23 Facts About Buddy Miles

Buddy Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 5,1947.

Buddy Miles's father played upright bass for Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, and others.

Buddy Miles played with his father's band for several years.

In 1964, at the age of 16, Buddy Miles met Jimi Hendrix at a show in Montreal, where both were performing as sidemen for other artists.

In 1967, Buddy Miles joined Hendrix in a jam session at the Malibu home of Stephen Stills.

At age 21, after the breakup of the Electric Flag, Buddy Miles put together a new band with Jim McCarty, who later became the guitarist for Cactus.

In 1970, after the Buddy Miles Express split up, Miles began a collaboration with Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox.

Later in 1970, while recording the album We Got to Live Together, Buddy Miles learned of the death of Hendrix, which he mentioned on the inner cover of the album.

The song was released a fourth time on a live record Buddy Miles recorded with Carlos Santana.

In 1973, Buddy Miles recorded an album with the Gun's Adrian Gurvitz called Chapter VII, as well as drummed on a song from Gurvitz's project Three Man Army's album Third of a Lifetime.

In 1980 Paris and Buddy Miles re-united, and together they produced Sneak Attack with Buddy Miles's new band The Regiment, released by Atlantic Records in 1981.

Buddy Miles served a prison term for grand theft in the late 1970s and later another term for auto theft in the early 1980s.

In late 1984 and early 1985 while living in a halfway house in Oakland, California, Buddy Miles commuted almost daily to San Rafael to collaborate with a handful of musicians and songwriters at the Ice House Studios.

In 1992, Buddy Miles worked with bassist Bootsy Collins and guitarist Steve Salas under the supergroup moniker Hardware, which released one album called Third Eye Open.

From 1994 to 2007, Miles formulated his new version of the Buddy Miles Express in the New York City area, with Charlie Torres on bass guitar and vocals, Rod Kohn on guitar and vocals, Mark "Muggie Doo" Leach on Hammond B3, background vocals, and keyboards, and Kenn Moutenot on drums and vocals and handling management.

Buddy Miles went on to mentor Lopez, co-producing Lopez's debut album, First Things First, with Jay Newland.

Buddy Miles was seen in the Hendrix-family owned official video release, The Making of Electric Ladyland on Rhino Records.

The video includes footage of Buddy Miles playing his drum tracks in the studio against the original multi-track recordings of Hendrix.

In 1999, Buddy Miles performed on the late Bruce Cameron's album, Midnight Daydream, which included other Hendrix alumni Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell, Jack Bruce, and others.

Also in 2004, Buddy Miles reunited yet again with Billy Cox of the Band of Gypsys to re-record songs from the original 1970 live album with guitarists Eric Gales, Kenny Olsen, Sheldon Reynolds, Andy Aledort and Gary Serkin.

Until his death, Buddy Miles continued to be active musically and performed many shows with proceeds going to help support victims of natural disasters and other charitable causes.

At the age of 60, Buddy Miles died on February 26,2008, at his home in Austin, Texas, with his family by his side.

The day before Buddy Miles died, he heard Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton playing "Them Changes" at Madison Square Garden through his cell phone.