Betty Davis – F.U.N.K.

F.U.N.K. is from the album Nasty Gal, released in 1975 by Betty Davis. She’s credited with producing, arrangement and vocals.

Other credits, Larry Johnson – bass; Nicky Neal – drums; Fred Mills – keyboard; Carlos Morales – lead guitar.

As a model in 1966, Betty met jazz musician Miles Davis, who was 19 years older than her. He was separated from his first wife, dancer Frances Davis, and was dating actress Cicely Tyson. Betty began dating Miles in early 1968, and they were married that September. During their year of marriage, she introduced him to the fashions and popular music trends of the era that influenced his music. In his autobiography, Miles credited Betty with helping to plant the seeds of his further musical explorations by introducing the trumpeter to psychedelic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968) features Betty on the cover and includes a song named after her.

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Betty Davis - F.U.N.K.

Betty Davis - Funk04:29

After the end of her marriage with Miles, Betty moved to London, probably around 1971, to pursue her modeling career. She wrote music while in the UK and, after about a year, returned to the US with the intention of recording songs with Santana. Instead, she recorded her own songs with a group of West Coast funk musicians including Larry Graham, Greg Errico, the Pointer Sisters, and members of Tower of Power.

Davis wrote and arranged all her songs. Her first record, Betty Davis, was released in 1973. She released two more studio albums, They Say I’m Different (1974) and her major label debut on Island Records Nasty Gal (1975). None of the three albums were a commercial success, but she had two minor hits on the Billboard R&B chart: “If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up”, which reached no. 66 in 1973, and “Shut Off the Lights”, which reached no. 97 in 1975.

Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her unabashedly sexual lyrics and performance style, which were both controversial for the time. She had success in Europe, but in the U.S. she was barred from performing on television because of her sexually aggressive stage persona. Some of her shows were boycotted, and her songs were not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups and the NAACP.  Carlos Santana recalled Betty as “indomitable – she couldn’t be tamed. Musically, philosophically and physically, she was extreme and attractive.”

Betty Davis (maiden name Mabry; born July 26, 1945, Died: February 9, 2022) was an American funk and soul singer. She was known for her memorable live performances.

Lyrics
F.U.N.K.
Funk, funk y’all, funk
Ow help me nigga, now help me
I was born with it
I will die with it because it’s in my blood
And I can’t, I can’t get enough so I, so I
Danced to the music
And I sang a simple song

I was thankful and thoughtful
Sly Stone came along
‘Cause he took me higher
And he made me see

I had inner visions of a young man named Stevie
Stevie Wonder
Tina Turner
Al Green y’all
Ann Peebles
They were born with it
And they’re gonna ah they’re gonna leave here

With it because it’s in their blood
And that’s why I want you to help me nigga now
Help me
Barry White
Larry Graham does it right
Isaac Hayes y’all
The O’Jays singing

Some people gotta have it
Some people really need it
Some people will do anything
For the love, for the love of that stuff called money now

I’m gonna tell ya about a man
He had a lot of feeling in his hands
And his name was Jimi Hendrix y’all
Jimi Hendrix was his name
He could make that guitar walk
He could make that guitar talk now
He could make that guitar sing
Jimi yes he could make it do anything, anything
He used to say Foxy Lady
He used to say ahh Betty, Betty
I’m gonna getcha now ow

Aretha Franklin, oh can’t she sing it
I said Chaka Khan, don’t she swing it
The Funkadelics, can’t they do it
And when you hear Skin Tight, you wanna get into it

F.U.N.K.
Funk, funk y’all
Funk, funk y’all

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Betty Mabry
F.U.N.K. lyrics © Higher Music Publishing Inc., Betty Mabry Music Co., Betty Mabry Music, Mabry Betty Music Co., Higher-music Publ Inc

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