My Thoughts on The Passing of Jim Gordon

Drummer Jim Gordon, best known for his association with Derek & The Dominos, passed away on Monday of natural causes in a California prison. He was 77. 

Gordon had spent nearly the last four decades of his life in prison for murdering his mother in June 1983 for which he was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. It was only after the homicide that Gordon was diagnosed with schizophrenia. We can only wonder if this tragedy would have been prevented had he been diagnosed earlier.

Gordon spent many years as a session drummer for the likes of The Everly Brothers, The Beach Boys on their Pet Sounds album, with Mason Williams on the instrumental "Classical Gas" before becoming part of Delaney and Bonnie's backup band which included Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle. The four would soon backup George Harrison on his landmark album All Things Must Pass. From there they would form Derek & The Dominos and Gordon would receive songwriting credit on "Layla" - more on that in a moment. After their short-lived success, Gordon would play drums on Joan Baez's Diamond and Rust album, Jackson Browne's Pretender album and Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour and this merely scratches the surface.

However, Gordon was particularly cruel towards his girlfriend Rita Coolidge whom he met during his time with Delaney and Bonnie and would later work together on the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour. While on this tour, Gordon violently assaulted Coolidge. To add insult to injury, Gordon took credit for the piano coda for "Layla" which Coolidge said she wrote and former Domino Bobby Whitlock backs her up. Can stealing a song be chalked up to mental illness?

Under the circumstances, it is hard for me to feel sympathy for Gordon's loss without reservation. While there's no question of Gordon's talent, being talented doesn't make you a good human being. As the late Ronnie Spector said of the late Phil Spector, "Brilliant producer. Lousy husband." Yet, at the same time, there are mitigating factors in Gordon's case. Those factors don't excuse his conduct but does put things into context. As I wrote last week with the passing of Robert Blake, I can only hope Jim Gordon finds comfort in the afterlife. R.I.P.