Y some reckonings, possibly including those of author Joel Selvin, Jim Gordon was rock’s greatest drummer. A list of the songs on which he played could function without complaint as a playlist on oldies radio. Aside from the obviously huge titles, such as “Good Vibrations”, “I Got You Babe”, “River Deep, Mountain High” and a jukebox of Glen Campbell hits, there are early recordings by Neil Young and Tom Waits, The Monkees and The Byrds. sessions, Brian Wilson and Gordon cut up four orange juice bottles and employed them as percussion instruments. All of that is before you get round to mentioning “Layla” by Derek And The Dominos, on which he shared the writing credit with Eric Clapton (while also denying any recognition to his ex-partner, Rita Coolidge, who contributed musically).
