Buddy Miles
George “Buddy” Miles was an early prodigy on drums and was playing in his father’s band, The Bebops, at the age of 12. At the age of 19, he formed Electric Flag with guitarist Mike Bloomfield and Nick Granenitis. Electric Flag made its live debut at the Monterey Pop Festival in mid-1967 and released an album, A Long Time Comin’ on the Columbia label early the next year. After releasing its second album in late 1968, Electric Flag broke up and Miles went on to form the Buddy Miles Express. He also started playing a few gigs with Jimi Hendrix, ultimately joining Hendrix in the Band of Gypsies lineup with Billy Cox.
After the death of Hendrix in September 1970, Miles went on to produce records under his own name, contributed to a number of songs by Cheech and Chong, and did a collaborative album with Carlos Santana. Miles remained active until he played his last live dates in 2007.
