Drummer and singer best known for his work with Hendrix and Santana

Buddy Miles, who died on 26 February, 2008, was a rock and funk drummer and soul singer who reached his highest prominence as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys.

He was also a respected funk composer and artist, and collaborated with many great artists, most notably Carlos Santana. In 1986 he lent his vocals to the California Raisins commercials and the animated band's subsequent albums.

Whether behind a drum kit or on the mic at the front of the stage, Buddy Miles cut a distinctive figure with his large build, towering afro and glitzy shirts.

George Miles Jr was born on 5 September, 1947, in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, George Miles Sr was a bassist in The Bebops who had also worked with Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Charlie Parker. George Jr, better known as Buddy, showed a prodigious talent for the drums and played with The Bebops during his teens.

In 1967, having played with popular R&B groups such as Ruby & the Romantics, The Ink Spots and The Delfonics, Mr Miles formed the blues rock-group The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, famed for his work with Paul Butterfield and Bob Dylan.

A real melting pot of sounds and styles, The Electric Flag debuted at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in June and toured during the subsequent months. Though Mr Bloomfield was the lead vocalist, Mr Miles would sing on the more soul and blues-oriented songs. Gradually his influence on the group's direction overtook Mr Bloomfield's and the latter left the band shortly after the release of their first album, A Long Time Comin' (1968).

Mr Miles strived to continue the band and released a follow-up album, The Electric Flag: An American Music Band (1968), but they broke up shortly afterwards. Despite their short lifespan, The Electric Flag were highly praised by critics and also sometimes credited with the first use of the Moog synthesiser.

Mr Miles and Jimi Hendrix had met several years earlier when they were both jobbing musicians. When Mr Miles recorded his first album with the Buddy Miles Express (Electric Church, 1969), Jimi Hendrix took time out from his packed schedule to produce it to thank Mr Miles for his earlier session work on Electric Ladyland (1968).

Later that year, following the break-up of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a new group, Band of Gypsys, was formed and Mr Miles was the natural choice to succeed Mitch Mitchell. Band of Gypsys was, in cynical terms, a contractual obligation, with a headline slot at Woodstock to fulfil and an album to deliver to the record company.

The resulting live album, also called Band Of Gypsys (1970), featured two original Bubby Miles compositions, Them Changes and We Gotta Live Together. Also included was the definitive version of Machine Gun. However, the recording was criticised by some because it was felt Mr Miles' R&B style drumming hampered Jimi Hendrix somewhat.

Mr Miles also played on much of the posthumously-released Hendrix material. After the guitarist's death on 18 September, 1970, he resumed work with his own band. Now recording under his own name, he recorded his own version of Them Changes which soon became his signature song.

He released a new album, Them Changes (1971), which was in the charts for more than a year. He then teamed up with Carlos Santana, playing percussion and singing on the top ten album Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! (1972).

He briefly reunited with The Electric Flag for a 1974 live album, The Band Kept Playing, and continued to record funk and soul albums, culminating in the acclaimed Bicentennial Gathering Of The Tribes (1976).

The following decade was a troubled period for Mr Miles - he spent time in jail, first for auto theft and then drug charges, releasing the aptly titled Sneak Attack (1981) in between sentences. He also formed bands during both his spells in prison.

In 1986, he returned to the music industry in odd circumstances when he sung lead vocals for the California Raisins commercials. In the advertisements, a group of animated raisins performed I Heard It Through the Grapevine, thus demonstrating their superiority over other varieties of fruit. The California Raisins proved so popular that a spin-off line of merchandising, two albums of Motown covers and a children's television series followed.

In the same year he also reunited with Carlos Santana. Together they recorded the album Freedom (1987), a fitting title for Mr Miles' comeback. Over the following years he worked sporadically with Billy Cox, also a member of the Band of Gypsys, and funk bassist Bootsy Collins, going on tour and releasing new material. He continued to be associated with Hendrix and took part in many reunion and tribute projects.

Buddy Miles died at the age of 60 from a massive heart attack at his home in Austin, Texas, a statement on his official website said.