James Brown, George Clinton, Jimi, and Sly are all contenders for a “Mount Funkmore.” There’s one woman whose face should be carved in that stone with the boys.
Long before she was ever a wife and “muse,” Betty Davis was an up-and-coming songwriter, Wilhelmina model, and “it” girl of the New York underground. She gave her hit song “Uptown” to the Chambers Brothers and called Jimi Hendrix and Warhol’s Factory her friends. With her substantial influence on her husband Miles Davis, jazz fusion as we know it was born. Betty didn’t need a famous man to make her groundbreaking albums: she was a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer all on her own. Her in-your-face persona is still so fresh, she’s got Beyoncé name-dropping her 50 years later! Betty was everything: raunchy, loud, unapologetically fierce, driven, sensitive, and spiritual. Above all, she was real. Get ready for Betty, because the queen of FUNK is here to stay!
In addition, the Dolls Pod is honored to welcome professor, ethnomusicologist, DJ, and author of the upcoming “Game Is Her Middle Name: The Life and Music of Betty Davis” Dr. Danielle Maggio to the show. We talked about how her new book came to be, her own friendship with Betty, and celebrated Betty’s power and soul.
“Betty Davis: Queen of Funk” is available wherever you stream your podcasts ⭐️
Preorder “Game Is Her Middle Name: The Life and Music of Betty Davis” by Danielle Maggio from Feminist Press: https://feministpress.org/collections/coming-soon/products/9781558613782-game-is-her-middle-name
Follow Danielle on Instagram: @saucequeen_phd
(Episode starts at 3:41)
Sources used:
Personal interview with Danielle Maggio, PhD (7/25/2026)
Danielle Maggio, “‘Sound Projector:’ Reissuing, Representing, and Reclaiming the Music of Betty Davis” University of Pittsburgh, 2020
Danielle Maggio, “Betty Davis In Japan,” parts 1-7. Substack via Light In The Attic, 2024
John Ballon, “Betty Davis: Betty Davis” All About Jazz, 10/31/2003
John Ballon, “Liberated Funk” Wax Poetics issue 22, March/April 2007
John Szwed, “So What: The Biography of Miles Davis” (2002)
Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe, “Miles: The Autobiography” (2011 ed.)
Neil Spencer, “Miles Davis: The muse who changed him, and the heady Brew that rewrote jazz” The Guardian, 9/4/2010
Virginia Vigliar, “Betty Davis: What happens when women have a hold on their own narrative?” Medium, 1/2/2021
“Betty: They Say I’m Different” dir. Philip Cox, 2017
Song used in this episode:
Miles Davis - “Bitches Brew” (1970)
Bessie Smith - “Young Woman’s Blues” (1926)
Betty Davis - “They Say I’m Different” (1974)
Beyonce - “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” [2025]
Betty Mabry - “Get Ready For Betty” (1964)
The Chambers Brothers - “Uptown” (live at the 3rd Annual Harlem Cultural Festival, 6/29/1969)
Betty Davis - “Steppin’ In Her I. Miller Shoes” (1973)
Miles Davis - “Mademoiselle Mabry” (1968)
Betty Davis - “Politician Man” (1969)
Betty Davis - “Ready, Willing, and Able (Take 1)” [1969]
Miles Davis - “Pharaoh’s Dance” (1970)
Betty Davis - “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” (1973)
Betty Davis - “Don’t You Call Her No Tramp” (1974)
Betty Davis - “Dedicated To The Press” (1975)
Betty Davis - “Stars Starve, You Know” (1976)
Etta James - “Baby What You Want Me To Do” (Jimmy Reed cover) [1964]
Danielle Maggio - “A Little Bit Hot Tonight” (2019)
Follow @thedollspod on Instagram for clips and photos from this episode!