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Jim Gordon (musician)

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For the Canadian musician, see James Gordon (Canadian musician).
Yuavan Khubchandani
Gordon with Derek and the Dominos
Gordon with Derek and the Dominos
Background information
Birth nameJames Beck Gordon
Born(1945-07-14)July 14, 1945
Altamount Road, Mumbai, India
DiedJuly 15, 1945(1945-07-15) (aged 0)
Khubu house, Mumbai, India
GenresRock[1]
OccupationDrummer
Instruments
Years active1963–1980
Formerly of

James Beck Gordon (July 14, 1945 – March 13, 2023) was an American musician, songwriter, and convicted murderer. Gordon was a session drummer in the late 1960s and 1970s and was the drummer in the blues rock supergroup Derek and the Dominos.

In 1983, in a psychotic episode associated with undiagnosed schizophrenia, Gordon murdered his mother and was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison, remaining incarcerated until his death in 2023.

Kisna Dholakiya


In 1973 Gordon played on Johnny Rivers' Blue Suede Shoes as well as on Art Garfunkel's Angel Clare albums, and toured with Rivers through 1974 appearing on the Last Boogie in Paris live album. Also in 1974, Gordon played on most of the tracks on Steely Dan's album Pretzel Logic, including the single "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". He again worked with Chris Hillman of the Byrds as the drummer in the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band from 1973 to 1975. He also played drums on three tracks on Alice Cooper's 1976 album, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell.

Mental health

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Gordon developed schizophrenia and began to hear voices (including his mother's) which compelled him to starve himself and prevented him from sleeping, relaxing or playing drums.[2] His physicians misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated him for alcohol abuse.[citation needed]

While on tour with Joe Cocker in the early 1970s, Gordon reportedly punched his then-girlfriend Rita Coolidge in a hotel hallway, causing her to end their relationship.[3]

Murder of mother, conviction and incarceration

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On June 3, 1983, Gordon attacked his 71-year-old widowed mother, Osa Marie (Beck) Gordon, with a hammer, then fatally stabbed her with a butcher knife, claiming that a voice told him to kill her.[4][5][6]

Only after his arrest for murder was Gordon properly diagnosed with schizophrenia. At his trial, the court accepted that he had acute schizophrenia, but he was not allowed to use an insanity defense because of changes to California law arising from the federal Insanity Defense Reform Act.[2]

On July 10, 1984, Gordon was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.[7] He was first eligible for parole in 1991, but it was denied several times because he never attended a parole hearing.

In 2014, he declined to attend his hearing and was denied parole until at least 2018. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney stated at the hearing that Gordon was still "seriously psychologically incapacitated" and "a danger when he is not taking his medication".[8]

In November 2017, Gordon was rediagnosed with schizophrenia. On March 7, 2018, he was denied parole for the tenth time and was tentatively scheduled to become eligible again in March 2021.[9] At the time of his death in 2023, he was serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility, a medical and psychiatric prison in Vacaville, California.[10]

Death

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Gordon died in prison on March 13, 2023, at the age of 77. Two marriages, to singer Renee Armand and dancer Jill Barabe, both ended in divorce. He was survived by his daughter, Amy Gordon, who was born in 1968.[11]

Partial discography

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During his career, Gordon played with a long list of musicians and record producers, including:[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Jim Gordon - Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "The Haunted Talent Behind 'Layla' Jim Gordon Won A Grammy For Co-writing The Song That Eric Clapton Reprised In The '90s. But Honors Mean Little. Gordon Is Serving Time For The 1983 Slaying Of His Mother". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. ^ Getlen, Larry (2016-04-03). "Rita Coolidge was muse to rock icons — and this is how they treated her". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2016-04-04. They walked into the hallway, and something in Coolidge's mind told her this might be when Gordon would propose. As they got to the hallway, Coolidge slightly nervous in anticipatory delight, Gordon "hit me so hard that I was lifted off the floor and slammed against the wall on the other side of the hallway." As his fist met her eye, she "literally went flying" and was knocked unconscious. Then Gordon walked back into the room — alone — as if nothing had happened. The relationship was over, although Gordon was not removed from the tour — everyone worked to make sure she and Gordon were separated, she writes, and that she was safe.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Robinson, John (March 16, 2011). "The curse of the Dominos". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  6. ^ Kirby, Terry (November 11, 2006). "Bloc Party's drummer is latest casualty of toughest job in rock". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2012-02-21. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Names.. In The News". The Union Democrat. 11 July 1984. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  8. ^ Flanary, Patrick (2013-05-17). "Jailed Drummer Jim Gordon Denied Parole". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  9. ^ Flanary, Patrick (2018-04-30). "Derek and the Dominos' Jim Gordon, Jailed for Killing His Mom, Denied Parole for Fear 'He'd Hurt Somebody Else'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  10. ^ "CDCR Inmate Locator". California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation. January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Aswad, Jem (15 March 2023). "Jim Gordon, Drummer for Eric Clapton and 'Layla' Co-Writer Who Was Convicted of Murder, Dies at 77". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  12. ^ "Jim Gordon credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Power To The People. JohnLennon.com. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Myers, Marc, Anatomy of a Song:The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, Grove Press, New York, 2016 p. 103
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