Betty Davis

Betty Davis is the eponymous debut studio album by American funk singer Betty Davis, released through Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label) in 1973. The album was produced by Greg Errico and features contributions from a number of noted musicians such as Neal Schon, Merl Saunders, Sylvester, Larry Graham, Pete Sears, and The Pointer Sisters. In 2007, the album was re-issued on CD and vinyl by the Light in the Attic label. Background Before the album's release, Davis was best known as the second wife of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, and also as the featured model on the front cover of the jazz legend's 1968 album Filles de Kilimanjaro. The song "Mademoiselle Mabry" from the album is dedicated to Davis (whose maiden-name is Mabry) and was recorded around the time of their marriage in September 1968. Unbeknownst to most, the then-23-year-old Davis was herself a professional model and also a performer of soul and funk music, having written for the Chambers Brothers and put out a single on Don Costa's DCP imprint. Davis was a known face in emerging musical circles who had a strong stylistic and musical influence on her former husband (she personally introduced him to Jimi Hendrix) during their short marriage which ended after just a year. Writing and recording In the early '70s, after a stint of modeling in the UK, a 28-year-old Davis moved to Los Angeles in order to record with Santana but soon changed her focus and with help from Greg Errico (of Sly & The Family Stone), assembled a rich list of veteran Bay Area musicians to record her own material. These included Neal Schon (of Santana), Larry Graham and several other members of Graham Central Station, as well as Merl Saunders, Pete Sears, Sylvester and The Pointer Sisters (who performed backing vocals). The resulting album was recorded between 1972 and 1973 and, while primarily a funk-soul album, was stylistically eclectic, reflecting the wide array of musicians who played on the record.