Betty Davis American singer
We are celebrating in this post-Betty Davis, her Career and Personal life. She was a very stylish and popular singer with a huge fanbase and followers all around the world.
Today we say rest in power to singer Betty Davis (1945-2022). Like many uncompromising, creative women, the funk-rock diva Betty Davis is often called a pioneer. She dared to be different and challenged what people taught they knew about funk, The blues, and Black expression
Betty Davis death
Betty Davis was an American funk and soul singer. She is remembered for her controversially sexual lyrics and performance style, and as having been Miles Davis’s second wife. WikipediaDied: February 9, 2022. Betty Davis Born: July 26, 1945, Durham, North Carolina, United States.
Betty Davis Career
Aged 16, Betty left Pittsburgh for New York City, enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology while living with her aunt. She soaked up the Greenwich Village culture and folk music 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 also worked as a model, appearing in photo spreads in Seventeen, Ebony, and Glamour.
In her time in New York, she met several musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. The seeds of her musical career were planted through her friendship with soul singer Lou Courtney, who produced her first single, “The Cellar” with simple, catchy lyrics like, “Where are you going fellas, so fly? / I’m going to the Cellar, my oh my / What you going to do there / We’re going to boogaloo there.”
The single was a local jam for the Cellar. Yet her first professional gig was not until she wrote “Uptown (to Harlem)” for the Chambers Brothers. Their 1967 album was a major success, but Betty Mabry was focusing 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.”
As Betty Mabry, she recorded “Get Ready For Betty” b/w “I’m Gonna Get My Baby Back” in 1964 for DCP International. Sometime in that same era, she also recorded a duet with Roy Arlington and under their joint name “Roy and Betty”, released a single for Safice entitled, “I’ll Be There”.
In 1968, when she was still involved with Hugh Masekela, she recorded several songs for Columbia Records, 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 and 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 producing. At least five songs were taped during those sessions, three of which were Mabry originals, two of which were covers of Cream 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.
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. Instead, she recorded her own songs with a group of West Coast funk musicians. Davis wrote and arranged all her songs. Her first record, Betty Davis, 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 (1975). None of the three albums was a commercial success, but she had two minor hits on the Billboard R&B chart: “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.[9][10]
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.[11] Some of her shows were boycotted, and her songs were not played on the radio due to pressure from religious groups and the NAACP.[12] Carlos Santana recalled Betty as “indomitable – she couldn’t be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive.”[13]
After some recording sessions in 1979, Davis stopped making music and returned to Pittsburgh, where she lived quietly.[14]
Both Betty Davis (1973) and They Say I’m Different (1974) were reissued by Light in the Attic Records in 2007. In 2009, Light in the Attic Records reissued Nasty Gal 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 many members of her last band (Herbie Hancock, Chuck Rainey, Alphonse Mouzon), was shelved by the record label and remained unreleased for 33 years.
Material from the 1979 recording sessions was eventually used for two bootleg albums, Crashin’ from Passion (1995) and Hangin’ Out in Hollywood (1996). A greatest hits album, Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis, was released in 2000.
In 2019, Davis released “A Little Bit Hot Tonight”, her first new song in over 40 years, which was performed by Danielle Maggio, an ethnomusicologist who was a friend and associate producer on Betty: They Say I’m Different.[15]
Betty Davis Personal life
As a model in 1966, Betty first met jazz musician Miles Davis, who was 19 years her senior.[16] At the time he was separated from his first wife, dancer Frances Davis, and was dating actress Cicely Tyson. Betty began dating Miles in early 1968, and they were married in September 1968.[16] In just one year of marriage, she influenced him greatly by introducing him to the fashions and the new popular music trends of the era. In his autobiography, Miles credited Betty 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. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968), which features a photo portrait of Betty on the cover, 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.[17] 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.”[13] After accusing her of adultery, he filed for divorce in 1969.[18] Miles told Jet magazine at the time that the divorce was obtained on a “temperament” charge. He added, “I’m just not the kind of cat to be married.”[19] 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. The origin of the album’s title is unknown, but some believe Miles was subtly paying tribute to Betty and her girlfriends. In fact, it is said that he originally wanted to call the album Witches Brew—it was Betty who convinced him to change it.[20]
Davis briefly dated musician Eric Clapton, and she refused to collaborate with him.[7][21]
In 1975 Davis’ lover Robert Palmer helped her secure a deal with Island Records. Shortly thereafter she released her album Nasty Gal.[21]
Davis died on February 9, 2022, at her home in Homestead, Pennsylvania, from natural causes at the age of 77.[22][23]
Betty Davis most popular songs list
Betty Davis – Anti Love Song (1973) Betty DavisReleased
Betty Davis - Anti Love Song Lyrics No I don't want to love you Cause I know how you are Thats why I have been staying away from you Thats why I haven't called ya Cause I know you could possess my body I know you can make me scrawl I know you can have me shaking I know you could have me climbing the walls Thats why I don't want to love you Cause I know how you are Sure you say your right on and your righteous But with me I know you'd be right off You know I could possess your body too? Dont cha? You know I could make you crawl And just as hard as I fall for you Boy Well you know you'd fall for me harder Thats why I dont want to love you Cause I know what you do to my heart You'd scorch it just like hot iron Wow Leave me burning alone in the dark Cause I know you could make me suffer I know you could drive me mad When it got real I know you'd disappear Thats why I AIN'T gonna love you Cause I know you like to be in charge Well with me You know you couldn't control me Dontcha? Cause you know i'd make you drop your guard I'd have you eaten your ego I'd make you pocket your pride Just as hard as I'd be loving you You know you'd be loving me harder Thats why I dont want to love you. I said I dont want to love you Na na na na I said I aint gonna Na na na na I said I dont wanna Na na na na na I know what you'd do to me Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Betty Mabry (pka Betty Davis)
Betty Davis – Nasty Gal lyrics
Artist: Betty Davis song Album: Nasty Gal Released: 1975 Lyrics
I'm gonna run it down to y'all (tell 'em anythin' you want now) I ain't nothin' but a nasty girl now Ah, hi-hi I said, you said I was a bitch now, ah-hi Didn't ya, didn't ya You said I was a witch now I'm gonna tell 'em why, I'm gonna tell 'em why You used to love it, oh, to ride my broom honey I used to love it, ooh, I used to love to ride the range with ya baby (Sing the song, sing the song) I ain't nothin' but a hi-hi, nothin' but a A hi-hi I said, you said I was an evil witch, oh Didn't ya, didn't ya You said I was an alley cat I'm gonna tell 'em why, I'm gonna tell 'em why You used to love it, oh When I'd scratch your back, baby I used to love it, ooh When you did it, when you did it to me real good (oh lord, oh lord) Oh, you know you did it to me so good Ah, hi-hi I said, you went around tellin' everybody Yeah, you just put me down now You dragged my name in the mud All over town I'm gonna tell 'em why You said I didn't treat you, I didn't know you I didn't love you well But you know you lied Yes, you did, I used to leave you hangin' in the bed By your finger nails screamin' (tell the truth, tell the truth) I ain't nothin' but a nasty girl now Ah-hi, ah-hi, ah-hi I said, you said I turned you on, I turned you inside out I even turned your head around now You said I loved you every way but your way And my way was too dirty for you now But if I really did him in, I say, why he want this nasty girl back again? (So you can finish what you started) And I will give it to ya, you can have it Come on, take it now! I ain't nothin' but a nasty girl now Ah, hi-hi I said, you said I turn you on, I turned you inside out I even turned your head around now You said, I loved you every way but your way And my way was too dirty for you now You said I pricked your nose with a diamond I hurt you bad and I caused you pain, yeah You said I wasn't nothin' but a dirty dog But still you want me back again, back again you say you want it (Get down, mama, mama, get down) you say you need it now (Get down, get down) you say you want it (Get down, mama, mama, get down, well, well, well) well, I'm gonna give it to ya, give it to ya You say you want it You say it's gettin' real good now You say you want it Well, I'm wanna let ya have it, let ya have it ah, hi-hi (Get down, mama, mama, get down) I ain't nothin' but a nasty girl now Ah, hi-hi I'm no good, dirty nasty girl now (Get down, get down) ah, hi-hi (Get down, mama, mama, get down) ain't nothin' but, a nothin' but, a nothin' but a (Get down, get down) ah, hi-hi (Get down, mama, mama, get down) I'm no good, dirty nasty girl now Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Betty Mabry (pka Betty Davis)
Betty Davis - Talkin' Trash lyrics Betty Davis - Talkin' Trash Artist: Betty Davis Album: Nasty Gal Released: 1975 Genres: R&B/Soul, Jazz Talk trash to me I'll keep you hot and dry Talk trash to me I'll be your desert sun What cha sayin', what cha sayin'? I said you can break every law with me Talk trash to me, girl I'm yours, I'm over 21 Talk a little bit of trash to me Do whatever you wanna do to me Talk trash to me, baby Feel free, I don't care Talk trash to me Tell me what gets you off? Talkin trash, talkin trash Run your fingers through my bushy hair I'll lay you down On the green grass I'll lift you up, yeah High as the sky now I'll make you feel strong Just like the north wind Then I will I will talk trash to you baby Till your head flyin' Talk trash to me Oh, anything that you want Talk trash to me I will give it to you Talk trash to me, baby I'll be your good loving lady What cha sayin', what cha sayin'? I said I sure know what to do for you, do for you Talk trash to me I'll keep your day sharp Talk trash to me, girl I'll make your nights long Talk a little trash, talk a little trash to me And when I'm through with you Talk trash to me, baby You'll be glad that you were born I'll lay you down Out on the green grass I'll lift you up, yeah High as the sky, now I'll make you feel free Just like the north wind Then I will I will talk trash to you baby Till your head flyin' Talk trash to me Oh, you're just as fine as you can be Talk trash to me You got everything I need now What cha sayin', what cha sayin'? Think it, wish it, it will be yours Talkin trash, talkin trash to me I'll give you everything I got and some more Talk trash to me See other women, I don't care Talk trash to me, baby And when you snap your fingers I'll be right there Talk trash to me Now do you want me To tell you the truth? Will you mind if I tell you lies? Answer me Answer me, sweet darling Talk trash to me baby till my head flies I'll talk trash to you I'll talk trash to you baby I'll talk trash to you till your head flies Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Betty Mabry (pka Betty Davis)
