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They Say I'm Different

by Betty Davis

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carlaxd
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carlaxd This album is a classic. Betty Davis just oozes charisma. She is an absolute legend Favorite track: They Say I'm Different.
chahula
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chahula This lady is in control and enjoying every minute of it Favorite track: Git In There (Record Plant Rough Mixes).
Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown thumbnail
Daniel Brown Just so much fun. In all honesty I can imagine people being put off by the heavily sexual content of the lyrics and by the unusual singing style Betty Davis adopts so maybe this album isn't for everyone. However I love it. I love the unusual turns of phrase that pepper the songs. I love the way she seems to chew all of the words and savour them before spitting them out for us. I love the deep funk of the backing. I love the sheer joy of it all. Favorite track: They Say I'm Different.
Nemo Halperin
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Nemo Halperin One of the true originals. Pure uncut creative crack. Favorite track: Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him.
Timmy Klein
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Timmy Klein Betty has awoken my senses. Betty has split the ground I walk on. Betty gets it.
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Git In There 04:45
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70's Blues 04:59
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about

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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released December 23, 2015

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Betty Davis New York, New York

There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. 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. ... more

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