Jim Gordon, co-writer of Eric Clapton’s “Layla” and convicted murderer, dead at 77
Jim Gordon was one of the most in-demand drummers of the 1970s
Aux News Jim Gordon
Famed and prolific ‘70s drummer Jim Gordon, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after murdering his mother in 1983, has died at the age of 77. Gordon died at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville after a lifelong struggle with mental illness, reports Variety.
Musically, Gordon is best remembered for his work with Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos. In 1970, after joining the band, Gordon co-wrote the hit song “Layla.” As a member of the prolific session musicians group Wrecking Crew, Gordon played on hundreds of song recordings, including Incredible Bongo Band’s 1972 song “Apache,” Steely Dan’s “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” and John Lennon’s “Power to the People.”
Born in 1945, Gordon was raised in California’s San Fernando Valley. His interest in drumming started at a young age, and his parents supported his aspirations, even if they meant not pursuing higher education in lieu of the life of a performer. He carved out a career starting in the early ‘60s, touring with the Everly Brothers right after his high school graduation.
After linking with Clapton, Gordon quickly became one of the most in-demand drummers of the time, contributing to George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass and Beach Boys’ iconic album Pet Sounds. Throughout his career, he worked with Judy Collins, Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Nilsson, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, The Byrds, Duane Allman, Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, and more.
However, Gordon also has a history of disturbing and violent behavior in his personal life. The same year he co-wrote “Layla,” Gordon hit the road with Joe Cocker and his band Mad Dogs and Englishmen. His girlfriend at the time, musician Rita Coolidge, joined him, and in Bill Janovitz’s Leon Russell biography, she detailed the moment Gordon assaulted her.
“Jim said very quietly, so only I could hear, ‘Can I talk to you for just a minute?’ He meant he wanted to talk alone,” Coolidge said. “So we walked out of the room together … And then he hit me so hard that I was lifted off the floor and slammed against the wall on the other side of the hallway… It came from nowhere.”
Work continued to flow in for Gordon after the assault. Over the years he played drums for Dave Mason, Alice Cooper, Helen Reddy, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Johnny Rivers, and Tom Petty. Despite hushed visits to the hospital for outpatient treatment, Gordon’s mental health—complicated by substance abuse—began to erode. Most of his fellow performers wrote it off as the typical rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, and Gordon did his best to hide his mental health issues from his bandmates.
Gordon would go on to assault his partner Renee Armand, breaking her ribs, as well as another girlfriend, who woke up one night to Gordon choking her in bed. As word on his condition and paranoid behavior began to circulate, work slowed for Gordon.
In 1983, after weeks of increasingly concerning behavior, he bludgeoned and stabbed his 72-year-old mother to death, saying that the voices in his head told him to kill her. For years, his mother’s voice ran through his head, one of many voices that protected him and deluded him. He soon received an official schizophrenia diagnosis and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for second-degree murder.
In 1985, Rolling Stone interviewed Gordon from prison. “I really don’t feel that crazy,” he said from the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. “I get along with people. I think I’m pretty normal.”
The interview charts the story of Gordon’s life, and how the voices were always with him. He talked about his mother in great detail, and the years leading up to the murder.
“I had no interest in killing her,” Gordon says. “I wanted to stay away from her. I had no choice. It was so matter-of-fact, like I was being guided like a zombie. She wanted me to kill her, and good riddance to her.”
55 Comments
It’s well known by now that Rita Coolidge wrote the piano part that he claimed credit for on Layla.
by you maybe!!!
It’s always been murky – they likely co-wrote the melody of what he would give Clapton for the Layla piano coda, but Rita then added lyrics for a more fleshed-out version 2 years later for her sister & brother-in-law’s act, Priscilla & Booker T.:
Well, whatever you do, don’t look up what happened with Priscilla!
Yep, tragedy abounded.
What happened to Priscilla?
But that’s the best bit!
All that, and he’s not even the most offensive cowriter of Layla.
On one hand, the quote making up the last couple sentences of this article is absolutely fucking terrifying. But on the other hand, Eric Clapton wrote “Wonderful Tonight.” It’s a toss-up, really.
THAT’s the only terrifying part?
Not this: “Jim said very quietly, so only I could hear, ‘Can I talk to you for just a minute?’ He meant he wanted to talk alone,” Coolidge said. “So we walked out of the room together … And then he hit me so hard that I was lifted off the floor and slammed against the wall on the other side of the hallway… It came from nowhere.”
You’re fucked up.
The whole article made my skin crawl.
Neither of them would make a great babysitter.
This one took me a minute, but damn, if there were a Pulitzer for being mean to Eric Clapton (as there should be), this post would be shortlisted.
for rodent journalism?
I’m a rodent. My sharp little incisors never stop growing.
Be sure to chew on some wood or a cuttlefish bone.
I prefer the cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls because I can crawl through them a few times before I destroy them.
*slow clap* that is the best mockery of Clapton I’ve seen.
Jim Gordon was a talented drummer, known for his work with bands like Derek and the Dominos and Traffic. But on one fateful day, everything changed.It was a sunny afternoon when Jim’s mother, Osa, came to visit him at his apartment in Los Angeles. Jim had been struggling with mental illness for some time, and Osa had been worried about him. She hoped that a visit with her son would help him feel better.As they sat in the living room, Jim began to hear voices in his head. The voices were telling him to do things, things that he knew were wrong. They were urging him to hurt the people he loved, including his own mother.Jim tried to fight the voices, but they were too strong. He grabbed a hammer from the kitchen and attacked his mother, hitting her repeatedly until she fell to the ground. When he realized what he had done, he called the police and confessed to the crime.The news of Jim’s crime shook the music industry and his fans. Many were shocked and saddened by what had happened. Jim was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sent to a mental institution where he would spend the rest of his life.For Jim, the voices never went away. They continued to torment him, reminding him of what he had done. He spent his days in the institution, playing music and trying to cope with his illness. But he never forgot the terrible day when he took his mother’s life.As for Osa, she was remembered by those who knew her as a kind and loving woman. Her death was a tragic reminder of the devastating effects of mental illness and the importance of seeking help when it’s needed.
Was waiting for a punchline, it never came.
This is turning into a gimmick commenter gag that I legitimately respect
Punchlines are difficult for ChatGPT.
I’ve been trying to teach it how to craft a joke, but so far this is the closest it has gotten: Santa Claus, Rob Lowe, and an agouti gerbil walk into a bar. The bartender looks at them and asks, “What is this, some kind of joke?” Santa Claus responds, “No, we’re just here for a quick drink and to spread some holiday cheer.” The bartender is still skeptical and asks, “Why did the agouti gerbil come along?” Rob Lowe chimes in, “He’s our designated driver, of course!” It’s no Aristocrats.
(Gilbert Gottfried voice) Then Santa Claus shoves the gerbil up Rob Lowe’s ass and goes, “I’ll have what he’s having!” (Violent applause)
Meet Martin, a man with an unusual obsession. Martin was a connoisseur of farts and other bad odors. He spent his days traveling the world, seeking out the most foul and pungent smells he could find.His journey had taken him to some of the most unusual places. He had visited sewage treatment plants, garbage dumps, and even traveled to the source of a natural gas leak in Turkmenistan, all in pursuit of the perfect stench.Martin’s friends and family thought he was crazy, but he didn’t care. For him, the smell was an art form, something to be savored and appreciated.One day, Martin received an invitation to a secret gathering of other odor enthusiasts. It was held in an underground chamber, accessible only by a hidden door in a dark alley. Martin was ecstatic. He had heard rumors about this group but never thought he would be invited.As he entered the chamber, Martin was greeted by the stench of a thousand bad smells. The room was filled with people who shared his passion for the foul and disgusting. There were jars of preserved smells, diagrams of odor molecules, and even a few people who had brought samples of their own.For hours, Martin and the others discussed their favorite odors, debating the merits of each one. They talked about the science behind the smell, the chemistry that made each odor unique.As the night wore on, the group became more daring. They started sniffing each other’s armpits, exhaling in each other’s faces, and even farting on each other. It was a bizarre and grotesque display, but Martin loved every minute of it.But as the night came to an end, Martin began to feel a sense of emptiness. He realized that his passion for bad smells had consumed him, and he had lost touch with what was truly important in life. He left the gathering feeling lost and alone.From that day on, Martin vowed to seek out beauty and goodness in the world, rather than indulging in the foul and disgusting. He still appreciated a good fart or a pungent smell, but he no longer let it control his life.Martin became an advocate for mental health, using his story to encourage others to seek help if they ever found themselves obsessed with something that was harming them. And in the end, Martin found happiness in the simple pleasures of life, like the smell of freshly baked bread or the sound of a child’s laughter or that whimsical feeling that overcomes you as you begin to shit your pants.
You should totally write for MAD magazine.
and that was- THE ARISTOCRATS!!!
If only he had just peacefully exploded, like the drummers in Spinal Tap
They can’t prove whose vomit it was.
Authorities said, best leave it unsolved
You can’t dust for vomit.
“Layla” is possibly the only song in rock history that happens to contain BOTH an iconic guitar and piano riff. It deserves its classic status.Also, Gordon’s drumming is great on the heaviest track Harry Nilsson ever recorded. You can hear a disturbed personality in that drum solo:
If you can get ahold of the quad version of Schmilsson, the drum solo on “Jump Into the Fire” is completely different than the stereo version and equally amazing.
I loved that.
No RIP for the convicted murderer? What, you want him to keep murdering in the afterlife?
Can you even do that?
Unless all those slasher movies are just made up, then yes.If you hear the drums, you’re already dead.
No, as long as you hear the drums you’re fine. It’s when the drums stop that the most horrible thing you can imagine is about to happen.
And if you hear the multitudes marching to that big kettle drum, it’s alpha and omega’s kingdom come.
Look someone’s gotta fight the skeleton wars
The bones are their money, and so are the worms.
Friggin’ bonies!
No mention of all the years that he spent as police commissioner in Gotham City?
#ACAB
Starred on principle.
#ABACAB
#ABFAB
Personally, I prefer bat-themed vigilantes.
*Die Fledermaus has entered the chat*
The Quiet Batpeople, of course.
I wish I could star this a hundred times.
how proud his mother must be…oops!
Good riddance. You say that about your mum after killing her. Seen his name on a 100 great records. In fact, he played on John Barleycorn Must Die, a fantastic record by Traffic. He played piano the way you hear it on ‘Layla’, on Traffics ‘Freedom Rider’. He had talent. They say never meet your heroes, and I agree, this one was a real pr……! At least he spent countless years in a maximum security prison hospital. This guy, along with Judas Priests drummer Ian Hill. Good riddance.
He played on Low Spark and Welcome to the Canteen, not John Barleycorn.
I got the impression that he was describing his state of mind at the time he killed her (due to the voices), not that he actually, a couple years later, thought “good riddance.”