Jim Gordon, the renowned American session drummer who played with Derek And The Dominoes, among others, and who is also known for landing in prison in the early eighties for murdering his mother, has died at the age of 77.
According to journalist Bob Merlis, Gordon died ‘after many years behind bars and a long battle with mental illness.’
In the sixties, Gordon first came up as a member of the Wrecking Crew. His studio drumming was the backbone of many hits on albums like “Pet Sounds” (The Beach Boys) from 1967 and “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” (The Byrds, 1968). After wrapping up a tour with Delaney & Bonnie in 1970, he joined Eric Clapton, who back then gushed that he was ‘the greatest rock’n’roll drummer I ever played with’. Clapton, Gordon, Carl Radle and Bobby Whitlock formed Derek and the Dominoes.
During his time with Derek and the Dominoes, Gordon made a co-writing contribution to the classic Layla, coming up with that gorgeous piano outro.
Gordon later played in Joe Cocker’s backing group, the Mad Dogs & Englishmen band, and in the studio he drummed on albums by an incredible arsenal of famous artists. Just to name a few of the standout names: John Lennon, Alice Cooper, George Harrison, Traffic, Leon Russell, Tom Petty, Randy Newman, Nils Lofgren, Jackson Brown, Jack Bruce, Cher, Crosby, Stills & Nash, BB King, John Lee Hooker and Frank Zappa.
In 1983, Gordon killed his mother and was sentenced to life in prison. His repeated requests for parole were never granted.
