Mahalia Barnes & The Soul Mates - Ooh Yea!: The Betty Davis Songbook (feat. Joe Bonamassa) (2015)

Powerhouse singer Mahalia Barnes, one of the most impressive female vocalists to come out of Australia, and her band The Soul Mates have teamed up with American blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa to release an album of Betty Davis covers called Ooh Yea! The Betty Davis Songbook. Scheduled for release on 2/24/15, it explores tracks from Davis sexy, raw funk records of the early 70s.

Betty Davis s unique story is still fairly unknown. She married Miles Davis in the late 60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix. Later, she released three genre-busting albums, 1973's self-titled debut, 1974's They Say I'm Different and 1975's Nasty Gal that have since influenced artists like Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, Ice Cube, Talib Kweli and Ludacris.

Mahalia Barnes, eldest daughter of Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes and recent contestant on The Voice Australia, has been around music her whole life but has always been most heavily influenced by soul, blues and rock n roll.