Title

Reissued Funk: Reclaiming the Feminist Innovations of Betty Davis

Authors

Danielle E. Maggio, University of Pittsburgh

Files

Description

Funk musician Betty Davis’ 1970s studio albums were reissued in 2007 to a wave of critical acclaim. The re-release cemented the pioneer status of the artist who was once ridiculed and boycotted for her sexually dominant lyrics and physically suggestive live performances. Davis is now considered an artistic innovator and progressive social figure whose aesthetic ideas and practices, although marginalized during the 1970s, are now being celebrated in mainstream popular music. At the forefront of this celebration is a new generation of avant-garde Black women artists who do not simply label Davis as a pioneer of a less-liberated time, but rather reclaim her for present- day resistance against race, gender, and sexuality politics within the music industry.

Publication Date

11-4-2021

City

Dayton, OH

Disciplines

African American Studies | Music | Musicology

Recommended Citation

Maggio, Danielle E., "Reissued Funk: Reclaiming the Feminist Innovations of Betty Davis" (2021). Content Presented at the First and Second Dayton Funk Symposia. 27.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dayton_funk_content/27