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Nuthin' but a Nasty Gal

Posted over 2 years ago
Funky Friday again. Here's another lady who doesn't seem to get the credit she deserves. "Betty Davis (with a y)":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Davis must be a spiritual mother to Germany's hottest mama, Nina Hagen. She made recorded 3 albums of _super-heavy_ funk in the early 70s, and she was married to no other than Miles Davis (allegedly also having an affair with Hendrix, btw).To quote Wikipedia: _Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her open sexual attitude, which was controversial for the time._ Probably even for this time, I'd like to add.It's really hard to choose a song to upload, the whole album is such a killer. I might just have to multiply ;-)"Cody":http://mog.com/Cody_B/blog_post/35762 and "John":http://mog.com/Jonh_Ingham/blog_post/65798 got some more pics, video and info.
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Comments (28)

  1. chulsmith
    chulsmith says eh? last i checked, it's thursday... but a little funk never hurt anyone - even on a thursday...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  2. mickimicki
    mickimicki says Lol That's true... damn, I was thinking wishfully... do I delete or do I not delete?
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  3. chulsmith
    chulsmith says not delete!! not delete!! not delete!! not delete!! thursday. friday. doesn't matter what day it is, right? same 'ol same 'ol...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  4. mickimicki
    mickimicki says Do you mean "Same Shit Different Day"? Thank god nobody tried to assess my mental state today though... "Do you know what day it is today, Ms? No?"
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  5. Rawkkiddoh
    Rawkkiddoh says I was going to say I thought I missed a day, keep the post great song
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  6. Dale
    Dale says Keep the post; if you want to roll out the funk on Thursday, who am I to stop you?
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  7. chulsmith
    chulsmith says for a lot of people, thursday is friday. they go out for drinks thursday night and then hobble through work on friday. at least, that's what i do sometimes (and by 'sometimes' i mean tout les temps...)
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  8. mickimicki
    mickimicki says I think it's friday now in Australia. (Or is it the other way round?)
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  9. CrashPryor
    CrashPryor says nasty...gal...hmmm...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  10. mickimicki
    mickimicki says She was young and maybe she needed the money ;-)
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  11. mickimicki
    mickimicki says And thanks everybody for getting me over my temporary loss of time/place consciousness...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  12. Cody B
    Cody B says You seem to be back with a vengance! Thanks for the props..I got ripped in my post for not liking her enuf. But I like her, a lot. Did ya see the piece on her in Wax Poetics? She was quite the industry player.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  13. Cody B
    Cody B says The article suggested that this was the song she wrote about Jimi
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  14. mickimicki
    mickimicki says No, I haven't read that article (yet). Gonna get onto google straight away... I read your post and the debate, and hey, personally, I don't have a problem with some musical "nepotism". There are many ways for musicians to get their break, and she's certainly not the only one, is she.... she had her connections, and she used them to the fullest - I mean, she could've tried a "tamer" approach. Might have done better in commercial terms, but instead she did what she did... I found out about her last year through an portrait of her in the music backpack (or how is it called - that site that used to have an ad in Mog's ad corner), and I'm in "Shock'n'Awe". Gotta say though, I've made the Funkadelic comparison, too... if there was such a thing as a female George Clinton, it would have to be her. One thing I'd like to know though... being a woman... I'd guess Betty Davis' whole persona must have scared male audiences away... not that I'm expecting anybody to admit to be frightened by her stance... but I clearly that's one of the reasons she couldn't get commercial success, or a permanent band, or even most of her recordings released, etc...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  15. Cody B
    Cody B says I think she would be the case of an artist who is not classifiable enuf for mainstream success . Too Rock for the Soul crowd, Too Funk for the Rock crowd. The record label people prolly didn't know what to do with her and she was just too far ahead of the curve. I mean P-Funk didn't really take off til '74. She, as you might suspect, has no regrets. I am not scared, and have always been intrigued. Basically, I think it comes down to this. Post-Sly, Funk or Soul bands/artists, who drew a little attitude or sound from Rock were very beloved by many fans despite their lack of big sales. I'm talking 69-74 here, when tons of these bands started coming out. Ohio Players, Cymande,Black Merda, Blackbyrds, New Birth,Fatback Band, Betty Davis, Jimmy Castor,Funkadelic,Kool and the Gang and many more. All self contained, doing their own material, handling their own business. Record companies did not like this though. They knew how to develop Rock acts and soul acts, but a Big, Black Band was scary to them. They just didn't know what to do with them. Plus marketing was kicking in to full gear as new generations of record men (yup all men, and mostly white) were coming up. They began to segment the audience putting up bright lines between black and white. The big black bands did not fit here, so they had to fit in to their pigeonhole or die. Many died. As Fuzzy Haskins (or one of the original Parliaments, I forget) said, "After '73 there were no airplanes in our (P-Funk) music any more. It was still the baddest shit out there, but something was missing." In order to be accepted many of these bands toned down their act..some more than others (E,W and F or Kool and the Gang,especially, compared to their super funky early material). P-Funk was able to make it through, but as Fuzzy said, at least on record, it was toned down. I guess Betty didn't want to do any of that, or maybe she just couldn't wait for the rest of world to catch up with her. From the article, she definitely comes off as a mercurial sort. Then, of course, came Disco, a much cheaper studio creation where companies only needed to deal with a producer and not an entire Big Black Band. That killed off just about anyone who was left, or the bands just switched to disco, a la Archie Bell and the Drells. Strategy is a long way from Tighten Up, if you are familiar with those 2 songs. So Betty was ahead of her time (or at least,right on time), and she faced racism, sexism, and just plain stupidity, not to mention the morals patrol. The deck was stacked against her, but she still kicked ass. Hell whether you think she made 2 or 3 good albums, that's a lot more than many can say. Maybe she should go on Rawk's underappreciated list, which, if you have read it, lacks color. Of course, I don't know what the hell i'm talking about, just ranting away here in Brooklyn while I still can, before my wife gets me to up and move to Jersey. Peace
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  16. mickimicki
    mickimicki says Lol... wise man, you are right... thanks for the bigger picture! It wasn't only her gender that barred her from the big $$... her fusion music (which wasn't racially classifiable) and big bad business strategy, too. I hear you on the other bands you mentioned (afaik them, I don't know much about Archie Bell)... I'm on a perpetual feminist bender I guess. And hey, in most instances, it's true (too)... which wise _person_ said that it's not paranoia when they're after you etc... Against these odds, 3 non-compromising albums plus the (then) unreleased material is a stack and they still make most of my friends' hair stand on end (which is good). So. Jersey. Well maybe there are _green pastures_ in Jersey... (I'm periodically wondering whether I owe it to my kid to get out of the big (inner) city, too. To no avail, yet, though... not while I'm still hoping that one day I'll make enough money to see all the bands worth seeing that are coming through here ... if that hypothetical stage coincides with my boy's musical coming of age, we'll probably never get outta here though. We have nice parks, anyway.) ..... jabbering away and hey, it's NEARLY Friday already. Peace to you, too!
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  17. Cody B
    Cody B says I am totally sure, that being a strong,sexy,woman with a point of view didn't help her chances either. I didn't answer your question. Yes, there was fear..from the biz people, and prolly some of the public,too.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  18. mickimicki
    mickimicki says Yeah, the world is unfair. (And I second Betty Davis as a candidate for Rawk's list.)
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  19. Cody B
    Cody B says I already voted..for Johnny "Guitar "Watson, so I am ineligible.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  20. ivylander
    ivylander says Sorry to be getting here late. Betty is a goddess, pure and simple. She is not meant to be understood by this world. And Cody, Jersey is very over. Philadelphia is the new Montclair.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  21. mickimicki
    mickimicki says Welcome to the Betty fan club, ivy... you're early actually, it's still 3 minutes until funky friday starts (here)... And hey: All women are goddesses, not meant to be understood by this shabby world... maybe some even less than others...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  22. mktackabery
    mktackabery says I'm so late the discussion is over, but catching up to Betty I have to agree that fear of the femme combined with the style of music she did probably hurt her the most. It's not like she was a Nine Simone type, who didn't need a lot of musicians to get her sound out there. Although I may be pushing the argument too far, but its harder when you also have to employ men to get your music out . . . causes all kinds of other compliations when you are female. It's still not easy, and it's forty-odd years later.
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  23. mickimicki
    mickimicki says *Word!*
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  24. Slicing
    Slicing says i think my parents like her. omg, i'm turning into my parents!
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  25. mickimicki
    mickimicki says @ Slicing: That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? Not in this case... my mom likes... Roger Whittaker? Turning into _that_ would be sad...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  26. Mike the Knife
    Mike the Knife says Seriously, micki, it's always Funky Friday in my world. And Betty is a better bet to make it funkier than most others...
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  27. ivylander
    ivylander says You just reminded me of the Sarah Silverman joke: "So I'm in bed with my boyfriend the other night and he's licking jelly off my nipple, and suddenly I stop and say, 'Oh. my God, I'm turning into my mother!' "
    Permalink posted 05/03/2007
  28. mickimicki
    mickimicki says @ Mike: What a name for a song: "It's Always Funky Friday in My World"... lol... and Ive, LOL... that's hilarious... I hope I won't remember this and crack up in all the wrong moments :P
    Permalink posted 05/04/2007

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