Jim Gordon — the storied American session player and drummer of Eric Clapton's blues rock supergroup Derek and the Dominos, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after murdering his mother — has died. Gordon's death was confirmed to multiple publications by publicist Bob Merlis, who said the drummer passed of natural causes "after a long incarceration and lifelong battle with mental illness." He was 77.
Raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Gordon began his playing career drumming for the Everly Brothers at age 17. As the protege of Wrecking Crew timekeeper Hal Blaine, he would build a reputation as an in-demand session drummer through contributions to the Beach Boys' lauded Pet Sounds (on which he's credited for drums and "orange juice cups"), the Byrds' 1968 LP The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and the beloved Mason Williams instrumental "Classical Gas."
Towards the end of the decade, Gordon toured as drummer in the backing band for duo Delaney & Bonnie, who, at the time, were playing with Eric Clapton. The two musicians, along with bassist Carl Radle and vocalist-keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, would come together during sessions for George Harrison's 1970 solo statement All Things Must Pass, later naming themselves Derek and the Dominos.
After backing Clapton on his 1970 self-titled debut, Derek and the Dominos would deliver their one and only album in November of that year. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is lauded for its song "Layla," a co-write between Gordon and Clapton for which the drummer earned a credit for the song's piano coda.
Gordon's compositional credit would be disputed in later years. In a 2011 interview, keyboardist Whitlock claimed, "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the [Delaney & Bonnie] days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.' Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off." Whitlock's claim would be substantiated by Graham Nash in his 2014 autobiography Wild Tales, followed by Coolidge herself in her 2016 memoir Delta Lady.
Gordon's output in the 1970s includes drumming on the Incredible Bongo Band's 1972 album Bongo Rock, with his drum break on the album version of "Apache" going on to prove foundational to the art of hip-hop sampling. The decade also saw him work with the likes of Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, Harry Nilsson, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits, John Lennon, Barbra Streisand, Randy Newman, Bread, Cher and many more.
In the mid-'70s, Gordon drummed on a trio of Gordon Lightfoot albums — Sundown, Cold on the Shoulder and Summertime Dream — and a pair of Burton Cummings solo LPs in his self-titled debut and third album Dream of a Child.
In Delta Lady, Coolidge describes how Gordon's physical abuse led to the end of their relationship. On June 3, 1983, Gordon attacked his 71-year-old mother with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia after arrest, and while a court accepted the diagnosis, Gordon was denied use of an insanity defence due to changes in federal law. Gordon was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison, and was denied parole several times.
Raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Gordon began his playing career drumming for the Everly Brothers at age 17. As the protege of Wrecking Crew timekeeper Hal Blaine, he would build a reputation as an in-demand session drummer through contributions to the Beach Boys' lauded Pet Sounds (on which he's credited for drums and "orange juice cups"), the Byrds' 1968 LP The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and the beloved Mason Williams instrumental "Classical Gas."
Towards the end of the decade, Gordon toured as drummer in the backing band for duo Delaney & Bonnie, who, at the time, were playing with Eric Clapton. The two musicians, along with bassist Carl Radle and vocalist-keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, would come together during sessions for George Harrison's 1970 solo statement All Things Must Pass, later naming themselves Derek and the Dominos.
After backing Clapton on his 1970 self-titled debut, Derek and the Dominos would deliver their one and only album in November of that year. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is lauded for its song "Layla," a co-write between Gordon and Clapton for which the drummer earned a credit for the song's piano coda.
Gordon's compositional credit would be disputed in later years. In a 2011 interview, keyboardist Whitlock claimed, "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the [Delaney & Bonnie] days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.' Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off." Whitlock's claim would be substantiated by Graham Nash in his 2014 autobiography Wild Tales, followed by Coolidge herself in her 2016 memoir Delta Lady.
Gordon's output in the 1970s includes drumming on the Incredible Bongo Band's 1972 album Bongo Rock, with his drum break on the album version of "Apache" going on to prove foundational to the art of hip-hop sampling. The decade also saw him work with the likes of Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, Harry Nilsson, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits, John Lennon, Barbra Streisand, Randy Newman, Bread, Cher and many more.
In the mid-'70s, Gordon drummed on a trio of Gordon Lightfoot albums — Sundown, Cold on the Shoulder and Summertime Dream — and a pair of Burton Cummings solo LPs in his self-titled debut and third album Dream of a Child.
In Delta Lady, Coolidge describes how Gordon's physical abuse led to the end of their relationship. On June 3, 1983, Gordon attacked his 71-year-old mother with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia after arrest, and while a court accepted the diagnosis, Gordon was denied use of an insanity defence due to changes in federal law. Gordon was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison, and was denied parole several times.
