Betty Davis : NPR

Game was her middle name: The world was never ready for Betty Davis

Betty Davis in New York in 1969. Anthony Barboza/Getty Images hide caption

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Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

Editors' Picks

Game was her middle name: The world was never ready for Betty Davis

February 13, 2022 • Raucous, outspoken and empowered, Davis, who died last week at 77, always knew what she wanted her music to be — raw — and she took control of her career in an era when few Black women could.

Betty Davis, funk pioneer and fashion icon, dies at 77

In the studio, Betty Davis wrote, arranged and produced her own music – a rarity in her time, especially for a Black woman. Robert Brenner/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Robert Brenner/Courtesy of the artist

Obituaries

Betty Davis, funk pioneer and fashion icon, dies at 77

February 9, 2022 • The incandescent, influential funk musician Betty Davis died on Wednesday. She made a string of albums in the mid-1970s that helped to shape stylish, Afrofuturist strains of funk and hip-hop.

Betty Davis, funk pioneer and fashion icon, dies at 77

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Rodrigo y Gabriela Spin The Songs Behind Their Wild Sound

Gabriela Quintero and Rodrigo Sanchez Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the Artist hide caption

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Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the Artist

Alt.Latino

Rodrigo y Gabriela Spin The Songs Behind Their Wild Sound

May 24, 2019 • The Mexican guitar duo talk share songs by Nina Simone, Caifanes and Rage Against the Machine and discuss the role of the guitar in rock.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Spin The Songs Behind Their Wild Sound

28:59

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Behind The Black Power Goddess: Betty Davis' Early Demos Released

The Columbia Years 1968-1969 is a collection of little-heard, long sought-after recordings by funk artist Betty Davis. Photo by Baron Wolman/ Courtesy of Iconic Images hide caption

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Photo by Baron Wolman/ Courtesy of Iconic Images

Review

Music Reviews

Behind The Black Power Goddess: Betty Davis' Early Demos Released

July 6, 2016 • Betty Davis was already gaining attention as Betty Mabry in the late 1960s when she met Miles Davis. He produced legendary sessions for her that have never been released — until now.

Behind The Black Power Goddess: Betty Davis' Early Demos Released

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Betty Davis: A 'Nasty Gal' Ahead Of Her Time

Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music Reviews

Betty Davis: A 'Nasty Gal' Ahead Of Her Time

October 26, 2009 • Listening to Davis' propulsive funk, it's apparent that her image was just as important to her albums as a guitar or a keyboard or her voice. In 1975, she seemed to represent her era, but she probably pushed boundaries too far for mainstream music. Here, Meredith Ochs reviews a recent reissue of Davis' groundbreaking album Nasty Gal.

Betty Davis: A 'Nasty Gal' Ahead Of Her Time

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

All Songs Considered

Lesser-Known Love Songs

February 9, 2009 • Host Bob Boilen chats with Carrie Brownstein, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson about their favorite songs for love and heartbreak.

Lesser-Known Love Songs

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Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Betty Davis

June 21, 2007 • Betty Davis is a funk and soul legend. This is her first radio interview since the 1970s.

Betty Davis

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Shadow Classics

An Incendiary, Influential Funk Genius Gets Her Due

March 14, 2007 • Betty Davis could be sultry or earthy, strident or nasty. She seized heavy funk backbeats, and around them built commanding, sometimes taunting vocal entreaties that were way ahead of their time: Her work presages the stances and ideas of strong hip-hop women from Erykah Badu to Foxy Brown.