AN iconic drummer, who became known for his association with iconic rockstars and infamous for a murder conviction has died.
Jim Gordon died on Monday following a lifelong battle with mental illness at the age of 77.
Prolific drummer, Jim Gordon has died at age 77Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Gordon, who was the drummer for Eric Clapton in Derek and the Dominos passed from natural causes at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California while serving his sentence.
He is credited as a co-writer for Clapton’s 1970 hit Layla and worked with several other iconic musicians such as George Harrison.
Gordon was one of the main drummers for Harrison’s album All Things Must Pass – his first solo work after the break up of the Beatles.
He appeared in songs by the Beach Boys, Steely Dan, Carly Simon, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Sinatra, and the Byrds among other.
However, this stacked career came to a screeching halt in June 1983 after Gordon brutally bludgeoned and stabbed his 72-year-old mother to death.
Following the murder, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia before he was sentenced to 16 to life for the murder in 1984.
Despite being on parole several times, Gordon was always denied.
