American funk and soul great Betty Davis has died.
Born in North Carolina she found herself drawn to New York as a teen, immersing herself in the city’s brew of music and fashion.
With her ultra-energetic, unabashed, and often explicit style Betty Davis recorded with Lou Courtney, before collaborating with Hugh Masekela.
Friends with pre-fame Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix, she was also in-demand as a model, appearing across the fashion pages of Jet and Ebony, amongst many others.
Drawn into the orbit of Miles Davis, a passionate love affair ensued; the two married, and Betty Davis is widely credited – not least by Miles Davis himself – of reinventing his image, and vastly contributing to his sound palette.
Absorbing elements of funk into his music, Miles Davis named a song on ‘Filles des Kilimanjaro’ after Betty Davis, while she also appears on the cover.
Although the two split in 1969, Miles would carry these influences on into his next fusion phase, notably on the best-seller ‘Bitches Brew’ – the title is often viewed as an oblique reference to Betty.
A truly larger than life character, Betty Davis travelled to London in 1971, issuing a string of singles alongside the albums ‘Betty Davis’ (1973), ‘They Say I’m Different’ (1974), and ‘Nasty Gal’ (1975).
Too raw and abrasive for those times – particularly as a female artist – the albums became cult objects, later gaining a lavish re-issue from Light In The Attic.
The 2017 documentary Betty: They Say I’m Different helped to illuminate her story, allowing Betty Davis’ music to be heard by a new generation.
News of Betty Davis’ passing was confirmed by Rolling Stone earlier today; she was 77 years old.
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