Buddy Miles Sings ‘Them Changes’ With Jimi Hendrix – Video of the Week
Drummer and singer Buddy Miles didn’t have a long career with Jimi Hendrix, but rock fans are fortunate that some video survives of his brief tenure in the Band of Gypsys.
Miles was a child prodigy and founder of the Electric Flag. His friendship with Hendrix went back to the age of 16, when the guitarist was playing as a side man for the Isley Brothers and Miles was playing with Ruby and the Romantics. The two struck up a friendship when they shared a bill and stayed in touch over the years. When Hendrix found himself at loose ends with his mates in the Experience and mired in various litigation, he recruited his friend to play drums in what would be the very short-lived Band of Gypsys.
This raw, uncut black and white footage captures Miles singing ‘Them Changes’ with Hendrix at the Fillmore on Jan. 1, 1970. That show, as well as one the night before, were released later in the year as the band’s self-titled live album. The Band of Gypsys were no more by the end of that month, and Hendrix was dead before the year was out.
Miles went on to a career that included stints with Santana and George Clinton, but to the average listener he is perhaps best known as the voice of the California Raisins’ version of ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine.’ He passed away in 2008, and today — Sept. 5, 2012 — would have been his 65th birthday.