Betty Davis has died, aged 77

RIP to the Queen of Funk.

Legendary musician Betty Davis has died, aged 77.

Born on the 26th July 1944, Davis grew up in Durham, North Carolina. She was first exposed to blues music at her grandmother’s farm, where she would listen to records by the likes of B.B. King, Jimmy Reed, and Elmore James.

While she got her start working as a model, Davis also released music under her birth name — Betty Mabry — during the ’60s, quickly becoming a key figure across New York City’s music scenes.

She married Miles Davis in 1968, and shortly began performing as Betty Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album in 1973 on Just Sunshine Records.

With overtly sexual lyrics and powerful performances, her albums have had a strong cultural impact, with Nasty Gal and They Say I’m Different remaining deeply influential up to the present.

Davis’ passing was confirmed by her long-standing friend Connie Portis: “Today we cherish her memory as the sweet, thoughtful, and reflective person she was…There is no other.”

She died due to natural causes — as her friend Danielle Maggio confirmed to Rolling Stone — on 4:40am EST on February 9th, aged 77.

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Photo by and courtesy of Robert Brenner