Well, I’m a little behind the times on this, but I’ve just learned that drummer and singer Buddy Miles died last week. Buddy had been sick for a long time, suffering from congestive heart failure. Last week he turned off his defribrillator and died on Feb. 26.
Miles’s history was long and storied. Most well known for his stint in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies (along with complementing Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell on “Electric Ladyland”), Miles had played with Ruby and the Romantics, The Ink Spots, the Delfonics, Wilson Pickett, The Electric Flag (created with Mike Bloomfield and debuting at Monterey Pop) John McClaughlin, Carlos Santana, Bootsy Collins and more that I know I’m forgetting. His solo work is just as important as these collaborations; Miles’s album “Them Changes” is a rockin’ soul classic. It’s just an unbelievable body of work that Miles leaves behind him. As tribute, I suggest his Them Changes album or the extended jam “Free Form Funkafide Filth” on the Santana/Miles Live album. Or, of course, Band of Gypies. Play it now. Play it loud.
Buddy Miles: Sept 5, 1947-Feb. 26, 2008
The Street Parade 