A Grammy The award-winning drummer responsible for writing seminal rock ballad Layla has died in California mental hospital after nearly 40 years in prison for killing his mother during a schizophrenic episode.

Jim Gordon, who was celebrated for performing with some of the biggest names in rock in the ’60s and ’70s, died of natural causes on Monday at a California medical facility in Vacaville, his publicist announced on Tuesday, revealing that the late star was now resting “after a long incarceration and a lifelong battle with mental illness.” He was 77.

A Los Angeles native, Gordon’s story serves as one of the most striking downfalls in all of rock ‘n’ roll.

Once a founding member of Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos and co-lead drummer George HarrisonAll Things Must Pass, his work consists of hundreds of recognizable songs.

In addition to co-writing Clapton’s 1970 classic, his work can be heard on notable albums such as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and singles such as Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain.

Gordon, who once co-founded Eric Clapton’s band, has hundreds of iconic songs – including the Grammy-winning Layla, which he co-wrote. The couple was seen together around 1970

Other famous partners include Steely Dan, Little Richard, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Glenn Campbell, the Everly Brothers and even the Byrds with fellow Los Angeles rocker David Crosby, who also died this year.

What’s more, most will tell you that if there was a list of the best drummers of the 60s and 70s, Gordon would undoubtedly be at the top – with his drum samples still used by rappers like Nas and Jay- Z.

However, a long, poorly managed battle with mental illness would eventually derail his career and lead to the brutal stabbing death of his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, on June 3, 1983.

It was only after his arrest that doctors properly diagnosed the drummer, who became increasingly unstable, as schizophrenic – although lawyers barred him during his subsequent trial. the use of insanity as a defense due to changes in state law at the time.

Tthe Californian court, however, accepted the star suffered from acute schizophrenia, but still sentenced him to 16 years to life in state prison.

At the time, the decision represented a sharp and sudden fall from grace for the rocker, who at the height of his career was so busy that he flew daily from Los Angeles to Vegas to make time for recording sessions. before returning to play at Caesars Palace.

It was later revealed that the star had shown signs of mental illness and increasingly erratic behavior beginning in the late 60s, although doctors repeatedly misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated the rocker for alcohol abuse.

During this time, Gordon began hearing voices – including his mother’s – which he later said at trial made him starve himself and keep him awake, sometimes playing the drums.

In addition to co-writing Clapton’s 1970 classic, his work can be heard on albums such as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and singles such as Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain.

Gordon (second from right) is seen with friends Derek and Dominos members Clayton, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Riddle circa 1970.

Gordon, who was hailed with some of the biggest rock names of the ’70s, is seen here in this undated photo from the California medical facility where he died Monday

Over the next decade, troubling signs of the star’s instability would continue to surface, including his alleged assault on his then-girlfriend, famed singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge, in a hotel in 1970.

The incident ended the couple’s year-long relationship, but was attributed to normal rocker behavior at the time.

Aside from the incident, the drummer did his best to mask his deteriorating psyche as he continued to churn out hits, showing little, if any, signs of his growing instability.

“He was an amazing guy, really so charismatic,” rocker “Buffalo Tom” Bill Yanowitz recently quoted Coolidge in a biography of Leon Russell.

‘[But] after it all happened, I started to recognize that look in his eyes and knew he wasn’t playing a full deck.”

Eventually, in the summer of 1983, Gordon’s internal turmoil came to a head. Gordon fatally attacked his mother Osa in her Los Angeles home with a hammer.

During the attack, Gordon brandished a knife and stabbed his mother to death. After the arrest, he admitted to the police that a voice in his head ordered him to commit the act.

He was immediately brought to trial and convicted, which ended his legendary career.

During his incarceration, which began in 1984, Gordon admitted to becoming “institutionalized” before being transferred to a California mental hospital, now showing a genuine desire to be released.

Between 1991 and 2018, he was put up for parole several times, all of which were denied.

In 2014, on the eve of his ninth parole hearing, he refused to appear, and a Los Angeles deputy district attorney said he was still “severely psychologically incapacitated” and “dangerous if not on medication.”

In November 2017, Gordon was re-diagnosed with schizophrenia and continued treatment.

Gordon’s publicist confirmed on Tuesday that he died in custody at a California medical facility where he had been held for years after being convicted of murder in 1984.

His last parole hearing took place in March 2018, during which officials denied the musician for the tenth and final time. He was originally scheduled to be eligible for parole again in March 2021, but the hearing never took place.

His publicist confirmed Tuesday that he died while incarcerated at a California medical facility.

In 1991, around the time of the drummer’s first parole hearing, Clapton told Rolling Stone of his friend’s mental struggles at the height of their success and thought he was simply on drugs.

“I had no idea he had a psychotic history of visions and hearing voices from an early age,” Clapton, now 77, told Rolling Stone.

“It was never obvious when we worked together. It just seemed like a bad mood, the worst kind of bad mood. I would never say he was crazy. For me, it was just drugs.”

Gordon left no family. Clapton has not yet commented on his death.