I couldn't find a thread in the Drummers forum dedicated to Jim, other than an old one from a couple years ago that never got a reply.
There was a thread larryace started last year about Jim's mental illness and the tragic circumstances that followed.
But what I came here to talk about is how f***ng good this guy was. I've been digging up some of the classics he played on (and there are a ton) and, man, he was just a spectacular, ahead-of-his-time musician.
The guy played on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. He played on Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown. He played on Derek and The Dominoes' Layla and he co-wrote the piano coda that the song ends with. He played on Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman. He played on Carly Simon's You're So Vain. And Steely Dan's Ricki Don't Lose That Number. Traffic's Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys. Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson album. Alice Cooper's Alice Cooper Goes To Hell. He did Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs And Englishmen tour. He played on Zappa's Apostrophe. He played on George Harrison's first solo album.
I'm just scratching the surface here.
His touch, his time, his DRUM SOUND... just incredible. So comfortable in so many styles of music, just playing for the song. The tag "studio drummer" often carries with it the connotation of someone who's too polished or refined. Not Jim Gordon! He had so much soul.
Not enough discussion about this guy's musical contributions.