Jim Gordon, Drummer for Eric Clapton and ‘Layla’ Co-Writer Who Was Convicted of Murder, Dies at 77
variety.comJem Aswad Senior Music Editor Jim Gordon, a top drummer for Eric Clapton, George Harrison and countless others who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after murdering his mother in 1983, has died.
According to the announcement, he died Monday from natural causes at California Medical Facility in Vacavillle, Calif., after a long incarceration and lifelong battle with mental illness.
He was 77. Gordon was a member of Clapton’s group Derek and the Dominos and is the credited co-writer of the classic 1970 hit “Layla,” and played on literally hundreds of songs as part of the elite crew of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.
He was also a member of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen group and Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and was one of the main drummers on George Harrison’s epochal 1970 album “All Things Must Pass.” His work on the Incredible Bongo Band’s 1972 song “Apache” is one of the most sampled drum breaks in hip-hop history.
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