This Man Has Rocked Your World

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame began inducting extraordinary sidemen in 2000. Session drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, Motown bassist James Jamerson and Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore were among the inaugural class. Based on his astounding track record, drummer Jim Gordon should be on any voter's short list for the honor. He played with the Byrds, the Everly Brothers and three-fourths of the Beatles and was a member of Traffic and Derek and the Dominos. He's one of the most sampled musicians of all time. He was even the original recording artist behind Animal, the Muppets' super-furry drummer. But murdering your mama is a surefire way to find yourself in a different kind of institution. Born in Los Angeles in 1945, James Beck Gordon was a natural talent. By the age of 17, he was already accompanying the Everly Brothers. Blaine, the legendary session man, soon began offering his young protégé gigs he couldn't make. By the end of the '60s, Gordon had played on albums by the Byrds and the Beach Boys and on Mason Williams' blockbuster instrumental, 'Classical Gas.' But it was a chance opportunity to fill in for another standout drummer, Jim Keltner, that led to Gordon's true breakthrough. The blue-eyed-soul husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie hired Gordon; when their band joined forces with Eric Clapton, the short-lived supergroup Derek and the Dominos was born. Gordon set himself up for a lifetime of BMI checks when he contributed the gorgeous piano coda to the band's signature song, 'Layla.' Through Clapton, Gordon played on George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' triple album, which in turn led to work with John Lennon (including the 'Imagine' LP) and Ringo Starr. At the same time, the drummer was bouncing wildly around the L.A. studio scene, from sessions with pop acts like Bread and the Carpenters to somewhat less commercial ventures such as Frank Zappa's. His work on the Incredible Bongo Band's 1973 album 'Bongo Rock' featured a percussion-heavy version of the song 'Apache,' which became a hip-hop staple adopted by pioneering DJs like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash. But the relentless pounding was evidently taking its toll. By the late 1970s, Gordon was becoming less and less reliable, struggling with mental illness. "The voices were chasing me around," he once recalled. "Making me drive to different places. Starving me. I was only allowed one bite of food a meal. And if I disobeyed, the voices would fill me with a rage, like the Hulk gets." According to some accounts, he checked himself in and out of psychiatric hospitals as many as 14 times, complaining of oppressive voices in his head. One day in 1983, he snapped, murdering his own mother with a hammer and a butcher's knife. Institutionalized ever since, Jim Gordon reportedly hasn't touched a drum kit in years. here During his career, Gordon played with a long list of top musicians and record producers, 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 Saturate Before Using (organ); The Pretender Jack Bruce Out of The Storm (tracks 1,7 & 8) The Byrds The Notorious Byrd Brothers Glen Campbell Wichita Lineman The Carpenters Horizon; A Kind of Hush 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) Everly Brothers Heartaches and Harmonies 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 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 Gordon Lightfoot Sundown; Gord's Gold; Cold on the Shoulder 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 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 Linda Ronstadt Don't Cry Now Leon Russell The Shelter People; Will o' the Wisp Seals & 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