Betty Davis: reviews, funk fire, and must-hear albums

Betty Davis

Musician

Forfunk and soul fans, 70s music lovers, miles davis aficionados, crate-diggers, and anyone into fearless female voices.
3 Reviews 1 Definitions 2 Charts

The Profile

American funk and soul singer Betty Davis (born Betty Mabry) became a cult icon for her raw, sexually charged records. She released Betty Davis (1973), They Say I’m Different (1974), and Nasty Gal (1975); sessions for Is It Love or Desire were recorded in 1976 and released in 2009. She died in 2022.

Married Miles Davis (1968–1969) and is widely credited with introducing him to Jimi Hendrix’s music, influencing his electric period. Former fashion model who left modeling because, in her words, “it wasn’t necessary to have a brain.”

Three enthusiastic DeBaser reviews salute Betty Davis’s raw, carnal funk and commanding voice. They spotlight the 1973 debut, the swaggering They Say I’m Different, and the incendiary Nasty Gal. Themes include sexual empowerment, blaxploitation flavor, and Hendrix/Miles Davis crosscurrents. Standout cuts like If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up, F.U.N.K., and The Lone Ranger get special praise.

Notable Quotes

❝ Start from the beginning with “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” and bon voyage with an engaging funk that can melt a chunk of ice like myself in a matter of seconds.

❝ “Nasty Gal” places itself, unequivocally, among the masterpieces of funk: a real slice of black music, that plants its roots in Afro tribalism and makes the vital and carnal impulse, of dirty and essential rock, its reason for being.