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. 

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. 

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

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.

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