Band of Gypsys Drummer Buddy Miles Dies
Buddy Miles, who played drums for Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, died at his home in Austin, Texas yesterday. He was sixty. In addition to Hendrix, Miles worked with the likes of Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Stevie Wonder, Muddy Waters and David Bowie over a four-decade career. But his biggest contribution was to Band of Gypsys, a band that, along with bassist Billy Cox, was immortalized after performing four nights at the Fillmore East in NYC around New Year's 1970. Later in his career, Miles' contributed vocals to the California Raisins' version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and was most recently plotting a Band of Gyspys reunion with Cox and other guitarists. In a statement yesterday, longtime friend Cox called Miles "an unsung musical genius."