Betty Davis, Queen of Funk
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Game is her middle name: the Dolls Podcast (and a special guest!) celebrate the queen of funk, Betty Davis
James Brown, George Clinton, and Sly are all contenders for a “Mount Funkmore.” There’s one woman whose face should be carved in that stone with the boys.
Long before she was ever a wife and “muse,” Betty Davis was an up-and-coming songwriter, Wilhelmina model, and “it” girl of the New York underground. She gave her hit song “Uptown” to the Chambers Brothers and called Jimi Hendrix and Warhol’s Factory her friends.
With her substantial influence on her husband Miles Davis, jazz fusion as we know it was born. Betty didn’t need a famous man to make her groundbreaking albums: she was a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer all on her own. Her in-your-face persona is still so fresh, she’s got Beyoncé name-dropping her 50 years later!
Betty was everything: raunchy, loud, unapologetically fierce, driven, sensitive, and spiritual. Above all, she was real. Get ready for Betty, because the queen of funk is here to stay!
In addition, the Dolls Podcast is honored to welcome University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne professor, ethnomusicologist, DJ, and author of the upcoming first comprehensive Betty Davis biography, Dr. Danielle Maggio to the show. We talked about how her new book came to be, her own friendship with Betty, and celebrated Betty’s power and soul. Thank you so much for joining us, Danielle!
Preorder Danielle Maggio's Game Is Her Middle Name: The Life and Music of Betty Davis here (available in the US & UK on February 9th, 2027!)
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