Buddy Miles: 1947-2008

Buddy Miles, drummer and singer famous for his work with Jimi Hendrix in the late '60s, passed away Tuesday night. Miles died of congestive heart failure in his Austin home, according to his website. He was 60.

Miles was born on September 5, 1947 in Omaha, Neb., and inherited his passion for music from his father, a bassist, who performed with a group called the Bebops. Miles sat in on drums with his father’s band when he was as young as 11. As a young musician, Miles began his professional career playing with Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink Spots.

But Miles was most famous as the anchor of Hendrix’s short-lived Band of Gypsies. The drummer first worked with Hendrix in 1969, when the iconic guitarist produced an album for Miles’ band, The Buddy Miles Express. Miles then turned around and sat in for Hendrix on the seminal Electric Ladyland recording, providing percussion for both "Rainy Day, Dream Away" and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming".

A few months later, Hendrix disbanded The Jimi Hendrix Experience to form Band of Gypsies, with Miles as his featured drummer. The group released one record, a live album recorded during the group’s two-day stint at the Fillmore East on December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970. Hendrix only recorded the album to fulfill a contractual obligation with Capitol Records, but the release, Band of Gypsies, is easily one of the greatest contractual obligations of all time. Band of Gypsies marked Hendrix’s turn toward a more straightforward, stripped-down sound, and Miles’ in-the-pocket style and strong backbeat provided the perfect counterpoint to Hendrix’s redefined conception of groove.

After Gypsies disbanded, Miles went on to tour with some of the biggest performers of the last 30 years, including Stevie Wonder, Muddy Waters, David Bowie and George Clinton, though drug charges landed him in jail in the late '70s and early '80s. In 1986, Miles lent his voice to the widely successful California Raisins claymation ads. The group performed a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Heard it Through the Grapevine” in 1988 that became a national sensation.

According to Miles’ website, a tribute show is in the works and will be announced soon. The homepage currently reads: “Fans, friends and family will all join in a celebration of the life and music of this talented and big hearted musician, so we hope everyone can be a part of this fond farewell.”

He is survived by partner Sherrilae Chambers.

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