Betty Davis, ‘down and dirty funk’ pioneer, dead at 77

Sometimes referred to as “Madonna before Madonna,” Betty Davis was the rare woman to make funk albums in the 1970s. | Fin Costello/Getty

NEW YORK — Betty Davis, a bold and pioneering funk singer, model and songwriter of the 1960s and ‘70s who was credited with inspiring then-husband Miles Davis’ landmark fusion of jazz and more contemporary sounds, has died at age 77.

Davis died early Wednesday after a brief illness, according to Danielle Maggio, a singer, adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh and associate producer of the 2017 documentary “Betty: They Say I’m Different.” Davis spent part of her childhood in Pittsburgh and settled there during the second half of her life.