Uncut UK – October 2019

4 • UNCUT• OCTOBER 2019

THIS MONTH’S REVELATIONS FROM THE WORLD OF UNCUT

F E AT U R I N G... Anna Calvi^ |^ The Beatles^ |^ Altın Gün

Betty’s back!

Funk trailblazer Betty Davis makes a surprise

return to the studio after a 40-year absence

D

ANIELLE Maggio was 19 when

she first heard the music of

Betty Davis, via a series of

revelatory 2007 reissues on

Light In The Attic. “I was blown

away by the music, and then when I saw her

image I was so inspired and empowered,”

Maggio says of what was literally a life-

changing experience – she would go on

to make Davis an integral part of her PhD

studies in ethnomusicology at the University

Of Pittsburgh. But even in her wildest

dreams, Maggio didn’t think that one day

she’d be fronting the first new Betty Davis

song to be recorded since 1979.

“It’sallverysurrealtome,”saysMaggioof

theexperienceofcollaboratingwithDavison

“ALittleBitHotTonight”– a smouldering

soulnumberwitha Latinbreakdownthat

poppeduponBandcamplastmonth.Maggio

firstgottomeetDavis,coincidentallyalso

livinginPittsburgh,aftervolunteeringfunds

andexpertiseto 2017 documentaryTheySay

I’mDifferent, whichshowedDavisasa very

privatebutdeterminedfigure,gratefulthat

herrevolutionary’70salbumswerefinally

beingproperlyappreciated.Thetwobonded

overa rareEttaJamessongandgradually

becamefirmfriends.“Musicis stillthemost

importantthingtoher,andthat’showwe

builta relationship,”explainsMaggio.“She’s

extremelyhumbleandcompassionate,but

she’salsooneofthemostpowerfuland

focusedpeopleI’veeverbeenaround.”

KnowingthatMaggiowasanaspiring

singer,Daviswouldoccasionallypromiseto

writea songforher.“Thenonedaysheput

down two pieces of paper in front of me and it

was handwritten lyrics. We sat at her kitchen

table and she would sing a line to me and I’d

sing it back. Every single thing about the song

• how I pronounce the words, the inflections,
  the feeling of it – everything was Betty.”
  For Davis, who doesn’t own a computer or
  mobile phone and retains a healthy suspicion
  of the music industry that shunned her back
  in the ’70s, it made sense to choose a trusted
  collaborator, however inexperienced.
  “Danielle really inspired me,” says Davis.
  “She has such a good voice and we are
  friends, so I said I’d write her a song.”

Maggioassembleda bandofcracklocal

musicians,andDavisturneduptorehearsal

toteachthemalltheirparts:“It’squitea tiny

punk-rockspaceandBettycameinwearing

a goldfloralsilkjacketthatJimiHendrixgave

her!”Davisalsoproducedthetrack,despite

thechallengeofnewdigitaltechnology.“It’s

a newexperienceformebecauseI’musedto

kingwiththeboard,”sheexplains.“But

I stillwritethesameway– it’sjustthe

waysongsarerecordedhaschanged.”

Maggiothinksit’sunlikelythat

Daviswillsingagain– “Bettyhas

alwaysconsideredherselfa producer

ora projectormorethana singer”–

althoughthereis talkofa follow-upto

A LittleBitHotTonight”andDavisis

alsowritingsomelyricsforPaulWeller.

Askeddirectlyabouttheprospectof

newmaterial,however,the75-year-old

emainstypicallyenigmatic.“Well,I

don’tknow,”shesays.“I’llseehowI’m

eeling.”Fora worldstillgettingupto

speedonBettyDavis’sbrilliance,even

histentativestepbackintothelimelight

s causeforcelebration. SAMRICHARDS

FIN

COSTELLO/REDFERNS

“I still write

the same way –

it’s just the way

songs are recorded

has changed”

BETTY DAVIS