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Mabry met Miles Davis in 1966 and married him in September 1968. In just one year of marriage she influenced him greatly. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro included a song named after her and her photo on the front cover. In his autobiography, Miles credits Mabry with helping to plant the seeds of his future musical explorations by introducing the trumpeter to psychedelic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone.
It is believed that Hendrix and Betty Davis had an affair that hastened the end of her marriage to Miles Davis, but Betty denies this. What's more is that Hendrix and Miles stayed close after the divorce, even 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 which ushered in what some call the era of jazz fusion. The origin of the album's title is unknown, but some believe Miles was subtly paying tribute to the woman whose intersecting relationships helped spur the album's genesis. In fact, it is said that he originally wanted to call the album Witches' Brew — it was Betty who convinced him to change it.
Music career
After the breakup of her marriage with Davis, Betty moved to London to pursue her modeling career. She wrote music while in the UK and returned to the US with the intention of recording songs with Santana. Instead, she organized a group of talented West Coast funk musicians to make her own recordings.
Her first record, Betty Davis, was released in 1973. It had impressive lyrics and funky grooves on songs such as "Anti Love Song," as well as an impressive list of musicians:
* Neal Schon (Santana/Journey) - guitar
* Gregg Errico (Sly & The Family Stone) - drums
* Larry Graham (Sly & The Family Stone and eponym of Graham Central Station) - bass
* Patryce Banks (Graham Central Station) - percussion
* Willie Sparks (Graham Central Station) - drums
* Hershall Kennedy (Graham Central Station) - horns
* Greg Adams (Tower of Power) - horns
* Mic Gillette (Tower of Power) - horns
* Merl Saunders - electric piano
* Pete Sears - acoustic piano
* The Pointer Sisters - background vocals
Davis released two more studio albums, They Say I'm Different (1974) and Nasty Gal (1975). None of the three albums were commercial successes. Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her open sexual attitude, which was controversial for the time. Some of her shows were boycotted and her songs not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups. With the passage of time her records have become highly regarded by collectors of soul and funk music. Davis eventually stopped making music and returned to Pennsylvania. Both Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different were re-released by Seattle's Light in the Attic Records on May 1, 2007.
Material from a 1979 recording session was eventually used for two bootleg albums, Hangin' Out In Hollywood (1995) and Crashin' From Passion (1996). A greatest hits album, Anti Love: The Best of Betty Davis, was released in 2000. |
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