Jim Gordon, drummer on Eric Clapton hits who was convicted of killing mother, dead at 77

Jim Gordon, who drummed with Eric Clapton and is credited with co-writing the mega-hit “Layla” years before he was convicted of killing his own mother, died Monday at age 77.

The musician died of natural causes at California Medical Facility, a state prison hospital in Vacaville, Calif., according to Variety.

Born in Los Angeles, Gordon established himself as a prominent session drummer during the 1960s and ‘70s, performing on albums such as the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and the Byrds’ “The Notorious Byrd Brothers.”

He toured with Clapton in a band behind the singing duo Delaney & Bonnie, then teamed up with Clapton as the drummer in the 1970s blues group Derek and the Dominos.

The band’s lone studio album, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,” came out in 1970 and proved to be a lasting hit, introducing songs such as “Layla” and “Bell Bottom Blues,” as well as Clapton’s cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.”

“Layla,” which Rolling Stone magazine listed as its 27th greatest song of all-time on a 2004 ranking, is the only track on the album on which Gordon received a writing credit. However, singer Rita Coolidge, who dated Gordon, later claimed she wrote the song’s piano coda.

“I wrote the bridge and all of the melody,” Coolidge told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2016. “He (Gordon) was not much of a songwriter. ... And he wasn’t a great piano player.”

Gordon was accused of assaulting Coolidge in 1970. He was later convicted of beating and stabbing his mother to death in a 1983 attack he allegedly carried out because voices in his head told him to. In 1984, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“I really don’t feel that crazy,” Gordon told Rolling Stone shortly after his incarceration. “I get along with people. I think I’m pretty normal.”

He was sentenced to serve 16 years to life in prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder and was never released before he died.

Gordon also worked with Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, Steely Dan, Tom Petty and Alice Cooper during his music career.