Bye Bye Buddy
Posted by SpikeFeb 28
Drummer George “Buddy” Miles died yesterday at age 60.
My friend Barry Goldberg found Buddy in 1967 and brought him into Electric Flag, the short-lived “supergroup” that included Michael Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites. After the Flag broke up, Buddy became the drummer in Jimi Hendrix’ Band of Gypsies. Following that, he formed the Buddy Miles Express and had a global hit with “Them Changes.” Buddy had another hit of sorts when he sang lead vocals for the claymation “California Raisins.” He also toured and recorded with Carlos Santana.
I met him once around 1973 or 1975, when the Electric Flag were doing a reunion tour and appeared at NYC’s Bottom Line club. I went backstage after the show and was first struck by how freaking huge he was. And then by how nice he was.
Buddy is one of those journeymen who may never have achieved superstardom but whose contributions definitely pushed the art forward.
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