recorded a single, "I'll Be There", with Roy Arlington for Safice Records, under the joint name "Roy and Betty". Her first professional gig came after she wrote "Uptown (to Harlem)" for the
Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions wit ...
. Their 1967 album was a major success, but Mabry focused on her modeling career. She was successful as a model but felt bored by the work—"I didn't like modeling because you didn't need brains to do it. It's only going to last as long as you look good." In 1968, when she was in a relationship with
Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...
, she recorded several songs for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, with Masekela doing the arrangements. Two of them were released as a single: "Live, Love, Learn" b/w "It's My Life". Her relationship with Miles Davis began soon after her breakup from Masekela. She featured on the cover of Miles Davis' album '' Filles de Kilimanjaro'', which included his tribute to her, "Mademoiselle Mabry", and she introduced him to
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
and the flamboyant clothing styles of the era. In the spring of 1969, Betty returned to Columbia's 52nd St. Studios to record a series of demo tracks, with Miles and
Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' '' Bitches Brew'', and ...
producing. At least five songs were taped during those sessions, three of which were Mabry originals, two of which were covers of
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Miles attempted to use these demo songs to secure an album deal for Betty, but neither Columbia nor Atlantic were interested and they were archived into a vault until 2016 when they were released in the compilation, ''The Columbia Years, 1968–1969'', by Seattle's
Light in the Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-rel ...
. After the end of her marriage with Miles, Betty moved to London, probably around 1971, to pursue her modeling career. She wrote music while in the UK and, after about a year, returned to the US with the intention of recording songs with
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
. Instead, she recorded her own songs with a group of West Coast funk musicians including Larry Graham,
Greg Errico Greg Errico (born September 1, 1948) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone. Background Errico was born and grew up in San Franc ...
, the Pointer Sisters, and members of
Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...
. Davis wrote and arranged all her songs. Her first record, ''
Betty Davis Betty Davis (born Betty Gray Mabry; July 26, 1944 – February 9, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually-oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter Mile ...
'', was released in 1973. She released two more studio albums, '' They Say I'm Different'' (1974) and her major label debut on Island Records ''
Nasty Gal Nasty Gal is an American retailer that specializes in fashion for young women. The company has customers in over 60 countries. Founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2006, Nasty Gal was named "Fastest Growing Retailer" in 2012 by '' Inc.'' magazine. Nasty ...
'' (1975). None of the three albums were a commercial success, but she had two minor hits on the '' Billboard''
R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
: "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up", which reached no. 66 in 1973, and "Shut Off the Lights", which reached no. 97 in 1975. Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her unabashedly sexual lyrics and performance style, which were both controversial for the time. She had success in Europe, but in the U.S. she was barred from performing on television because of her sexually aggressive stage persona. Some of her shows were boycotted, and her songs were not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups and the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
. Carlos Santana recalled Betty as "indomitable – she couldn't be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive."


Retirement

In 1976, Davis completed another album for Island Records (which was shelved and unreleased for 33 years), before being dropped by the label. She spent a year in Japan, spending time with silent monks. In 1980, Davis' father died which prompted her return to the US to live with her mother in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Davis struggled to overcome her father's death, and subsequent mental illness. She acknowledged that she suffered a setback at the time, but stayed in Homestead, accepted the end of her career, and lived a quiet life. The tracks from Davis' final recording sessions in 1979 were released on two bootleg albums, ''Crashin' from Passion'' (1995) and ''Hangin' Out in Hollywood'' (1996). A
greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
album, ''Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis,'' was also released in 1995. In 2007, ''Betty Davis'' (1973) and ''They Say I'm Different'' (1974) were reissued by
Light in the Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-rel ...
. In 2009, the label reissued ''
Nasty Gal Nasty Gal is an American retailer that specializes in fashion for young women. The company has customers in over 60 countries. Founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2006, Nasty Gal was named "Fastest Growing Retailer" in 2012 by '' Inc.'' magazine. Nasty ...
'' and her unreleased fourth studio album recorded in 1976, re-titled as ''Is It Love or Desire?''. Both reissues contained extensive liner notes and shed some light on the mystery of why her fourth album, considered possibly to be her best work by members of her last band (
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
, Chuck Rainey, and
Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American jazz fusion drummer and the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings. He was a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. He ga ...
), was shelved and remained unreleased for 33 years. In 2017, an independent documentary directed by Phil Cox entitled ''Betty: They Say I'm Different'', was released, which renewed interest in her life and music career. When Cox tracked Davis down, he found her living in the basement of a house with no internet, cell phone, or car. He said: "This wasn't a woman with riches or luxury. She was living on the bare essentials." In 2019, Davis released "A Little Bit Hot Tonight", her first new song in over 40 years, which was performed and sung by Danielle Maggio, an ethnomusicologist who was a friend and associate producer on ''Betty: They Say I'm Different''.


Personal life and death

As a model in 1966, Betty met jazz musician
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
, who was 19 years her senior. He was separated from his first wife, dancer Frances Davis, and was dating actress
Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...
. Betty began dating Miles in early 1968, and they were married that September. During their year of marriage, she introduced him to the fashions and popular music trends of the era that influenced his music. In his autobiography, Miles credited Betty with helping to plant the seeds of his further musical explorations by introducing the trumpeter to
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
guitarist
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and funk innovator
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
. The Miles Davis album '' Filles de Kilimanjaro'' (1968) features Betty on the cover and includes a song named after her. In his autobiography, Miles said Betty was "too young and wild", and accused her of having an affair with Jimi Hendrix, which hastened the end of their marriage. Betty denied the affair stating, "I was so angry with Miles when he wrote that. It was disrespectful to Jimi and to me. Miles and I broke up because of his violent temper." After accusing her of adultery, he filed for divorce in 1969. Miles told '' Jet'' magazine that the divorce was obtained on a "temperament" charge. He added, "I'm just not the kind of cat to be married." Hendrix and Miles remained close, 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'' (1970), which ushered in the era of
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
. It has been said that he wanted to call the album ''Witches Brew'' but Betty convinced him to change it. Davis briefly dated musician
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
, but she refused to collaborate with him. In 1975 Davis' lover Robert Palmer helped her secure a deal with Island Records. Shortly thereafter she released her album ''
Nasty Gal Nasty Gal is an American retailer that specializes in fashion for young women. The company has customers in over 60 countries. Founded by Sophia Amoruso in 2006, Nasty Gal was named "Fastest Growing Retailer" in 2012 by '' Inc.'' magazine. Nasty ...
''. Davis died from cancer at her home in
Homestead, Pennsylvania Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the Monongahela River valley southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an imp ...
, on February 9, 2022, at the age of 77.


Legacy

The live action/animated TV series '' Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus'' ended its 2018 season with an episode focusing on Davis' controversial career. Davis' music has been featured in television series including '' Orange Is the New Black'', ''
Girlboss Girlboss is a neologism which denotes a woman "whose success is defined in opposition to the masculine business world in which she swims upstream". Popularised by Sophia Amoruso in her 2014 book ''Girlboss'', the concept's ethos has been descri ...
'', ''
Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to b ...
'', '' High Fidelity'' and ''
Pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
''.


Discography


Studio albums


Singles


Compilation


Unofficial releases

*''Crashin' from Passion'' (1995) (Razor & Tie) / ''Hangin' Out in Hollywood'' (1995) (Charly Records) – Compilation of material recorded in 1979 * ''Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis'' (2001) (MPC limited) – Compilation * ''This Is It! Anthology'' (2005) (Vampisoul) – Compilation


References


Literature

* Liner notes to
Light in the Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-rel ...
' 2007 re-issue of Betty Davis' self-titled 1973 debut album.


External links

*
Betty Davis
at AllAboutJazz * *
Betty Davis
on Weave
''Betty: They Say I'm Different''
– feature documentary, made in collaboration with Betty Davis herself

– interview on Maximum Fun June 21, 2007 (her first radio interview in 30 years)
''The Beautiful Dichotomy of Betty Davis: A Rare Conversation with the Elusive Mistress of Funk''
– interview on NoDepression, February 2010, by J. Hayes * Neil Spencer
"Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', September 5, 2010 (including 2010 interview).
Emily Lordi, "The Artful, Erotic and Still Misunderstood Funk of Betty Davis"
''New Yorker'', May 2, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Betty 1944 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers African-American rock musicians African-American women singer-songwriters American expatriates in the United Kingdom American funk singers American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American soul singers Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Female models from North Carolina Female models from Pittsburgh Island Records artists Miles Davis Musicians from Durham, North Carolina Musicians from Pittsburgh People from Homestead, Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Light In The Attic Records artists