Funk and fashion icon Betty Davis, Queen of Funk, has died on Feb. 9 at the age of 77. She was known for her sexual lyrics and knows no bound style that was controversial during her prime. Betty led a more private life off the stage and out of the public eye, but still had a huge influence on music and fashion and opened up doors for future artists to expresses themselves in new lights.
Betty Davis started out her career as a model in New York. She attended Fashion Institute of Technology, and once her model career started to take off, she was featured in magazines Seventeen, Glamour, and more. She was truly gorgeous, and her personal expression of style was a sight to see.
In her music career, she released a couple of different records, and even wrote and produced her first self-titled debut record which was rare at the time, especially for a woman of color. Just an example of the ways she was changing the game. The debut record was put out in 1973. She released two more records after that: in 1994 she released They Say I’m Different and in 1975 it was Nasty Gal.
Light in the Attic Records released her record Is It Love or Desire?, originally recorded in 1976, in 2009. Light in the Attic has plans to release her final album Crashin’ From Passion sometime in 2022.
Betty has two hit singles that made the charts, one in 1973 and one in 1975. They were “If I’m in Luck I Might get Picked Up,” and “Shut Off the Lights,” these reached no. 66 and no 97.
She had quite a controversial style, lyrics, and way of performing for her time. As a result of this, she was barred from performing on television in the U.S., mostly because of her stage persona. She has shows that were boycotted, and her songs wouldn’t get radio time. This was also due to pressure by various religious groups. While this all happened in the U.S., she did have other success in Europe from living in London for a while.
In 1979 Betty Davis took a step back from her music career and went home to Pittsburgh, where she got to live quietly and in peace. Fast-forward to 2019, she released “A Little Bit Hot Tonight,” which was her first new song in well over 40 years. This song was performed by Danielle Maggio, who was a friend and associate producer on Betty: They Say I’m Different, her debut album.
She had much influence on music and fashion, breaking barriers, and is still remembered today for her style that knew not a single boundary. In 2017 a documentary was made and released, and it was tittle Betty: They Say I’m Different.
Her death is saddening, but we can look back at her music, and amazing style, and honor her memory. A lot of artists today still credit her as one of their inspirations, and we can all see how inspiring she really was.
