Betty Davis - This Is It! [2005]

BETTY DAVIS

Betty Davis - This Is It! [2005]

Betty Mabry grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and just outside Pittsboro. On her grandmother's farm in Reidsville, North Carolina, she listened to B.B. King, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, and other blues musicians. One of the first songs she wrote, at the age of 12, was called "I’m Going to Bake That Cake of Love." Also at that age, her family moved to Pittsburgh. Aged 16, Betty left Pittsburgh for New York City, enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology while living with her aunt. She soaked up the Greenwich Village culture and folk music of the early 1960's. She associated herself with frequenters of the Cellar, a hip uptown club where young and stylish people congregated. It was a multiracial, artsy crowd of models, design students, actors, and singers. At the Cellar she played records and chatted people up. She also worked as a model, appearing in photo spreads in Seventeen, Ebony and Glamour.  In her time in New York, she met several musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. The seeds of her musical career were planted through her friendship with soul singer Lou Courtney, who produced her first single, "The Cellar" with simple, catchy lyrics like, "Where you going fellas, so fly? / I’m going to the Cellar, my oh my / What you going to do there / We’re going to boogaloo there."  The single was a local jam for the Cellar. Yet her first professional gig was not until she wrote "Uptown (to Harlem)" for the Chambers Brothers. Their 1967 album was a major success, but Betty Mabry was focusing on her modeling career. She was successful as a model but felt bored by the work "I didn't like modeling because you didn't need brains to do it. It's only going to last as long as you look good. As a model in 1966, Betty first met jazz musician Miles Davis, who was 19 years her senior. Betty began dating Miles in early 1968, and they were married in September 1968. (Wikipedia)

Funky and feisty with a capital F. This album showcases tracks from various albums by Ms Davis and hopefully will help bring her back from relative obscurity. She helped pioneer powerful female singers in the seventies, aided by an immense studio band comprising most of Sly & The Family Stone. They don't come much better than that. Great strong voice, really atmospheric record from a powerful performer. Betty Davis is one of the overlooked singers of this era.  Drop everything and get into Betty Davis. This really is it! This is raw uncut funk like no other. What amazes is why no one has made a big deal about her in all these years. This is right up there with James Brown, Sly and P-Funk. (Amazon)

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Track list

01 If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up 4:59

02 Walkin' Up the Road 2:52

03 Anti Love Song 4:26

04 Your Man My Man 3:33

05 Ooh Yea 3:07

06 Steppin' in Her I. Miller Shoes 3:12

07 Shoo-b-doop And Cop Him 3:55

08 He Was a Big Freak 4:06

09 Don't Call Her No Tramp 4:03

10 Git in There 4:43

11 They Say I'm Different 4:13

12 70's Blues 4:58

13 Your Mama Wants Ya Back 3:24

14 Nasty Gal 4:44

15 You and I 2:50

16 Funk 4:26

17 Gettin' Kicked Off, Havin' Fun 3:13

18 Shut Off the Light 3:58

19 This Is It 3:32

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