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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Sara-Aisha Kent

Betty Davis dead: Queen of funk singer and the ex-wife of Miles Davis dies aged 77

Betty Davis has died at the age of 77.

The American funk and soul singer's passing was confirmed by friend Danielle Maggio to Rolling Stone.

Amie Downs, communications director for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, where Davis lived, revealed that her cause of death was from natural causes, New York Post report.

The star sang hits such as Get Ready for Betty, It’s My Life, If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up between 1964 and 1975.

Betty was singer Miles Davis' second wife after they tied the knot in 1968, Miles was 19 years older than Betty when they were husband and wife.

Their marriage only lasted a year and they ended their partnership in 1969 but during their romance they made music together.

The American funk and soul singer was 77 (Getty Images)

Jazz icon Miles hoped the demos they made together would lead to an album deal for Betty - but they did not and the music was only released in 2016.

After the breakup of their marriage, Betty moved to London to pursue a career as a model in the early 1970s.

She then went back to America began recording music with a group of West Coast funk musicians that included Sly And The Family Stone producer Greg Errico.

Other artists, she worked with included Larry Graham and Merl Saunders.

Betty was married to Mikes Davis (Getty Images)

Davis released her self-titled debut album for Woodstock promoter Michael Lang's Just Sunshine Records in 1973, with two more studio albums in They Say I'm Different (1974) and the Island Records-released Nasty Gal (1975) following in the years after.

None of those albums had significant commercial successes, but Davis had lots of fans due to her openly sexual lyrics and performance style.

Her style led to her being banned from performing on mainstream television in the US.

She retired from performing and making music in the late 1970s and lived a quiet life put of the limelight.

Her life was the focus of the 2017 documentary Betty: They Say I’m Different.

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