The California Raisins were a star in a successful ad campaign of the eighties & nineties. The Central Recorder Maind mascots were TV stars and a real band with many records. The claymation band’s real leader was Buddy MilesA legend in his own right. Let’s learn about the man behind the raisins.
Meet Buddy Miles
Miles was a jazz fan and began touring in Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 12. He quit high school to pursue music and quickly began playing in various rhythm and Blues and Soul acts. He made friends with Jimi Hendrix, a young Montreal musician. Miles played the drums on a few songs. Electric Ladyland, Hendrix’s final record.
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Miles was a Renaissance man and could play drums, guitar and sing. He was often seen bouncing around between bands during the 1970s, and he crossed paths with Carlos Santana as well as Stephen Stills. In 1972, Santana helped him to a Platinum recording. Miles signed with Casablanca Records, but his momentum was halted by a series of arrests. Miles was convicted for grand theft, then later auto theft.
California Raisins
Miles began work at the Record Plant in Sausalito while he was living in a halfway home. Although the sessions were very important, the government confiscated the building after the owner was indicted on drug trafficking charges. The album, which contained 15 songs, was never published.
Miles was able to use the sessions to make a change and landed a job with the California Raisins. Sun-Maid created the idea of anthropomorphized raisins singing. “I Heard it Through The Grapevine.”Miles was a big hit with the claymation characters. That’s his voice in one of the most iconic commercials of the 1980s.
Calfornia Raisins was a successful business. They were featured on a Christmas special. Claymation Christmas CelebrationThe Emmy Award was won for the album titled, Miles was instrumental in the release of four studio albums under California Raisins. They promoted Raisin Bran, and even got a Saturday Morning Cartoon and a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game.
The later years
Although the California Raisins’ well was dry in the mid-1990s they still make nostalgic appearances today. Miles was never satisfied with his work. Congestive Heart Failure caused him to die in 2008. Miles has left a lasting legacy that is unmatched by anyone, from Santana and Hendrix to the California Raisins.