Betty Davis, Boundary-Pushing Funk Singer, Dead at 77

Betty Davis, the fiery funk singer who released several groundbreaking albums in the ‘70s, has died at the age of 77 of natural causes as reported by Rolling Stone.

Davis’ love for music began when she was a child, but eventually left her childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York as a teenager. Greenwich Village’s vibrant club culture rubbed off on Davis, and while working as a professional model, she became acquainted with legends such as Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix.

Throughout the ‘60s, Davis recorded several singles, many of which were arranged by her then-boyfriend—influential South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Shortly after their breakup, she met Miles Davis. Throughout the course of their one-year marriage, Davis introduced the jazz legend to the trends of the era, influencing his musical experimentation through her connections with musicians such as Stone and Hendrix. As his muse, Davis appeared on the cover of his 1969 album Filles de Kilimanjaro.

Following her divorce, Davis began exploring with funk music throughout the ‘70s beginning with her self-titled in 1973 followed by They Say I’m Different in 1974 and Nasty Gal in 1975. Davis pushed boundaries as influenced by the slow shift in culture that she witnessed throughout the ‘60s into the ‘70s, and she became known for her explicit lyrics such as ”’Cause I know you could possess my body/I know you could make me scrawl” on “Anti-Love Song” and “I used to tie him up/Yeah, he couldn’t get enough/Nah, he’d be on the floor/Oh, begging me for more” on “He Was A Big Freak.” As a result of this persona that carried onto her live performances, her shows were boycotted and her songs were banned on the radio.

Despite remaining a cult figure, poor album sales led to the singer returning to Pittsburgh in 1979, and she lived a quiet life away from music. Seattle-based label Light in the Attic Records eventually reissued all of her albums, including the unreleased1976 album Crashin’ from Passion. In 2019, alongside the release of the documentary Betty: They Say I’m Different, Davis returned with the song “A Little Bit Hot Tonight,” written, arranged and produced by Davis and performed by Danielle Maggio.

Below, revisit some of Davis’ most iconic songs, including her triumphant 2019 return.