Talk:Betty Davis

Why does noboby know who she is?
She influenced the greatest men in funk, soul & blues but gained little recognisition herself. I guess that's the way she wanted it. As she sings in Steppin in Her High Miller Shoes "She could have been anything that she wanted, truly fine from her head down to her toes, instead she chose to be nothin'"

When I first stumbled across her music I was quiet frankly blown away. Where had Betty Davis been hiding? Why was I only finding out about her in my twenties? I could have seriously done with her liberating vocals in my teenage years!

Betty Davis instantly became my favourite vocalist ever. Since then I have collected everything I could get my hands on & turned as many people as possible onto her music. I felt that finally I'd found a woman who mirrored my beliefs and spoke honestly about herself.

Betty Davis has to be the sexiest, hottest, raunchiest female performer of all time. She has a strength and power that is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I'm sure that she had this impact on many that she came into contact with which explains her amazing collaborations with such talented musicians as the Pointer Sisters, Sly Stone and heaps more.

Not only is she the poster girl for empowered women who are not afraid to take control of their sexuality but she is also an exceptional singer/songwriter and performer. The rawness in her voice and lyrics is nothing short of riveting. She has the ability to strip her listeners down to their most intimate state, forcing them to confront how they feel about their own humanity.

Her attitude is fun & infectious. I think that everyone, particularly women would benefit greatly from embracing Betty Davis's straight shooting, no bullshit attitude.

Betty screams: Embrace your inner whore, why not? She certainly seems to have a lot of fun! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.161.75.46 (talk) 03:24, 16 May 2006 (UTC)


 * This article is very close to the AllMusic Guide bio of Betty Davis. It would be useful to find additional sources and to change passages that might be copyright infringing.Ethanz 16:14, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Copyvio?
I believe a part of this article is copyvio from. On December 11, 2004 the page was, according to web archive,, while this article was --Jaqen 19:13, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Betty davis nastygal.jpg
Image:Betty davis nastygal.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use. Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page. If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 01:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Mabry?
So, we introduce her as Betty Davis, then immediately start referring to her as "Mabry"? Shouldn't we state what her name was before she married Miles? rowley 18:31, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Filling Out the Article
The Mahon article I cited is full of great references about Betty Davis, including books, scholarly articles, and interviews. I'd love to use some of it to fill out this article, but I could use some direction.

Can someone point me to a well-constructed article about a musician? (Preferably one who is not currently making music - though I wish Betty was!) Linguasordida (talk) 02:49, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
 * There is a list of Featured Articles on music topics (including biographies) here, and a list of Good Articles here.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:44, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much. Linguasordida (talk) 19:33, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I've had a quick look at the article and tweaked it a little. As someone suggested here back in 2007(!), there are telltale signs that parts of the article may be a copyright violation - some of the formatting showed clear evidence of having been copied and pasted from elsewhere, and the style was (and to a lesser extent still is) unencyclopaedic, as though taken from a blog or magazine article.  It also needs much fuller referencing.  I'm willing to help out, but if you want to have a go yourself I'd be more than happy to leave it to you, and give any advice you might want - though  I don't have much experience of the GA and FA processes, if you were thinking of aiming that high.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 19:56, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Birth year uncertainty
Obituaries seem to consistently give her age at death as 77, indicating that she was born in 1944 not 1945 (i.e. July 1944 - February 2022). However, her September 1968 marriage record (a WP:PRIMARYSOURCE) to Miles Davis gives her age as 23, indicating that she was born in 1945. This seems to be a difficult inconsistency to resolve. As reliable sources state 1944, I will amend the article to use that year. Any thoughts? Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:27, 9 February 2022 (UTC) PS: Although this trailer for her personally-endorsed documentary states 1945. Confused? Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:37, 9 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Also her date of birth is up for debate. According to Pitchfork the press release stated that Davis was born on July 26, 1944. StuivertjeWisselen (talk) 14:43, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
 * peoplepill.com/people/betty-davis gives her birthday as July 26th 1945 without a source, as does Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll, again without a clear source Blumele (talk) 15:24, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
 * oh my, I found this journal with 2 articles about Betty Davis, one says 1944, the other 1945. https://journals.ku.edu/amsj/issue/view/369 anybody feel free to cite one or the other, I am still digging through the Maureen Mahon book Blumele (talk) 18:16, 10 February 2022 (UTC) There's also this line "She moved to New York in 1962, at age sixteen" in the second article, which works out if she was born in '45 and turned 17 later in the year. Blumele (talk) 18:45, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I've searched on Ancestry and her birth record doesn't seem to exist. It will be on there but under something else... my guess is the commonly referred to birth year, birth name and even birth date are all falsified for some reason. All of the reliable sources covering her death agree on a single date, name and place. As far as WP:RS is concerned, that should stay in the article for now. IMO, no need for us to delve too deep into this. It requires a lot of OR and we'll just end up going round in circles. Best left to a music historian who can set it straight first. --Jkaharper (talk) 01:13, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

Name
I reverted this edit by because there is no evidence that, in any circumstances, she used or was known as "Betty Gray Davis". In her professional career she used the name "Betty Davis", reflecting her relatively short marriage to Miles Davis, but sources do not indicate what name she used in her personal life, or what her legal name was, for the last 50+ years of her life. The formulation "Betty Davis, born Betty Gray Mabry" is simply the clearest and least surprising to readers. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:47, 12 February 2022 (UTC)