Betty Davis

{{Short description|American singer, songwriter, and model (1944–2022)}}

{{About|the singer|her 1973 album|Betty Davis (album)|the actress|Bette Davis|other people}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Betty Davis

| image = Photo of Betty Davis.jpg

| caption =

| image_size =

| birth_name = Betty Gray Mabry

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|7|26}}

| birth_place = Durham, North Carolina, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|2|9|1944|7|26}}

| death_place = Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| origin = New York City, NY, U.S.

| instrument = Vocals

| label = {{hlist|Columbia|Just Sunshine|Island|Light in the Attic}}

| genre = {{flatlist|

Funk
R&B
soul
rock

}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|model}}

| past_member_of = {{hlist|Miles Davis|The Chambers Brothers}}

| spouse = * {{Marriage|Miles Davis|1968|1969|reason=divorced}}

| years_active = {{hlist|1964–1979|2019}}

}}

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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/10/arts/music/betty-davis-dead.html|title=Betty Davis, Raw Funk Innovator, Is Dead at 77|last=Pareles|first=Jon|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2022|access-date=February 10, 2022}} Her AllMusic profile describes her as "a wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals ... [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis".{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p16873}}

Early life

Betty Gray Mabry was born in Durham, North Carolina, on July 26, 1944.{{cite news |title=Betty Davis obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/betty-davis-obituary-hvmrnr66j |access-date=February 11, 2022 |work=The Times |date=February 10, 2022}}{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2019/07/22/Betty-Davis-interview-funk-legend-Homestead-Miles-A-Little-Bit-Hot-Tonight/stories/201907220086|title=Betty Davis, a funk icon living in Homestead, releases first song in nearly 40 years |last=Mervis|first=Scott|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=July 22, 2019|access-date=July 22, 2019|url-access=subscription}} 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, North Carolina.{{cite web|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/betty-davis-shes-gotta-have-it|title=Betty Davis: She's Gotta Have It|first=James|last=Maycock|date=February 2005|work=MOJO|via=Rock's Backpages|access-date=February 10, 2022}} At 12, she wrote one of her first songs, "I'm Going to Bake That Cake of Love".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F91KDwAAQBAJ&q=%22I%E2%80%99m+Going+to+Bake+That+Cake+of+Love.%22&pg=PT296|title=Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl|last=McDonnell|first=Evelyn|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal|year=2018|isbn=978-0316558877|location=New York|quote=She penned her first song 'I'm going to bake that Cake of Love' when she was 12 years old.}} The family relocated to Homestead, Pennsylvania, so her father, Henry Mabry, could work at a Pennsylvania steel mill. Davis attended and graduated from Homestead High School.{{cite web|url=https://www.thisisdig.com/betty-davis-funk-pioneer-dies-aged-77/ |first=Joe |last=Tiller|title=Betty Davis, Funk Pioneer, Dies Aged 77|work=Dig!|date=February 10, 2022|access-date= February 10, 2022}}

Career

When she was 16, Betty left Homestead for New York City, enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) 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 was a friend and early muse to fashion designer Stephen Burrows, who also studied at the FIT at the time.{{Cite book|last=Mahon|first=Maureen|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1141516276|title=Black diamond queens : African American women and rock and roll|date=2020|isbn=978-1-4780-1019-7|location=Durham|oclc=1141516276}} She also worked as a model, appearing in photo spreads in Seventeen, Ebony and Glamour.{{cite web|url=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Betty%20Davis.html |title=Betty Davis|publisher=Soulwalking.co.uk|access-date=June 10, 2012}}

In New York, she met musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.Crowhurst, Anna-Marie (March 7, 2018) [https://www.stylist.co.uk/visible-women/betty-davis-funk-soul-singer-feminist-history/194313 "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, who reputedly produced her first single, "The Cellar", though the existence of that record has been questioned.[http://ontherecordshow.blogspot.com/2011/11/betty-mabry-get-ready-for-betty.html "Betty Mabry: 'Get Ready for Betty{{'"}}], On the Record, November 8, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2022. She secured a contract with Don Costa, who had written arrangements for Frank Sinatra. 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".[https://www.soulandjazzandfunk.com/news/betty-davis-rip/ Charles Waring, "Betty Davis RIP"], Soul&Jazz&Funk, February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

Her first professional gig came after she wrote "Uptown (to Harlem)" for The Chambers Brothers. 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."Wang, O., liner notes to They Say I'm Different, Betty Davis, Just Sunshine – JSS-3500, LP, 1974.Wang, O., [https://magazine.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/betty-davis-liner-notes/ "The Music and Mystique of Betty Davis—Read the Liner Notes to the Funk Singer’s Debut LP"], vinylmeplease.com, June 22, 2017.

In 1968, when she was in a relationship with Hugh Masekela, she recorded several songs for Columbia Records, with Masekela doing the arrangements.{{cite news |last1=Patrin |first1=Nate |title=The Columbia Years 1968-69 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22111-the-columbia-years-1968-69/ |access-date=February 11, 2022 |work=Pitchfork |date=July 15, 2016}} 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's 1968 album Filles de Kilimanjaro, which included his tribute to her, "Mademoiselle Mabry", and she introduced him to psychedelic rock 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 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 until 2016, when they were released in the compilation The Columbia Years, 1968–1969 by Seattle's Light in the Attic Records.{{Cite web|first1=Evan |last1=Minsker |date=June 28, 2016|title=Lost Betty Davis 1969 Sessions With Miles Davis Released|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/66427-lost-betty-davis-1969-sessions-with-miles-davis-released/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=Pitchfork}}

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 including Larry Graham, Greg Errico, the Pointer Sisters, and members of Tower of Power. 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){{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11903-betty-davis-they-say-im-different/|title=Betty Davis: Betty Davis / They Say I'm Different|website=Pitchfork|date=May 22, 2007 |access-date=December 23, 2018}} and her major label debut on Island Records Nasty Gal (1975). None of the three albums were 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 number 66 in 1973, and "Shut Off the Lights", which reached number 97 in 1975.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/betty-davis|title=Betty Davis Chart History|magazine=Billboard}}{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=1996 |publisher=Record Research |page=104}}

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.{{Cite magazine|last=Adderton|first=Donald|date=April 15, 1976|title=Her Act Too Spicy For U.S. Tastes; Betty Davis Finds Success In Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57|magazine=Jet|volume=50|issue=4|page=57}} Some of her shows were boycotted, and her songs were not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups and the NAACP.{{cite journal |last=Mahon|first=Maureen|title=They Say She's Different: Race, Gender, Genre, and the Liberated Black Femininity of Betty Davis|journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies|volume=23|issue=2|pages=146–165|date=June 15, 2011|doi=10.1111/j.1533-1598.2011.01277.x}} Carlos Santana recalled Betty as "indomitable – she couldn't be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive."

Retirement

Davis completed another album for Island Records in 1976 (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.

Davis's father died in 1980, 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.{{cite news| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/after-40-years-betty-davis-70s-queen-of-funk-and-wife-of-miles-is-rediscovered/2018/09/11/a878104a-b486-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html| title = 'I didn't just fade off the planet.' Reconnecting with '70s funk queen Betty Davis|first=Keith L.|last=Alexander| newspaper = The Washington Post|date=September 11, 2018}}

The tracks from her final recording sessions in 1979 were released on two bootleg albums, Crashin' From Passion (1995) and Hangin' Out in Hollywood (1996).{{cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52312236|title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|date=2003|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=0879307447|editor1-last=Bogdanov|editor1-first=Vladimir|location=Ann Arbor, MI|page=178|oclc=52312236|access-date=February 11, 2022}} A greatest hits album, Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis, was also released in 1995.{{Citation|title=Betty Davis - Anti Love - The Best Of Betty Davis|date=September 6, 1995 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/7812247-Betty-Davis-Anti-Love-The-Best-Of-Betty-Davis|website=Discogs|language=en}}

In 2007, Betty Davis (1973) and They Say I'm Different (1974) were reissued by Light in the Attic Records.{{Cite web|last=Matos|first=Michaelangelo|date=June 14, 2007|title=Why lost funk queen Betty Davis doesn't live up to the hype.|url=https://slate.com/culture/2007/06/why-lost-funk-queen-betty-davis-doesn-t-live-up-to-the-hype.html|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}} In 2009, the label reissued Nasty Gal and her unreleased fourth studio album recorded in 1976, re-titled 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, Chuck Rainey, and Alphonse Mouzon), was shelved and remained unreleased for 33 years.{{cite news |last1=Condon |first1=Dan |title=Betty Davis, the controversial queen of raw funk, has died at 76 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/music-news/betty-davis-died-funk-soul-76-miles-davis-chambers-brothers-hug/13748796 |access-date=February 11, 2022 |work=ABC.au |date=February 10, 2022}}

An independent documentary directed by Phil Cox entitled Betty: They Say I'm Different was released in 2017, which renewed interest in her life and music career.{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8267204/ | title=Betty: They Say I'm Different | website=IMDb }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NebguvtS_Y0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/NebguvtS_Y0 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Betty Davis – They Say I'm Different Symposium at NYU Tandon May 25, 2018|date=June 24, 2018 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

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 more than 40 years, which was performed and sung by Danielle Maggio, an ethnomusicologist who was a close friend and associate producer on Betty: They Say I'm Different.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/news/55837/betty-davis-releases-first-song-in-40-years|title=Betty Davis releases first new song since 1979|website=Thewire.co.uk|date=July 24, 2019|access-date=February 18, 2020}}

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Betty Davis's self-titled debut, in 2023 Light in the Attic Records reissued three of her albums: Betty Davis, They Say I'm Different, Is It Love Or Desire?, as well as the first official release of her 1979 tracks, Crashin' From Passion.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/betty-davis-four-essential-albums-reissued-1234776098/ | title=Funk Queen Betty Davis' Four Essential Albums to be Reissued | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=June 22, 2023 }}

Personal life and death

As a model in 1966, Betty met jazz musician Miles Davis, who was 18 years her senior.{{Cite journal|date=October 17, 1968|title=One Of Sexiest Men Alive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTgDAAAAMBAJ&q=betty+davis+miles+davis+jet+1968&pg=PA48|journal=Jet|volume= 35| issue = 2|pages=48}} 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 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 guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968) features Betty on the cover and includes a song named after her.{{cite news |last1=Kenny |first1=Jack |title=MILES DAVIS - Filles De Kilimanjaro: A Re-evaluation |url=https://www.jazzviews.net/miles-davis---filles-de-kilimanjaro-a-re-evaluation.html|date=September 14, 2022 |access-date=February 11, 2022 |work=Jazz Views}}

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.{{Cite book|title=Miles: The Autobiography|author1=Davis, Miles|author2=Troupe, Quincy|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1990|isbn=978-0-671-72582-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/milesautobiograp0000davi}} 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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue|title=Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz|last=Spencer|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Spencer|date=September 4, 2010|website=The Obserrver}} After accusing her of adultery, he filed for divorce in 1969.{{Cite book|title=Miles : The Autobiography|last=Miles Davis|first=Quincy Troupe|publisher=Macmillan|year=2012|isbn=9781447218371}} 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."{{Cite journal|date=March 12, 1970|title=Miles Davis Signs $300,000 Record Pact; Sheds Wife|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjkDAAAAMBAJ&q=betty+davis+miles+davis+divorce&pg=PA53|journal=Jet|volume=37|issue=24|pages=53}} 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. It has been said that he wanted to call the album Witches Brew but Betty convinced him to change it.{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailymaverick.co.za/article/2010-09-07-madonna-before-madonna-the-woman-who-introduced-miles-to-hendrix-finally-speaks|title=Madonna before Madonna: The woman who introduced Miles to Hendrix finally speaks|first=Kevin|last=Bloom|publisher=Thedailymaverick.co.za|date= September 7, 2010|access-date=June 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908075148/http://www.thedailymaverick.co.za/article/2010-09-07-madonna-before-madonna-the-woman-who-introduced-miles-to-hendrix-finally-speaks|archive-date=September 8, 2010|url-status=dead}}

Davis briefly dated musician Eric Clapton, but she refused to collaborate with him.{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a3047/betty-davis-053107/|title=The Soul Singer in the Shadows|last=Dremousis|first=Lisa|date=May 31, 2007|website=Esquire}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/20269/1/nasty-gal-betty-davis|title=The singer, whose sexually potent 70s funk blueprint virtually created its own genre, talks about her personal soul revolution|last=Hundley|first=Jessica|date=June 15, 2014|website=Dazed}}

In 1975 Davis' lover Robert Palmer helped her secure a deal with Island Records. Shortly thereafter she released her album Nasty Gal.

Davis died from cancer at her home in Homestead, Pennsylvania, on February 9, 2022, at the age of 77.{{cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|title=Betty Davis, trailblazing queen of funk, dead at 77|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/betty-davis-dead-obit-1297372/|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=February 9, 2022}}{{cite news|url = https://www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079644021/betty-davis-funk-pioneer-dies|title = Betty Davis, funk pioneer and fashion icon, dies at 77|last = Limbong|first = Andrew|work = NPR|date = February 9, 2022|accessdate = February 11, 2022}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemax.com/mike-judge-presents-tales-from-the-tour-bus/season-2/episode-8.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922053106/https://www.cinemax.com/mike-judge-presents-tales-from-the-tour-bus/season-2/episode-8.html|website=Cinemax |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |title=Mike Judge Presents: Tales From The Tour Bus Season 2 Episode 8 Betty Davis |access-date=December 28, 2020 }}

Davis' music has been featured in television series including Orange Is the New Black,{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Xh9GxO4HlVYewDTWcvPZK|title=Orange is the New Black Soundtrack, a playlist by 22sbbj4p6nqxnurgbrpg555oy on Spotify|website=Spotify}} Girlboss,{{cite web |url=http://tidal.com/browse/playlist/3c5a2782-ad42-4fcb-a7bb-5b20d9b8cd12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521020328/https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/3c5a2782-ad42-4fcb-a7bb-5b20d9b8cd12 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |title=Girlboss: The Soundtrack (Season One) |website= TIDAL}} Mixed-ish,{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5b5ad8oS24H58uF5oNHqBO|title=Mixed'ish (ABC) TV Soundtrack, a playlist by GrooveScene on Spotify|website=Spotify}} High Fidelity{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsugar.com/node/47232772|title='They Say I'm Different" by Betty Davis|first=Amanda|last=Prahl|date=February 23, 2020|website=POPSUGAR Entertainment}} and Pistol.{{cite web | url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vBMNuf998v7QFebN8J5mZ | title=Pistol soundtrack | website=Spotify }}

Discography

=Studio albums=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" \|+List of studio albums, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:11em;"\| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"\| Details ! scope="col" colspan="4"\| Peak chart positions
scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"\| US Bub. {{cite magazine\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49\|title=Bubbling Under the Top LPs\|magazine=Billboard\|volume=85\|issue=41\|date=October 13, 1973\|accessdate=August 13, 2024\|page=27}} ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"\| US R&B {{cite magazine\|title=Betty Davis – Chart history: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums\|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/blp/\|magazine=Billboard\|access-date=August 13, 2024}} ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"\| AUS {{cite book\|last=Kent\|first=David\|author-link=David Kent (historian)\|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992\|edition=illustrated\|publisher=Australian Chart Book\|location=St Ives, N.S.W.\|year=1993\|isbn=0-646-11917-6\|page=83}} ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"\| GER {{cite web\|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/suche?artistId=betty%20davis\|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts: Betty Davis\|publisher=GfK Entertainment Charts\|language=de\|access-date=August 13, 2024}}
scope="row"\| Betty Davis \| Released: 1973 Label: Just Sunshine Formats: LP, CD, cassette, 8-track, digital download, streaming \| 202 \|\| 54 \|\| — \|\| —
scope="row"\| They Say I'm Different \| Released: 1974 Label: Just Sunshine Formats: LP, CD, 8-track, digital download, streaming \| — \|\| 46 \|\| — \|\| 41
scope="row"\| Nasty Gal \| Released: 1975 Label: Island Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming \| — \|\| 54 \|\| 96 \|\| —
scope="row"\| Crashin' from Passion{{efn-ua\|Album was recorded in 1979.}} \| Released: 1995 Label: Light in the Attic Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming \| — \|\| — \|\| — \|\| —
scope="row"\| Is It Love or Desire{{efn-ua\|Album was recorded in 1976.}} \| Released: October 6, 2009 Label: Light in the Attic Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming \| — \|\| — \|\| — \|\| —
colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"\| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:11em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details

! scope="col" colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"| US Bub.
{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49|title=Bubbling Under the Top LPs|magazine=Billboard|volume=85|issue=41|date=October 13, 1973|accessdate=August 13, 2024|page=27}}

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"| US R&B
{{cite magazine|title=Betty Davis – Chart history: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/blp/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 13, 2024}}

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"| AUS
{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=83}}

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"| GER
{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/suche?artistId=betty%20davis|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts: Betty Davis|publisher=GfK Entertainment Charts|language=de|access-date=August 13, 2024}}

scope="row"| Betty Davis

Released: 1973
Label: Just Sunshine
Formats: LP, CD, cassette, 8-track, digital download, streaming

| 202 || 54 || — || —

scope="row"| They Say I'm Different

Released: 1974
Label: Just Sunshine
Formats: LP, CD, 8-track, digital download, streaming

| — || 46 || — || 41

scope="row"| Nasty Gal

Released: 1975
Label: Island
Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming

| — || 54 || 96 || —

scope="row"| Crashin' from Passion{{efn-ua|Album was recorded in 1979.}}

Released: 1995
Label: Light in the Attic
Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

| — || — || — || —

scope="row"| Is It Love or Desire{{efn-ua|Album was recorded in 1976.}}

Released: October 6, 2009
Label: Light in the Attic
Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

| — || — || — || —

colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

=Compilation albums=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" \|+List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:11em;"\| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"\| Details ! scope="col" colspan="1"\| Peak chart positions
scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"\| US Heat. {{cite magazine\|title=Betty Davis – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums\|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/tln/\|magazine=Billboard\|access-date=August 13, 2024}}
scope="row"\| Anti Love - The Best Of Betty Davis \| Released: 1995 Label: Vinyl Experience Ltd. Formats: LP, CD \| -
scope="row"\| This Is It! \| Released: 2005 Label: Vampi Soul Formats: 2xLP, CD \| -
scope="row"\| The Columbia Years 1968–1969 \| Released: June 28, 2016 Label: Light in the Attic Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming \| 23

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:11em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:85%;"| US Heat.
{{cite magazine|title=Betty Davis – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/tln/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 13, 2024}}

scope="row"| Anti Love - The Best Of Betty Davis

Released: 1995
Label: Vinyl Experience Ltd.
Formats: LP, CD

| -

scope="row"| This Is It!

Released: 2005
Label: Vampi Soul
Formats: 2xLP, CD

| -

scope="row"| The Columbia Years 1968–1969

Released: June 28, 2016
Label: Light in the Attic
Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

| 23

=Singles=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" \|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"\| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"\| Year ! scope="col" colspan="1"\| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"\| Album
scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"\| US R&B {{cite magazine\|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/bsi/\|title=Betty Davis – Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs\|magazine=Billboard\|access-date=August 13, 2024}}
scope="row"\| "Get Ready for Betty"{{efn-ua\|Credited as Betty Mabry.\|name="bettymabry"}} \| rowspan="2"\| 1964 \| — \| rowspan="3" {{Non-album singles}}
scope="row"\| "I'll Be There"{{efn-ua\|Credited as Betty and Roy.}} \| —
scope="row"\| "Live, Love, Learn"{{efn-ua\|name="bettymabry"}} \| 1968 \| —
scope="row"\| "Steppin in Her I. Miller Shoes" \| rowspan="3"\| 1973 \| — \| rowspan="3"\| Betty Davis
scope="row"\| "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up" \| 66
scope="row"\| "Ooh Yeah" \| —
scope="row"\| "Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him" \| rowspan="3"\| 1974 \| — \| rowspan="3"\| They Say I'm Different
scope="row"\| "Git in There" \| —
scope="row"\| "They Say I'm Different"{{efn-ua\|Released in Japan only.}} \| —
scope="row"\| "Shut Off the Light" \| rowspan="2"\| 1975 \| 97 \| rowspan="3"\| Nasty Gal
scope="row"\| "Dedicated to the Press"{{efn-ua\|Released in Italy only.}} \| —
scope="row"\| "Talkin' Trash" \| 1976 \| —
colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"\| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Album

scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;"| US R&B
{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/betty-davis/chart-history/bsi/|title=Betty Davis – Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 13, 2024}}

scope="row"| "Get Ready for Betty"{{efn-ua|Credited as Betty Mabry.|name="bettymabry"}}

| rowspan="2"| 1964

| —

| rowspan="3" {{Non-album singles}}

scope="row"| "I'll Be There"{{efn-ua|Credited as Betty and Roy.}}

| —

scope="row"| "Live, Love, Learn"{{efn-ua|name="bettymabry"}}

| 1968

| —

scope="row"| "Steppin in Her I. Miller Shoes"

| rowspan="3"| 1973

| —

| rowspan="3"| Betty Davis

scope="row"| "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up"

| 66

scope="row"| "Ooh Yeah"

| —

scope="row"| "Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him"

| rowspan="3"| 1974

| —

| rowspan="3"| They Say I'm Different

scope="row"| "Git in There"

| —

scope="row"| "They Say I'm Different"{{efn-ua|Released in Japan only.}}

| —

scope="row"| "Shut Off the Light"

| rowspan="2"| 1975

| 97

| rowspan="3"| Nasty Gal

scope="row"| "Dedicated to the Press"{{efn-ua|Released in Italy only.}}

| —

scope="row"| "Talkin' Trash"

| 1976

| —

colspan="14" style="font-size:85%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

References

Literature

Liner notes to Light in the Attic Records' 2007 re-issue of Betty Davis' self-titled 1973 debut album.

External links

{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p16873|label=Betty Davis}}
[https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/bettydavis Betty Davis] at AllAboutJazz
{{Discogs artist|Betty Davis}}
{{IMDb name|10140175}}
[http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2007/06/podcast-tsoya-betty-davis.html The Sound of Young America] – interview on Maximum Fun June 21, 2007 (her first radio interview in 30 years)
[https://www.nodepression.com/the-beautiful-dichotomy-of-betty-davis-a-rare-conversation-with-the-elusive-mistress-of-funk/ The Beautiful Dichotomy of Betty Davis: A Rare Conversation with the Elusive Mistress of Funk] – interview on No Depression, February 2010, by J. Hayes
Neil Spencer, [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/05/miles-davis-bitches-brew-reissue "Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz"], The Guardian, September 5, 2010 (including 2010 interview).
[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-artful-erotic-and-still-misunderstood-funk-of-betty-davis Emily Lordi, "The Artful, Erotic and Still Misunderstood Funk of Betty Davis"], The New Yorker, May 2, 2018.