Betty Davis 1970s
There was a wave of funky soul singers to land in the late 60s & 70s. They were all ballsy and had thrown the idea of demure elegance out of the window. Millie Jackson, Patti Labelle, Lyn Collins to name a few, but in style terms Betty (an ex-model) was a leader.
The Civil Rights movement had been followed by 'afro-centricity' - a celebration of black being beautiful. African prints, natural fibres, beads, tribal decoration and afros were in.
Betty was entrenched in the psychedelic music scene where all things 'outer-space' were in. Man had landed on the moon in '69 and it had really fired the imagination. Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly Stone, Funkadelic were just a few sporting far-out costumes with plenty of silver trim.
Betty was no different. Combining tribal with galactical, she rocked it.
At one point she was married to jazz superstar, Miles Davis and it was her who turned him onto the music of Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. The marriage was short-lived as Miles thought her too wild for him.
One of her albums was called Nasty Gal ('75).
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