He was a session drummer who played with Eric Clapton‘s band Derek and the Dominos on the 1970 classic “Layla.”

Played with George Harrison.

On Glen Campbell‘s “Gentle on My Mind.”

Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express.”

The Beach Boys‘ album “Pet Sounds.”

Mason Williams’s “Classical Gas.”

Maria Muldaur’s “Midnight at the Oasis.”

Steely Dan’s “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number.”

Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.”

Harry Nilsson.

Traffic.

Seals & Crofts.

Joe Cocker.

Jim Gordon died last week at the age of 77. The cause is believed to be natural causes.

Jerry Lordan, a British singer/guitarist/songwriter, wrote “Apache” for The Shadows, a very popular band in the UK that never made it in America, mostly because they never toured here and never were promoted here. Lordan got the idea for “Apache” after watching the movie of the same name in 1954 starring Burt Lancaster as the Apache warrior Massai.

“I wanted something noble and dramatic, reflecting the courage and savagery of the Indian,” said Lordan.

Gordon’s drum solo on the Incredible Bongo Band’s 1973 version of “Apache” is highly regarded. The instrumental has been called “hip-hop’s national anthem.”

Don’t remember? You may when you hear it.

In 1983 Gordon used a hammer and a knife to murder his 71-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, later claiming that he had heard voices telling him to kill her. He was given a sentence of 16 years to life and never left prison. Gordon died at a medical and psychiatric facility in Vacaville, California.