They come (go) in 3s

First, I heard Buddy Miles; then Mike Smith, finally Jeff Healey.

What am I talking about? Why death, of course!

Buddy Miles (that's him with Hendrix in the photo above, at Monterey in 1967. Nice hair!) was a big meaty drummer , mostly known for his role in Jimi Hendrix' trio called Band Of Gypsys with Jimbo's army buddy Billy Cox on bass. At the time, BOG weren't very well-liked. I think people were upset with the dissolution of The (J. H.) Experience, but that band wasn't so hot - it was populated by a jazz-influenced drummer who didn't "bring it" for ol' Jimi (IMHO), and a guitarist-turned-bassist-out-of-necessity who was average at best. But they happened to be drafted into the combo that burned the world's ass with Hendrix' initial onslaught of cosmic music, and for that they were loved and should be forever grateful. Buddy first came to general acknowledgement as a founding member of The Electric Flag, a blues/soul septet that also featured Mike Bloomfield, late of The Butterfield Blues Band and (even cooler and more significant) the Dylan Highway 61 sessions. Buddy had his own band, The (B. M.) Express. I saw them at the Eastown Ballroom, and they got booed off the stage - he thought he was Otis Redding. And anyway everyone was there to see Spirit, who were incandescent but this isn't about them. Anyway, Buddy's shit was hit and (more often) miss. So now he can follow Hendrix around like in the old days.

Mike Smith was the toothy (almost bucky) front man/organist in The Dave Clark Five, who were the big rivals for The Beatles (at least in the US - the UK took 'em for what they were, a singles act). He had been very ill for the past few years, and I remember reading about benefits and such. In all fairness, The DC5 did have some ace tunes - "Glad All Over" and even more so "Bits And Pieces" stomped like a brontosaurus. But that was about it, for outstanding-ness. They had a long line of hits, but those two were heavy standouts.

Jeff Healey I know the least about. He was a blind guitarist, who played nice & bluesey with his guitar on his lap as he sat on a chair (I'd go the comfy route, too, & I got eyes!), but I had no interest in him. I read that of late, he was very involved in trad jazz. Immediately my opinion of him moved up a rung or two, since I say who needs any more rock guitar "shredders", in fact the less the better. And he was also proficient on clarinet & trumpet. Guess when you can't read or watch TV you might as well do something else.

So maybe Jeff Healey comes out on top of this recent corpse triumvirate. At least he sounds the most interesting. And he's from Canada, so you got a yank, a limey & a canuck.

Sound the international death knell!!