Jim Gordon, Eric Clapton drummer and convicted murderer, dead at 77
nypost.comdied Monday at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville of natural causes “after a long incarceration and lifelong battle with mental illness.”The Post reached out to a Clapton rep for comment.
Born on July 14, 1945, Gordon backed the Everly Brothers and played on The Beach Boys’ 1966 album “Pet Sounds.”He toured with Clapton in 1969 and 1970 as part of the band Delaney & Bonnie.
Clapton briefly formed a new band, Derek and the Dominos, that also featured Gordon. The group worked on Beatles guitarist George Harrison’s 1970 solo album “All Things Must Pass.”Gordon and Clapton also co-wrote Clapton’s 1971 smash hit “Layla.” Gordon picked up his first and only Grammy Award for that song.Gordon eventually began to show signs of mental illness, and he reportedly punched his then-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge, in a hotel in 1970.Gordon fatally attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Gordon, with a hammer, then a knife on June 3, 1983.
He confessed, claiming a voice inside his head told him to kill her. He was properly diagnosed with schizophrenia following his arrest.
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