Betty Davis “Betty Davis” 1973. A spin of her ferociously funky s/t debut in tribute: Davis died yesterday at age 77 (b. Betty Mabry, 1944, d. 2022). Growling, groovy and beyond sexy (in the US she was banned from TV performances, her shows frequently boycotted, and both religious groups and the NAACP pressured radio stations not to play her songs on the air), Davis was way ahead of her time in ’73. Betty Davis is hard funk; her funk groove is less slinky and more like a bad-ass strut in killer stilettos all up and down your spine. It is also unapologetically sexual. Probably one of the most bad-ass lyrics ever (from the lead track “If I’m Luck I Might Get Picked Up” which went to #66 on the R&B chart) is: “I’m wigglin’ my fanny, I’m raunchy dancing, I’m-a-doing it doing it.” I love that the Pointer Sisters contribute on a couple of songs including the amazing “Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes” and “Game is My Middle Name.” And of course the musicians who play as her backing band are soul and funk superstars like Larry Graham on bass and Greg Ericco (both from Sly & the Family Stone), though I have to admit I did a head-scratcher learning that Journey’s Neal Schon provided a hefty amount of the guitar work on this album. Betty Davis went to #54 on the Top Soul Albums in ’73 but received a lot more attention retrospectively with reissues in the 2000’s of her classic 70’s funk LP’s.