Davis was born as Betty Mabry in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Mabry's debut was as a songwriter, with The Chambers Brothers's Uptown (1967, Columbia). When Betty turned sixteen, she moved to New York and met several musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone. She met Miles Davis in 1967 and married him in 1968. As he stated in his autobiography, in addition to creating turmoil in his personal life, his wife helped him to explore music by introducing him to psychedelic rock guitarist Hendrix and funk innovator Stone. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence, though seemingly no credible documentation, to support the idea that Miles Davis named his masterpiece jazz-fusion album Bitches Brew after Betty.
After the breakup of her marriage, Davis moved to London to pursue her modelling career. She wrote music - a passion since childhood - while in the U.K. and returned to the U.S. with the intention of recording songs with Santana and The Commodores. When those projects didn't work out, she organised a group of talented West Coast funk musicians and recorded the songs under her own name.
Her first album, Betty Davis, was released in 1973 and her band included members of Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, The Pointer Sisters, Tower of Power, and Neil Schon who came from Santana, but went on to form Journey. Davis released two more studio albums: They Say I'm Different (1974) and Nasty Gal (1975). Her backing band, Funkhouse,consisted of her cousin, Larry Johnson on bass, Fred Mills on keyboards, double-platinum artist Carlton Morales on guitar, and Nikki Neal on drums. None of the three albums was a commercial success, and Davis's 1976 album Is It Love or Desire remained unreleased until 2009.
Davis remained a cult figure as a singer, due in part to her open sexual attitude, which was controversial for the time and remains so thirty years later. Some of her shows were boycotted and her songs not played on the radio due to pressure by religious groups. With the passage of time her records have become highly regarded by collectors of soul and funk music. Davis eventually stopped making music and returned to the city where she had attended high school, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She continues to live there as a recluse from the music industry.
Material from a 1979 recording session,which was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, where Kevan Tynes attended, and Alfonse Mouson was the drummer, with Carlton Morales on guitar, and Davis's 1979 material was eventually used for two further albums: Hangin' Out in Hollywood (1995) and Crashin' from Passion (1996). A greatest hits album, Anti Love: the Best of Betty Davis, was released in 2000.
Ooh Yea
Betty Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you want it?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Do you need it?
(Oh yea yeah yeah)
Is it good for ya?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Can you hear it now?
(I can hear it now)
Listen, listen
Can you dig it?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Are you turned on?
(Ooh yea yeah yeah)
Do you want more?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Get up, get up
Go on and be yourself
Get, up get up
I am myself...
Are you climbing?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Is it nice up there?
Do you wanna leave?
I said do you wanna leave?
(We don′t wanna leave)
(Cuz it's nice up here)
(We don′t wanna leave)
(We feel free up here)
(Listen, listen)
(Can you hear it now?)
I can hear it now!
(Listen, listen)
(Can you feel it now?)
Ooh yea ooh yea ooh yeah...
The lyrics to Betty Davis's song "Ooh Yea" are essentially an invitation to get down and get funky, encouraging listeners to let go of their inhibitions and let the music take over. The repeated question of whether the listener wants it, needs it, or thinks it's good for them reinforces the idea that the song is about letting loose and indulging in the pleasures of the moment. The call-and-response format of the lyrics also creates a sense of communal participation, as if the singer is challenging the audience to join in on the fun.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the music is not just a surface-level distraction, but something more transformative. The repeated questions about climbing higher and feeling free suggest a deeper emotional and spiritual journey, one that requires the listener to let go of their fears and embrace a new, more liberated way of being. By the end of the song, the lyrics have become more of a chant than a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, reinforcing the idea that the song is less about the words themselves and more about the feeling they evoke.
Overall, "Ooh Yea" is an exhortation to let go and embrace the joy of the moment. Through its repetitive structure and communal call-and-response, it encourages listeners to shed their inhibitions and climb higher, both metaphorically and literally.
Line by Line Meaning
Gonna get funky soon...
I am planning to get into a very cool, exciting mood in the near future.
Do you want it?
Do you have a desire for what is being offered?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Yes, I really desire it.
Do you need it?
Is what is being offered a requirement for you?
(Oh yea yeah yeah)
Yes, I really require it.
Is it good for ya?
Is it beneficial for you?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Yes, it is very beneficial for me.
Listen, listen
Pay attention to what I'm saying.
Can you hear it now?
Are you able to understand what I'm saying now?
(I can hear it now)
Yes, now I understand.
Can you dig it?
Do you like what's happening?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Yes, I'm really liking it.
Are you turned on?
Are you excited?
(Ooh yea yeah yeah)
Yes, I'm very excited.
Do you want more?
Do you want to experience this further?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Yes, I want more of it.
Get up, get up
Stand up and be active.
Go on and be yourself
You should just be who you are.
I am myself...
I am being who I really am.
Are you climbing?
Are you ascending or improving?
(Ooh yea yeah)
Yes, I'm really improving.
Is it nice up there?
Is the higher level where you are better or nicer?
Do you wanna leave?
Do you want to stay where you are?
I said do you wanna leave?
I'm asking if you really want to leave or stay.
(We don′t wanna leave)
We don't want to leave where we are.
(Cuz it's nice up here)
Because where we are is really enjoyable.
(We don′t wanna leave)
Once again, we don't want to leave.
(We feel free up here)
We feel very unrestricted where we are.
(Listen, listen)
Again, please pay attention.
(Can you hear it now?)
Do you understand what I'm saying now?
I can hear it now!
Yes, I really understand now!
(Listen, listen)
Just listen closely.
(Can you feel it now?)
Are you truly experiencing what I'm saying?
Ooh yea ooh yea ooh yeah...
Yes, this is really exciting!
Contributed by Alexandra M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.