Famous Musician Buddy Miles Died

Buddy Miles, the rock and R&B drummer, singer and songwriter whose eclectic career included stints playing with Jimi Hendrix and as the lead voice of the California Raisins, the animated clay figures that became an advertising phenomenon in the late 1980s, has died. He was 60.

Buddy Miles, the well known drummer, singer, and songwriters, died on Tuesday of congestive heart failure as 60-years-old at him home in Austin, Texas.

Miles developed his love from drums when he was a toddler, and by the time he was 12-years-old he was playing in his father’s jazz band. Soon after he became a session player and sideman to many famous R&B groups and musicans including Hendrix, Ruby and the Romantics, Muddy Waters, John McLaughlin, Carlos Santa and the Delfonics. In the 1980’s he became an advertising phenomenon for the lead voice in the Californian Raisins clay figure animation.

A massive man with a distinctive, sculpted afro, Miles hit his peak of popularity when he joined Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox to form Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, which the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll called “the first black rock group.” Miles had played with Hendrix on the guitarist’s influential “Electric Ladyland” album released in 1968.

The Band of Gypsys made just one album, a live set recorded on New Year’s Eve in 1969-70, and two of Miles’ songs, “Them Changes” and “We Got to Live Together,” were included on the album. He gave the recording a memorable drum riff on one of Hendrix’s signature songs, “Machine Gun.”

While playing with Wilson Pickett in 1967, he was approached by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who asked him to join the blues, rock and soul group Electric Flag. Miles played on three of the band’s albums before forming his own group, the Buddy Miles Express, in 1968. Next came his association with Hendrix.

His career was put on hold in the late 70’s when he was convicted from grand theft and auto theft. He served time at the California Institution for Men at Chino and at San Quentin State Prison. He was incarcerated until 1985 and formed bands at both prisons. After he was released he sang with Santana and got the raisin job that helped his life get back on track.

The popular television commercials for the California Raisin Advisory Board featured a quartet of singing and dancing Claymation figures with Miles, as Buddy Raisin, doing the lead singing covering Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”

The commercial’s popularity spawned a million-selling offshoot album of remakes of rock and soul oldies, “The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs.”

He will be missed.