- A1: Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
- A2: Lavern Baker - Love Me Right
- A3: The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
- A4: Etta James - I Just Want To Make Love To You
- A5: Gladys Knight & The Pips - Every Beat Of My Heart
- A6: Mary Wells - Bad Boy
- A7: Aretha Franklin - God Bless The Child
- A8: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - My Baby Won't Come Back
- B1: Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You
- B2: Marlena Shaw - Women Of The Ghetto (Album Version)
- B3: Lorraine Ellison - Stay With Me (Baby)
- B4: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street
- B5: Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
- B6: Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You
- C1: Diana Ross - Love Hangover
- C2: Kellee Patterson - I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby
- C3: Dee Edwards - I Can Deal With That
- C4: Gwen Mccrae - Let's Straighten It Out
- C5: Millie Jackson - All The Way Lover
- D1: Lyn Collins - Don't Make Me Over
- D2: Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby
- D3: Tina Turner - Whole Lotta Love
- D4: Erykah Badu & The Roots - You Got Me
- D5: Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
- D6: Jil Scott - Brotha
Search:betty turner
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- A1: Queen - Don't Stop Me Now?
- A2: Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
- A3: Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
- A4: Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger?
- A5: Run Dmc - Walk This Way (Feat Aerosmith)
- A6: Iron Maiden - Can I Play With Madness
- A7: Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
- A8: Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
- B1: Electric Light Orchestra - Mr Blue Sky
- B2: Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
- B3: Journey - Don't Stop Believin
- B4: Boston - More Than A Feeling
- B5: Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
- B6: Python Lee Jackson - In A Broken Dream (Feat Rod Stewart)
- B7: Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
- C1: Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
- C2: Paul Mccartney & Wings - Live And Let Die
- C3: The Who - Baba O'riley
- C4: Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire
- C5: Status Quo - Rockin' All Over The World
- C6: Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
- C7: Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
- D1: Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time
- D2: Zz Top - Gimme All Your Lovin
- D5: Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way?
- D6: Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield?
- D7: Pretenders - Back On The Chain Gang
- D8: 4 Non Blondes - What's Up?
- E1: Elton John - The Bitch Is Back
- E2: Slade - Cum On Feel The Noize
- E3: Sweet - Fox On The Run
- E4: Golden Earring - Radar Love
- E5: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fanfare For The Common Man
- E6: Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street
- E7: Patti Smith - Because The Night
- E8: Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
- F1: Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
- F2: The Police - Every Breath You Take
- F3: Toto - Africa
- F4: Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
- F5: Marillion - Kayleigh
- F6: The Cars - Drive
- F7: Celine Dion - All By Myself
- D3: Rainbow - Since You Been Gone
- D4: Ram Jam - Black Betty
Introducing the ultimate Rock and Power Ballads collection - NOW That’s What I Call Rock Anthems – Out 31st May! Get ready to crank up the volume and let the music take you on a journey through 79 epic hits, spread across 4 CDs.and with 45 epic hits on 3-LP’s pressed in stunning Neon Violet Vinyl
- Queen - We Will Rock You - Remastered 2009
- Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down
- Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar - 7" Edit
- Status Quo - Down Down - Single Edit
- Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
- Free - All Right Now - Single Version
- Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
- Ram Jam - Black Betty
- Paul Mccartney & Wings - Jet - 2010 Remaster
- Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
- Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
- Slade - Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me
- Kiss - I Was Made For Lovin' You
- Blondie - Union City Blue - Remastered 2001
- Rainbow - Since You Been Gone
- Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
- Bruce Springsteen - Blinded By The Light
- Rod Stewart - Maggie May - Single Version
- Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Single Version
- Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son - Single Version
- Boston - More Than A Feeling - Single Version
- Toto - Hold The Line
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fanfare For The Common Man
- Deep Purple - Black Night
- The Who - Who Are You - Us Edit Version
- Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street - Edit
- Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good
- Yes - Wonderous Stories
- John Miles - Music
- Hey Dj, I Can T Dance To That Music You Re Playing (Feat. Betty Boo)
- Rok Da House (W.e.f.u.n.k.) (Feat. The Cookie Crew)
- Who S In The House? (Feat. M C Merlin)
- Ska Train
- Burn It Up (On The Groove Tip) (With Pp Arnold)
- Warm Love (Feat. Claudia Fontaine)
- Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
- Dunno What It Is About You (Feat. Elaine Vassell)
- Burn It Up (7 Mix) (With Pp Arnold)
- Night In Acton
- Make Me Feel
- Don T Stop The Beat
- Midnight Girl
- Sarayet-Sayam Sembtae (Pt. 1)
- Acid Burn
"Anywayawanna – The Best Of is a compilation album by The Beat Masters, a British producer trio who enjoyed considerable success in the late 80's/early 90's. As well as producing Yazz' smash hit ""Stand Up For Your Love Rights"" in 1988, they also landed several Top 20 hits under the Beatmasters moniker with a series of guest vocalists: The Cookie Crew (""Rok Da House""), Betty Boo (""Hey DJ / I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)""), Merlin MC (""Who's in the House"") and P.P. Arnold (""Burn It Up""). These hits are all featured on this compilation album ""Anywayawanna – The Best Of The Beatmasters"". The Beatmasters went on to write, produce and remix for many other artists including Marc Almond, Pet Shop Boys, Blur, Roachford, Betty Boo, Naomi Campbell, Moby, Aswad, Eternal, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, The Shamen and Girls Aloud. Anywayawanna – The Best Of is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 750 copies on orange coloured vinyl. The package contains an insert with extensive liner notes."
- A1: Doris Troy - What’cha Gonna Do About It
- A2: Hank Jacobs - So Far Away
- A3: Nella Dodds - Come See About Me
- A4: George Stone - Hole In The Wall
- A5: The High Keys - Que Sera Sera
- A6: Betty Everett - Getting Mighty Crowded
- A7: Sugar Pie Desanto - I Don’t Wanna Fuss
- A8: Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog
- A9: Joe Tex - Hold What You Got
- A10: Irma Thomas - Time Is On My Side
- B1: Ike And Tina Turner - I Can’t Believe What You Say
- B2: Chuck Jackson - Any Day Now
- B3: Major Lance - The Monkey Time
- B4: Inez And Charlie Foxx - La De Da, I Love You
- B5: Mary Love - I’m In Your Hands
- B6: The Larks - The Jerk
- B7: Mitty Collier - I Had A Talk With My Man
- B8: Maxine Brown - Oh No Not My Baby
- B9: The Sapphires - Gotta Have Your Love
- B10: Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
- C1: Lee Dorsey - Ride Your Pony
- C2: Jackie Ross - Selfish One
- C3: The Sharpees - Tired Of Being Lonely
- C4: Roy Head & The Traits - Treat Her Right
- C7: Don Covay - Mercy Mercy
- C8: Darrell Banks - Open The Door To Your Heart
- C9: Bessie Banks - Go Now
- C10: Bobby Moore & His Rhythm Aces - Searching For My Love
- D1: Phil Upchurch Combo - You Can’t Sit Down Part 1
- D2: Jackie Lee - The Duck
- D3: Bobby Sheen - Dr. Love
- D4: The Poets - She Blew A Good Thing
- D5: Little Hank - Mr Bang Bang Man
- D6: Jerry Jackson - It’s Rough Out There
- D7: Bunny Sigler - Let The Good Times Roll - Feel So Good
- D8: Chris Bartley - Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven
- D9: Toussaint Mccall - Nothing Takes The Place Of You
- D10: Mickey Lee Lane - Hey-Sah-Lo-Nay
- C5: Little Milton - Who’s Cheating Who?
- C6: James Brown - Out Of Sight
- Nina Simone - Plain Gold Ring
- Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
- Irma Thomas - It's Raining
- Lavern Baker - Love Me Right
- Gwen Mccrae - 90% Of Me Is You
- The Supremes With Diana Ross - Buttered Popcorn
- Aretha Franklin - God Bless The Child
- Etta James - At Last
- Gladys Knight & The Pips - Letter Full Of Tears
- Mary Wells - You Beat Me To The Punch
- Ike & Tina Turner - I'm Jealous
- The Shirelles - Dedicated To The One I Love
- Carla Thomas - B-A-B-Y
- Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.
There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t Feelin’ Bitchy until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.
Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ’60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album Bitches Brew.
But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.
Her 1974 sophomore album They Say I’m Different features a worthy-of-framing futuristic cover challenging David Bowie’s science fiction funk with real rocking soul-fire, kicked off with the savagely sexual “Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him” (later sampled by Ice Cube). Her follow up is full of classic cuts like “Don’t Call Her No Tramp” and the hilarious, hard, deep funk of “He Was A Big Freak.”
- Al Green - Let's Stay Together
- Etta James - I Just Want To Make Love To You
- The Platters - The Great Pretender
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
- The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
- James Brown & The Famous Flames - Think
- Aretha Franklin - Try A Little Tenderness
- Ben E. King - Stand By Me
- Peggy Lee - Fever
- The Clovers - Love Potion No. 9
- Ike & Tina Turner - A Fool In Love
- The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me
- The Impressions Feat. Curtis Mayfield - Little Young Lo
- Aretha Franklin - God Bless The Child
- Stevie Wonder - Contract On Love
- Al Jarreau - Ain't No Sunshine
- The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
- Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle
- O.v Wright - Let's Straighten In Out
- Esther Phillips - Release Me
- Otis Redding - These Arms Of Mine
- Gladys Knight & The Pips - Every Beat Of My Heart
- The Supremes With Diana Ross - Your Heart Belongs To Me
- Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World
- Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
- Al Green - Tired Of Being Alone
- Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
- Barry White - Ghetto Letto
- Curtis Mayfield - She Don't Let Nobody (But Me)
- Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over
- Ray Charles - Unchain My Heart
- Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain
- Galt Macdermot - Coffee Cold
- Aaron Neville - Hercules
- Gwen Mccrae - 90% Of Me Is You
- Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem
- Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
- James Brown - Please, Please, Please
- Brenda Lee - I'm Sorry
- Gene Chandler - Duke Of Earl
- Lavern Baker - Love Me Right
- Syl Johnson - I Hate I Walked Away
- Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together
- Nina Simone - Plain Gold Ring
Re-release Soul entwickelte sich gegen Ende der 1950er Jahre aus Rhythm"n"Blues, Gospel, Blues und Jazz. Im folgenden Jahrzehnt war Soul ein Synonym für schwarze Popmusik. Kennzeichnend dafür waren vor allem die Produktionen von Motown Records, zum Beispiel Diana Ross & The Supremes oder Sam Cooke. Seither sind herzergreifender Gesang und groovige Vibes die größten Stilmerkmale des Soul. Zu den weiteren Ikonen des Soul gehören Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, Sam Cooke, Al Green und viele mehr. Deren Erfolg ist eng mit dem Kampf der US-amerikanischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung gegen Rassentrennung und für Gleichberechtigung verbunden. 1969 benannte man die Rhythm"n"Blues- in Soul-Charts um. Der Soul-Orkan, der während der Sechziger in den Charts tobte, ebbte jedoch wieder ab, kam aber runderneuert in den 70ern als Phillysound wieder zu erneuten Hitparadenehren. 1982 änderte man die Chart-Bezeichnung von Soul in Black Music. Die vorliegende Kompilation vereint die legendären Stimmen des Soul mit ihren unvergesslichen Hits.
- A1: Ben E King - Stand By Me
- A2: The Platters - The Great Pretender
- A3: Ella Fitzgerald - Georgia On My Mind
- A4: Barry White - Lady, Sweet Lady
- A5: James Brown & The Famous Flames - Please, Please, Pleas
- A6: Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together
- B1: Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World
- B2: George Mccrae - Rock Your Baby
- B3: Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Clean Up Man
- B4: Carla Thomas - B-A-B-Y
- B5: Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over
- B6: Mavis John - Use My Body
- B7: Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
- C1: The Isley Brothers - Right Now
- C2: Etta James - At Last
- C3: The Clovers - Love Potion No 9
- C4: Little Willie John - Fever
- C5: The Mar-Keys - Last Night
- C6: Brenda Lee - I'm Sorry
- C7: Aretha Franklin - God Bless The Child
- D1: Gwen Mccrae - 90% Of Me Is You
- D2: Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions - Gypsy Woman
- D3: Booker T & The Mg's - Green Onions
- D4: Bobby Byrd - Back From The Dead
- D7: Nina Simone - Work Song
- E1: Gil Scott-Heron - Lady Day And John Coltrane
- E2: Ray Charles - Unchain My Heart
- E3: Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite
- E4: Jerry Butler - He Will Break Your Heart
- E5: Mary Wells - The One Who Really Loves You
- E6: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - You Really Got A Hold
- F1: Diana Ross & The Supremes - Your Heart Belongs To Me
- F2: Ike & Tina Turner - I'm Jealous
- F3: Doris Duke - Woman Of The Ghetto
- F4: Solomon Burke - Cry To Me
- F5: The Marvelettes - Please Mr Postman
- F6: Gladys Knight & The Pips - Every Beat Of My Heart
- F7: Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
- G1: Quincy Jones - Soul Bossa Nova
- G2: Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
- G3: Esther Phillips - Release Me
- G4: The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
- G5: Latimore - Let's Straighten It Out
- G6: Aretha Franklin - Try A Little Tenderness
- G7: Marvin Gaye & The Vandellas - Stubborn Kind Of Fellow
- H1: Otis Redding - These Arms Of Mine
- H2: Aaron Neville - Hercules
- H3: Rufus Thomas - The Dog
- H4: Sir Joe Quaterman & Free Souls - (I Got) So Much Troubl
- H5: Lavern Baker - Love Me Right
- D5: Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes - Expansions
- H6: Gene Chandler - Duke Of Earl
- H7: Al Jarreau - Ain't No Sunshine
- I1: Ibeyi - River
- I2: Aloe Blacc & King Most - With My Friends
- I3: Kimberose - I'm Sorry
- I4: Terry Callier - Running Around (Fug City Mix)
- I5: Jamie Lidell - Building A Beginning
- I6: Asa - The Beginning
- J1: Selah Sue - This World
- J2: Cunnie Willams Feat Monie Love - Saturday
- J3: Cookin' On 3 Burners Feat Kylie Auldist - This Girl
- J4: Alice Russell & Nostalgia 77 Seven Nation Army
- J5: Greyboy & Quantic Feat Sharon Jones - Got To Be A Love
- D6: Stevie Wonder - Contract On Love
2024 BLACK VINYL REPRESS.
One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.
There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t “Feelin’ Bitchy” until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.
Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ‘60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album ’Bitches Brew.’
But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.
In 1973, Davis would finally kick off her cosmic career with an amazingly progressive hard funk and sweet soul self-titled debut. Davis showcased her fiercely unique talent and features such gems as “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” and “Game Is My Middle Name.” The album Betty Davis was recorded with Sly & The Family Stone’s rhythm section, sharply produced by Sly Stone drummer Greg Errico, and featured backing vocals from Sylvester and the Pointer Sisters.
- A1: Marie Knight And Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Calvary
- A2: The Dundees - Evil One
- A3: The Heartbreakers - Wanda
- A4: Helene Polite - Love For Sale
- A5: Oscar Pettiford - Oscalypse
- A6: Bixie Crawford - Go Away Blues
- B1: Preston Love - Ali Baba's Boogie
- B2: Mamie Ree - I Wake Up Early In The Morning
- B3: Monchito - Caldonia
- B4: Betty Mattson - What Is This Thing Called Love
- B5: Effie Smith & Johnny Criner - Mambo Blues
- B6: Titus Turner - Big Mary's
- C1: The Blasts - Canaveral Rock
- C2: The Royals - I Want You To Be My Baby
- C3: Eunice Davis - My Beat Is 125Th St
- C4: Frank Butler - Girl Of My Dreams
- C5: Mr Bo - Heartache & Troubles
- C6: Otis Smith - You're So Good Looking
- D1: The Dukes Of Rhythm - Buddah's Boogie
- D2: Innocentay - Voodoo Shango
- D3: Lawrence Stone - Dark Of Night
- D4: Lawrence Peel And The Filatones - Song Of Sadar
- D5: Kiki Williams - When Love Is New
Ten years after our initial survey of Afro-Latin accented rhythm & blues from the mid-century, Jazzman proudly presents a fourth installment, packed with as many musical surprises as the first. With music plucked from an era spanning the late 1940s into the early 60s, Jukebox Mambo IV highlights yet again the unparalleled musical creativity of the post war era, and shows how the infusion of afro-latin rhythms was key to these revolutions.
Lovingly and painstakingly researched and curated, the album boasts 23 tracks, many previously uncompiled, touching on jazz, blues, doo wop, calypso, rock & roll, gospel and more. Featuring individual track notes for every song along with some never seen before photographs of the artists, Jukebox Mambo Vol IV maintains the same high production values of each previous volume, and indeed the wider Jazzman catalogue.
- A1: Funkadelic - Can You Get To That
- A2: Ohio Players - Funky Worm
- A3: Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light
- A4: Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes - A Chance For
- A5: All The People Feat Robert Moore - Cramp Your Style
- A6: Taana Gardner - Work That Body
- A7: Bobby Byrd - Back From The Dead
- A8: Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman
- A9: Little Beaver - Funkadelic Sound
- A10: Timmy Thomas - Are You Crazy???
- A11: Black Ivory - I Keep Asking You Questions
- B1: T-Connection - Do What You Wanna Do
- B2: Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm - Funky Mule
- B3: The Fatback Band - Yum, Yum (Gimme Some)
- B4: The Blowflys - Funky In The Hole
- B5: Uncle Louie Feat Walter Murphy - I Like Funky Music
- B6: Blowfly - Nobody's Butt But Yours, Babe
- B7: Margie Lomax - God's Greatest Gift To Man Is A Woman
- B8: Queen Yahna - Ain't It Time
- B9: Marva Whitney With Osaka Monaurail - I Am What I Am (Pa
- B10: Joy Fleming - Fieber (Fever)
One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.
There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t Feelin’ Bitchy until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.
Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ’60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album Bitches Brew.
But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.
Her 1974 sophomore album They Say I’m Different features a worthy-of-framing futuristic cover challenging David Bowie’s science fiction funk with real rocking soul-fire, kicked off with the savagely sexual “Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him” (later sampled by Ice Cube). Her follow up is full of classic cuts like “Don’t Call Her No Tramp” and the hilarious, hard, deep funk of “He Was A Big Freak.”
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