Betty Davis – Betty Davis

Betty Davis is an American funk and soul singer known for her memorable and noteworthy live performances. Married to Miles Davis for one year, she influenced him greatly by introducing him to the fashions and the new popular music trends of the era (in his autobiography, Miles credited Betty with helping to plant the seeds of his future musical explorations by introducing him to psychedelic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone – the Miles Davis album “Filles de Kilimanjaro” includes a song named after her and her photo on the front cover). Betty Davis is the eponymous debut studio album released in 1973. The album was produced by Greg Errico (of Sly & The Family Stone) and features contributions from a number of noted musicians such as Neal Schon (of Santana), Merl Saunders, Sylvester, Larry Graham, Pete Sears, and The Pointer Sisters. Due to her open sexual attitude which was controversial for the time, she was barred from performing on television, some of her shows were boycotted, and her songs were not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups.