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Betty Davis Interview on The Sound of Young America Podcast

Posted Sun, 02/22/2009 - 09:51 by Jesse Thorn | 12 comments
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The Sound of Young America


Betty Davis is a legend of soul and funk music. The one-time wife of Miles Davis introduced the jazzman to Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and the broad world of electric music, leading him to create "Bitches Brew." She recorded three albums of her own in the 1970s, full of raw, sexy, outrageous funk. The first two, "Betty Davis" and "They Say I'm Different" have been re-released by the Seattle label Light in the Attic Records. Davis left the music industry in the late 1970s, and has been completely absent from the public eye since -- at one point, a fan had to track her down in the suburbs of Pittsburgh to get her $40,000 in songwriting royalties. This is her first radio interview since her performing days.

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Comments

Betty Davis Rules!

Sat, 05/23/2009 - 08:30 — Anonymous

Thanks for posting this interview. Do you know is there is any existing video footage of Betty performing? I'd love to see that.

live footage

Sun, 06/28/2009 - 20:40 — Anonymous

to the best of my knowledge, there is no live footage of betty davis.
if you find out otherwise, the world wants to know.

would have made a great interview question.

Fri, 06/22/2007 - 07:31 — Jay (not verified)

wow!

Fri, 06/22/2007 - 15:29 — dainfagerholm (not verified)

I had never heard of Betty Davis until I listened to this interview. Well done Jesse! She doesnt sound like the easiest person to interview and its hard to believe she is the same person singing those badass songs. I will have to buy her album off Itunes.

Thu, 07/05/2007 - 07:28 — fleamarketfunk (not verified)

great stuff! thank you for sharing. i did a review of "If I'm In Luck" a little while back on my blog. this interview was really well done.

Wed, 08/29/2007 - 13:37 — Anonymous (not verified)

Betty Davis was ahead of her time. She was very popular in Philly and along the east coast and WDAS-FM did play her music. I had the pleasure of seeing her perform twice; once at Morgan State's homecoming. I am soooo happy to have found this interview.Another Nasty Girl.

Thu, 08/30/2007 - 17:40 — Anonymous (not verified)

This is the most moronic (as our knuckleheaded ex-mayor Guliani would put it) out of touch interview I've heard in ages. Do you live under a rock or something? Do you understand what it takes to make the kind of transition Betty went through? -Wrong question, forget it. Tune into your humanity my man! There are soo many more things relevant to the state of america today to ask other than "frivolity". What a missed oportunity.

Fri, 09/14/2007 - 18:34 — Anonymous (not verified)

The interview was fantastic, respectful, and very tasteful. It made my day.Thanks Betty for all the years of inspiration!Bob Gaulke

Sat, 09/13/2008 - 12:55 — Anonymous (not verified)

I can't believe you got an interview with Betty Davis. What an amazing few records she did.Betty - it's never too late to keep going and offer the world some more....never too late...we'd love you to do some more..it would be really fascinating in this day and age. Thank you for letting us know you are still on this planet. Keep funkin Betty!Mike from London x

Sun, 11/23/2008 - 00:22 — Anonymous (not verified)

I enjoyed this interview. I bought this album when I was in college and, stupidly, got rid of it after several years. As I listened to her, and her soft voice, I kept shaking my head. What a difference between her speaking voice and her singing voice

Tue, 01/27/2009 - 15:50 — Anonymous (not verified)

Holy shit! Way to go Betty! God, we love you! Please please bless the world with some more of your music! And Light In The Attic? Please listen, re-issue NASTY GAL and what about the 1979 sessions???

Tue, 02/24/2009 - 06:48 — Anonymous (not verified)

Glad to finally hear Betty speak! She is a true artist and her stuff is unbelieveable. Fascinating to hear her talk and her ideas.Maybe she said some stuff was off-limits, but no mention of Miles? There were really so many more serious topics I would have asked her about. I think perhaps the interviewer was not totally aware of Betty's music because he seemed to be kind of surprised that she was a true, true artist. I sure wish I had interviewed her!