The Buddy Miles Express was a musical group fronted by American drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles. It was formed after the 1968 breakup of Miles' earlier group, Electric Flag. They released a total of four albums.
The Buddy Miles Express was formed after the Electric Flag, of which Miles was a member, broke up in 1968.[1][2] In addition to Miles, the group also contained four other former Electric Flag members, [3] Terry Clements, Marcus Doubleday, Virgil Gonsalves and Herbie Rich.[4][5]
Buddy Miles was from Omaha Nebraska.[6] So were his Electric Flag bandmates, Stemsey Hunter, Herbie Rich and Hoshal Wright.[7][8][9] Hoshal Wright, a friend of Buddy Miles who came in to replace Mike Bloomfield when he left the Electric Flag[10] didn't end up doing any recording with the Buddy Miles Express.[11] However, it appears that guitarist Wright played with the Express briefly at the beginning before Jim McCarty came on board.[12]
It was reported by Billboard in the magazine's 28 September issue that the band had signed with Robert L. Fitzpatrick for their personal management and public relations. Buddy Miles had also signed an agency pact with Brian Williams of APA.[14]
Billboard announced in its October 12 issue that the group had signed to Mercury Records and was to record under the direction of Lou Reizner, the head of Mercury's London operation.[15] Miles also recruited Jim McCarty, whom he had contacted on the west coast. McCarty had been with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. He accepted Miles' offer as he wanted to work with a band that had that "big sound" with its horn section.[16]
In the November 16, 1968 issue of Billboard, it was reported that the group was making its first appearance in New York for a benefit concert for Biafra at Bill Graham's Fillmore East. The Express were announced as the headline act.[17]
Jean Griffiths reported in Record World's London Lowdown that the Buddy Miles Express was now signed to the Mercury label, and the release of the single "Train" Parts 1 & 2 on 15 November in the UK was going to make an impact there.[18]
The group played at the Madison Square Garden in New York. The performance was reviewed in the 16 November issue of Cash Box. The band was described as a top-notch rock / soul outfit with Miles being the loudest drummer in rock. The reviewer also wrote that his beating the drums in a seemingly relaxed manner produced savage results. Herbie Rich the organist sang lead on one song, "Herbie's Tune". However, the performance was marred by microphone problems. With the amplification coming back to normal, the group's driving instrumentation that was evident on the first two songs was augmented by Miles' vocals on the last three songs. The song "Wrap It Up" was performed as the encore.[19]
Debut album and single
Their debut album Expressway to Your Skull was released on Mercury SR 61196 in 1968.[20] The liner notes for the album were written by Jimi Hendrix.[21] The November 30 issue of Billboard picked "Train" and "Spot On The Wall" as fuel for the group's chart rise. The single for the album, "Train", was produced by Lou Reizner.[20]
"Train" was released in two parts on single, Mercury 72860 in late 1968. It was reviewed in the 7 December issue of Cash Box. With its heavy blend of contemporary sounds, it was also described as having enough soul to make it a strong contender.[22]
1969
With a new horn section, the group appeared at the Fillmore East with the Mothers of Invention and the Chicago Transit Authority. John Sanna of Record World gave a review of their performance, saying that Miles puts soul into rock and both he and the songs were electric. He also wrote that Miles finished off the set with the Sam & Dave song "Wrap It Up" and he did as only Buddy Miles can do it.[23]
The group's single, "Funky Mule" bw "Don't Mess with Cupid" was released in the United States on Mercury 72914 in April 1969.[24] It was also released in the Netherlands on Mercury 27 442 MCF.[25] It was reported by "R&B Beat Where It's At" in the 12 April 1969 issue of Record World that the single "Funky Mule" was selling in Philadelphia.[26] It would later be reported by Cash Box in the publication's 16 August issue that "Funky Mule", along with "Man Who Paints the Pictures" by "Fever Tree was experiencing tremendous airplay at all of the national radio stations in the Netherlands.[27]
The group released the single, "Miss Lady" bw "69 Freedom Special". It was a four-star pick and had a positive review in the 8 March issue of Record World with the reviewer referring the record a "nitty gritty deck" and informing the reader that the group tells it like it is.[28]
Also in 1969, Electric Church was released. Jimi Hendrix produced one side and Ann Tansey of Mercury Records produced the other.[29] For the week ending June 7, 1969, their album entered the Billboard Top LPs chart at 147.[30]
"Memphis Train"
Steve Cropper was flown from Memphis into New York, where he played on and produced "Memphis Train". [31] It was backed with "My Chant" which was produced by Jimi Hendrix. Both songs were released on single, Mercury Records 72945 in 1969.[32] It had good reviews in the 19 July issues of Billboard, Cash Box and Record World.[33][34][35] It was a hit, peaking at No. 114 on the BillboardBubbling Under the Hot 100 for the week of 16 August,[36][37][38] and then at No. 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[39] It also peaked at at No. 23 on the Cash Box Looking Ahead chart for the week of 30 August,[40][41][42] and at No. 27 on the Record World Singles Coming Up chart for the week of 6 September.[43][44]
Further activities
Around September 1969, Robert Fitzpatrick took legal action against the group, Mercury Records and the Ashley Famous Agency for breach of contract. He sought around $30,000 in damages and also to stop the group members from being paid until he was reimbursed.[45]
That same year, Jim McCarty left the band and joined Cactus.[46]
The group released their Booger Bear album in 1973. A Billboard reviewer referred to it as a production of the first order. Also mentioned was the time and care put into the material and selections. The direction was more towards commercial rock than hard blues.[49] This album was also released in QuadraphonicSQ Matrix format. It differed from previous releases in SQ and QS in that it didn't stick to the "front of the music" format. There was more directionality in the music and voices. And on one song, "Louie's Blues", them coming from the rear was effective.[clarification needed] The Billboard review mentioned Columbia's engineers really opening up the spectrum.[50] The album entered the Billboard Soul LPs chart at number 56 and remained on the chart for a week.[51]
1980s to 1990s
On December 27, 1984, the Buddy Miles Express played at San Francisco's Kabuki Theatre, an event sponsored by Bill Graham and Radio KRQ, with some of the proceeds going to World Vision to help Ethiopian famine refugees.[52]
Miles reformed the Express sometime after playing with Bootsy Collins in the early 1990s.[53]
The last album release that was credited to the Buddy Miles Express was Hell And Back, released on Rykodisc RCD 10305 in 1994.[54]
Herbie Rich and his wife Hilda who he had married in 1989 became involved in the Christian ministry. They visited large malls around Atlanta, homeless shelters, schools and nursing homes, spreading the word. He died in Mableton, Georgia, on May 12, 2004, at the age of 60.[63]
Buddy Miles died in Austin, Texas, on 26 February 2008.[64]
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