THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,483) Buddy Miles — “Funky Mule”
Buddy Miles (see #112, 221, 366, 629, 853) was a “force of nature as a drummer, vocalist, and bandleader” (Jamie Ludwig, https://chicagoreader.com/music/buddy-miles-wrings-every-drop-of-emotion-from-the-segment/), and this “raucous” and funky instrumental is it’s own force of nature, one of the “highlights” (myreccollection, https://myreccollection.livejournal.com/143018.html) of the Buddy Miles Express’s first LP — Expressway to Your Skull.
Dusty Groove Records says of Expressway that:
Expressway To Your Skull – a super tripped-out blend of rock, funk, and soul – easily one of Buddy Miles’ most mindblowing albums – and a classic that never lets up at all! Buddy’s leading the whole group on drums – really kicking things large from behind the kit – while the rest of the group jams in a heavy style that’s got plenty of fuzzed-out guitar and jazzy horn riffs – virtually a blueprint for countless other rock funk groups that copped Buddy’s style in years to come. The drums alone are worth the price of admission – but the whole album’s so right, tight, and outta sight that it’s been a favorite in our crates for years!
Jason Ankeny says of the LP:
Although Buddy Miles’ alchemical fusion of psychedelia, blues, and soul did not truly coalesce until his masterpiece Them Changes, his debut LP, Expressway to Your Skull, remains an inspired and original statement of intent, a record that’s both timeless and an unmistakable product of counterculture consciousness. Each of the album’s seven songs is a fascinating montage of sounds and styles — acid-fuzz guitar collides with zig-zagging funk horns, and shrieking keyboards meet juke joint blues riffs head on. Not everything works [and he didn’t like “Funky Mule”]. . . but [what does] is brilliant, its twists and turns navigated by Miles’ deeply soulful vocals and monster drumming.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/expressway-to-your-skull-mw0000550891
As to the life of Buddy Miles, Steve Huey tells us:
Best known as the drummer in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, Buddy Miles also had a lengthy solo career that drew from rock, blues, soul, and funk in varying combinations. . . . [H]e started playing the drums at age nine, and joined his father’s jazz band the Bebops at a mere 12 years old. As a teenager, he went on to play with several jazz and R&B outfits, most prominently backing vocal groups like Ruby & the Romantics, the Ink Spots, and the Delphonics. In 1966, he joined Wilson Pickett’s touring revue, where he was spotted by blues-rock guitarist Mike Bloomfield. . . . [who] was putting together a new group, the Electric Flag . . . slated to be an ambitious fusion of rock, soul, blues, psychedelia, and jazz. Bloomfield invited Miles to join, and the band made its debut at the Monterey Pop Festival; unfortunately, the original lineup splintered in 1968. . . . Miles briefly took over leadership of the band on its second studio album, which failed to reignite the public’s interest. With the Electric Flag’s horn section in tow, Miles split to form his own group, the similarly eclectic Buddy Miles Express. . . . [which] issued its debut album, Expressway to Your Skull, in 1968, with . . . Jimmy Hendrix in the producer’s chair. In turn, Miles played on . . . Electric Ladyland . . . . Hendrix also produced the Miles Express’ follow-up, 1969’s Electric Church, and disbanded his backing band the Experience later that year; shortly afterward, Hendrix, Miles, and bassist Billy Cox formed Band of Gypsys, one of the first all-Black rock bands. . . . Miles departed in 1970 . . . but not before his powerhouse work was showcased on the group’s lone album, the live Band of Gypsys. . . . Miles returned to the role of bandleader and recorded his most popular album, Them Changes, in 1971; it stayed on the charts for more than a year . . . . Miles toured with Carlos Santana . . . . cut a few more albums for CBS . . . then moved to Casablanca in 1975 for a pair of LPs. Aside from a one-off album for Atlantic in 1981 . . . Miles kept a low profile over the next decade, partly to battle personal problems. Miles returned in 1986 as the lead voice in a TV ad campaign that featured clay-animated raisins singing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”; the ads proved so popular that a kid-friendly musical franchise was spun off, and thus Miles became the lead singer of the California Raisins, performing on two albums (mostly R&B covers) and a Christmas special.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-miles-mn0000943936/biography
Bob Davis reflects on the line that Miles straddled:
Taken on strictly musical terms Expressway To Your Skull is a winner. From a “marketing perspective” it was a disaster for Mercury Records when it was first released.
– It was probably seen as “too soulful” for the late 60’s “rock audience”.
– It was probably seen as “too rockish” for Black AM radio stations to play at that timeAnd that my friends is the continuing paradox of our friend Buddy Miles.
– That’s why he hasn’t (and probably never will be) recognized by the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame
– That’s why he hasn’t (and probably never will be) recognized by the R&B FoundationThose entities may never recognize the GREATNESS of Buddy Miles. He was able to hit the nail right on the “sweet spot” where Gospel, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Soul & Funk all meet and for his achievement in doing so Buddy Miles will continue to be penalized and under recognized.
Oh, and finally, “[a]sked how he would like to be remembered, Miles, whose flamboyant dress sense often matched Hendrix’s, simply said: ‘The baddest of the bad. People say I’m the baddest drummer. If that’s true, thank you world.’” (Pierre Perrone, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/buddy-miles-flamboyant-hendrix-drummer-789321.html)
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