sad story of Jim Gordon...

 This is truly one of the saddest stories in Rock and Roll.

On June 3, 1983, Jim Gordon brutally murdered his mother with a hammer and knife in their home. He was already undergoing psychiatric treatment and suffering from, among other things, voices in his head.

Here is why we are talking about Jim. (We are using info from wikipedia here as it is a fairly involved story).

James Beck "Jim" Gordon is /was a recording artist, musician and songwriter. He is a Grammy Award winner and was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues rock supergroup Derek and the Dominos, Little Richard and Delaney & Bonnie. Gordon played drums on George Harrison and John Lennon recordings including Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass and Lennon's 1971 Imagine album.

He was raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and attended Grant High School. He passed up a music scholarship to UCLA in order to begin his professional career in 1963, at age seventeen, backing The Everly Brothers, and went on to become one of the most sought-after recording session drummers in Los Angeles. The protégé of studio drummer Hal Blaine, Gordon performed on many notable recordings in the 1960s, including Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys (1966), Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers by Gene Clark (1967), The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds(1968) and the hit "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams (1968). At the height of his career Gordon was reportedly so busy as a studio musician that he would fly back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas every day to do two or three recording sessions, and then return in time to play the evening show at Caesars Palace.

In 1969 and 1970, Gordon toured as part of the backing band for the group Delaney & Bonnie, which at the time included Eric Clapton. Clapton subsequently took over the group's rhythm section — Gordon, bassist Carl Radle and keyboardist-singer-songwriter Bobby Whitlock. They formed a new band that was later called Derek and the Dominos. The band's first studio work was as the house band for George Harrison's first solo album, the three-disc set All Things Must Pass.

Gordon then played on Derek and the Dominos' 1970 double album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, contributing, in addition to his drumming, the elegiac piano coda for the title track, "Layla." It has been said that Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. In his book, Graham Nash made the same claim for his one-time girlfriend.

Jim is currently serving a 14 year to life sentence for the murder of his mother. Jim was an incredibly talented young man. This is one of those times where you wish somebody had done more for him, but then again, no one really knew what he was going through. Mental health problems are a serious problem and many times it's too late when the seriousness of them fully come to the attention of others.

It is such a shame. During his career, Jim played with a long list of musicians and record producers, including on a few projects you may be familiar with, including:

Duane Allman Anthology (organ, piano, drums)

Renee Armand The Rain Book (producer, co-writer, drums, guitar)

Hoyt Axton My Griffin Is Gone

Joan Baez From Every Stage; Diamonds and Rust; Gulf Wind

The Beach Boys Good Vibrations; Spirit of America; Pet Sounds

Stephen Bishop On and On: Hits of Stephen Bishop

Bread Bread

Teresa Brewer 16 Most Requested Songs

Jackson Browne Jackson Browne (organ); The Pretender

Jack Bruce Out of The Storm (tracks 1,7 &

The Byrds The Notorious Byrd Brothers

Glen Campbell Wichita Lineman

The Carpenters Horizon; A Kind of Hush; Solitaire

Eric Clapton Eric Clapton; Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs; Derek and the Dominos in Concert; Derek and the Dominos: Live at the Fillmore

Gene Clark Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers

Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Judy Collins Who Knows Where the Time Goes

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper Goes to Hell; Lace and Whiskey

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Box Set

Burton Cummings

Delaney & Bonnie On Tour with Eric Clapton and Friends; To Bonnie From Delaney; D&B Together

John Denver

Donovan Life Is a Merry-go-round; Yellow Star; Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth; Lazy Daze

Neil Diamond Beautiful Noise (conga, drums, harmony vocals)

The Everly Brothers Heartaches and Harmonies, Beat and Soul

Art Garfunkel Angel Clare

David Gates First

Lowell George Thanks I'll Eat It Here

Hall & Oates Bigger Than the Both of Us

Merle Haggard Same Train, Different Time

Albert Hammond It Never Rains in Southern California

George Harrison All Things Must Pass; Extra Texture; Living in the Material World

Jim Henson The Muppet Movie

John Lee Hooker Endless Boogie

Jim Horn Through the Eye

Thelma Houston I've Got the Music in Me

Incredible Bongo Band Apache

Dr. John Sun, Moon and Herbs

Carole King

B.B. King In London; The Best of B. B. King

John Lennon Imagine; Sometime in New York City[dubious – discuss]

Gordon Lightfoot Sundown; Gord's Gold; Cold on the Shoulder; Summertime Dream

Manhattan Transfer Pastiche; Anthology: Down in Birdland

Country Joe McDonald Classics

Dave Mason Alone Together

The Monkees Monkees; More of the Monkees; Instant Replay

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur; Waitress in a Donut Shop

Elliott Murphy Elliott Murphy; Lost Generation

Tracy Nelson Time is on My Side

Randy Newman Randy Newman; 12 Songs

Harry Nilsson Nilsson Schmilsson; Aerial Ballet

Van Dyke Parks Discover America

Tom Petty Playback

Emitt Rhodes American Dream

Minnie Riperton Adventures in Paradise

Johnny Rivers Last Boogie in Paris; Blue Suede Shoes; L.A. Reggae

Linda Ronstadt Don't Cry Now

Leon Russell The Shelter People; Will o' the Wisp

Seals and Crofts Humming Bird

John Sebastian Tarzana Kid

Carly Simon No Secrets

Phil Spector Back to Mono (1958–1969)

B. W. Stevenson Pass This Way; Calabasas

Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand

Souther–Hillman–Furay Band

Redeye Redeye

Steely Dan Pretzel Logic

John Stewart Phoenix Concerts

Mel Tormé Mel Tormé Collection

Traffic Welcome to the Canteen; The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

John Travolta Best of John Travolta

John Valenti Anything You Want, 1976

Andy Williams

Judee Sill Heart Food

Tom Waits The Heart of Saturday Night

Mason Williams Classical Gas; Phonograph Record

Frank Zappa Apostrophe; Läther; "Grand Wazoo" (tour) and "Petit Wazoo" (tour); Imaginary Diseases; Wazoo

Phil Keaggy Love Broke Thru

Peter Foldy

Peter Allen "Taught By Experts"