Eric Clapton drummer Jim Gordon, who was convicted of murdering his mother, dead at 77

Jim Gordon, a drummer for Eric Clapton, the Beach Boys, George Harrison and others who was convicted of killing his mother, died this week at 77. 

Gordon died of natural causes “after a long incarceration and lifelong battle with mental illness” at a Vacaville, California, medical center Monday, publicist Bob Merlis confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Gordon appeared on the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” album, Carly’s Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and was credited with co-writing Derek & The Dominos’ song “Layla” with Eric Clapton.

Gordon was also a member of Clapton’s short-lived band Derek and the Dominos, Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and the elite Wrecking Crew, which included a loose grouping of studio musicians who worked on recordings in the 1960s and ‘70s. 

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Jim Gordon, a musician who worked with Eric Clapton and Carly Simon and was a convicted killer, died at 77 Monday.  (Brian Cooke/Redferns)

In 1983, Gordon was convicted of murdering his mother and was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and was denied parole several times. 

A law in California at the time prevented Gordon from pleading insanity. 

Jim Gordon was part of Eric Clapton’s Derek and the Dominos.  (Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)

Gordon began his career in 1963 when he started to work for the Everly Brothers the day after he graduated from high school, Merlis said in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. 

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The Derek and the Dominos musician spent the rest of his life in prison after killing his mother in 1983 (Jim McCrary/Redferns)

Among his thousands of recording sessions, Gordon contributed to No. 1 hits by Harry Nilsson, Steely Dan, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot and others. 

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“He leaves behind one of the most extraordinary bodies of recorded work by any drummer of his generation,” Merlis added. 

According to Variety, Gordon is survived by his daughter.