Was unaware of the breadth of his contribution – the disco beat ?
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/22/jim-gordon-drummer-book?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Jim Gordon – what a tragedy in every way possible
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I read that. I have a note to self to do a JG playlist.
Here is a quite good Spotify one (just have to skip the innumerable Joan Baez tracks that someone has tacked onto it). I knew he was prolific and held in awe, but had no idea how much he actually played on.
I was thinking of compiling one too. This one isnt bad Pods but a few odd obsessions. Joan Baez and i thought the band The City was formed by a Men At Work drummer.
I remember listing Family Man Barrett’s reggae credits.
Check this out from All Music Guide.
1965
Beat & Soul
The Everly Brothers Additional Personnel, Drums
1966
The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood Drums
1966
The Monkees
The Monkees Additional Personnel, Drums, Percussion
1966
River Deep-Mountain High
Ike & Tina Turner Drums
1966
Right Now!
Mel Tormé Drums
1966
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys Drums, Percussion
1966
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield Drums
1966
Boots
Nancy Sinatra Drums
1967
The Honeysuckle Breeze
Tom Scott / Tom Scott & the California Dreamers Drums
1967
Sugar
Nancy Sinatra Drums
1967
Revolution!
Paul Revere & the Raiders Drums
1967
More of the Monkees
The Monkees Additional Personnel, Drums, Percussion
1967
Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure
Lee Hazlewood Drums
1967
Gentle on My Mind
Glen Campbell Drums
1967
Evergreen, Vol. 2
Stone Poneys Drums
1967
By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Glen Campbell Drums
1967
Buffalo Springfield Again
Buffalo Springfield Drums
1968
Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Judy Collins Drums, Percussion
1968
Wheatstraw Suite
The Dillards Drums
1968
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Byrds Additional Personnel, Drums
1968
The Mason Williams Phonograph Record
Mason Williams Drums
1968
The Holy Mackerel
The Holy Mackerel Drums
1968
The Great Electric Experiment Is Over
Noel Harrison Drums
1968
The Ark
Chad & Jeremy Drums
1968
Tanyet
Ceyleib People Drums
1968
Song Cycle
Van Dyke Parks Percussion
1968
Something Special
Lee Hazlewood Drums
1968
Searching for the Dolphins
Al Wilson Drums, Percussion
1968
Roots
The Everly Brothers Guest Artist
1968
Now That Everything’s Been Said
The City Drums
1968
Nancy & Lee
Lee Hazlewood / Nancy Sinatra / Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood Drums
1968
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Cass Elliot / Mama Cass Drums
1968
Colours
Claudine Longet Drums
1968
Aerial Ballet
Harry Nilsson Drums
1969
Welcome to My Head
Zoot Money Drums
1969
The Album
Anders & Poncia Drums
1969
Same Train, a Different Time
Merle Haggard Drums
1969
Oh! Calcutta!
Ron Anthony Drums
1969
My Griffin Is Gone
Hoyt Axton Drums
1969
Mark Spoelstra
Mark Spoelstra Drums
1969
Longbranch/Pennywhistle
Longbranch/Pennywhistle Drums
1969
Joyride
Friendsound Drums
1969
Instant Replay
The Monkees Drums
1969
I’m Back and I’m Proud
Gene Vincent Drums, Musician
1969
Extensions
Mystic Moods Orchestra Drums
1969
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash Drums
1969
Corn Pickin’ and Slick Slidin’
James Burton / Ralph Mooney Main Personnel, Drums
1969
Closing the Gap
Michael Parks Drums
1969
Close
T.S. Bonniwell Drums
1969
Bread
Bread Drums
1970
Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band Drums
1970
On Tour with Eric Clapton
Delaney & Bonnie Additional Personnel, Drums
1970
Mad Dogs & Englishmen
Joe Cocker Main Personnel, Drums
1970
Leon Russell
Leon Russell Guest Artist, Drums
1970
Lena & Gabor
Lena Horne / Gabor Szabo Drums
1970
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek and the Dominos Member of Attributed Artist, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Group Member, Bass, Composer, Drum, Drums (Bass)
1970
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton Drums
1970
Black, Brown and Beautiful
Oliver Nelson Drums
1970
Alone Together
Dave Mason Guest Artist, Drums
1970
All Things Must Pass
George Harrison Main Personnel, Drums, Percussion, Composer
1970
12 Songs
Randy Newman Drums
1971
Welcome to the Canteen
Traffic Member of Attributed Artist, Drums
1971
The Sun, Moon & Herbs
Dr. John Congas, Percussion
1971
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Traffic Member of Attributed Artist, Drums, Composer
1971
The American Dream
Emitt Rhodes Drums, Musician
1971
Shotgun Ltd.
Shotgun Ltd Producer, Autoharp, Sax (Tenor), Piano, Moog Synthesizer
1971
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson Main Personnel, Drums, Percussion
1971
Leon Russell and the Shelter People
Leon Russell Guest Artist, Drums
1971
John Simon’s Album
John Simon Drums
1971
In London
B.B. King Drums
1971
Imagine
John Lennon Main Personnel, Drums, Tambourine, Voices
1971
Footprint
Gary Wright Drums
1971
Fly
Yoko Ono Drums, Tabla
1971
Fables
England Dan & John Ford Coley Drums
1971
Endless Boogie
John Lee Hooker Drums
1971
California Earthquake
California Earthquake Drums
1971
Barbra Joan Streisand
Barbra Streisand Drums
1972
Through the Eyes of a Horn
Jim Horn Drums
1972
The History of Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton Drums, Composer
1972
Texas Cannonball
Freddie King Drums
1972
Summer Breeze
Seals & Crofts Additional Personnel, Drums
1972
Stories We Could Tell
The Everly Brothers Drums
1972
Rock Me Baby
David Cassidy Drums
1972
Play the Blues
Buddy Guy / Junior Wells Drums
1972
Oh How We Danced
Jim Capaldi Drums
1972
No Secrets
Carly Simon Drums
1972
Louisiana
Mike Kennedy Drums
1972
Lead Free
B.W. Stevenson Drums
1972
L.A. Reggae
Johnny Rivers Drums
1972
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne Main Personnel, Organ
1972
Hurtwood Edge
Tim Weisberg Drums, Percussion
1972
Eric Clapton at His Best
Eric Clapton Composer
1972
Discover America
Van Dyke Parks Drums
1972
D & B Together
Delaney & Bonnie Vocals, Musician
1972
Bobby Keys
Bobby Keys Producer, Drums, Composer
1972
Barbara Keith [1972]
Barbara Keith Drums
1972
Bags and Things
Dennis Lambert Drums, Percussion
1972
An Anthology
Duane Allman Piano, Organ, Drums, Composer
1972
A Song or Two
Cashman & West Drums
1972
22 Explosive Hits, Vol. 2
Composer
1973
Vagabonds Roost
Sherman Hayes Drums
1973
Under the Skunk
Laurie Kaye Cohen Drums
1973
Tufano and Giammarese
Tufano & Giammarese Band Drums
1973
Triumvirate
Michael Bloomfield / Dr. John / John Hammond, Jr. Sax (Baritone), Horn
1973
The Free Electric Band
Albert Hammond Drums
1973
The Best of B.B. King [1973 MCA]
B.B. King Drums
1973
Shaun Harris
Shaun Harris Drums
1973
Seeds
Barry McGuire Drums
1973
Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn Main Personnel, Drums
1973
Playing/Singing
Larry Carlton Drums
1973
Pass It On
Bill & Taffy Drums
1973
My Maria
B.W. Stevenson Drums
1973
Moondog Serenade
Cashman, Pistilli & West Drums
1973
Mobius Strip
Delaney Bramlett Sax (Baritone)
1973
Living in the Material World
George Harrison Main Personnel, Drums
1973
Letters to My Head
Mike Deasy / Mike Deasy Sr. Drums
1973
Let It Ride
Chi Coltrane Drums
1973
It’s Like You Never Left
Dave Mason Drums
1973
It Never Rains in Southern California
Albert Hammond Drums
1973
In Concert
Derek and the Dominos Drums, Percussion
1973
Heart Food
Judee Sill Main Personnel, Drums
1973
First
David Gates Main Personnel, Drums
1973
Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert
Eric Clapton Composer
1973
Ducks
Ducks Drums
1973
Diamond Girl
Seals & Crofts Drums
1973
David Wagner D/B/A Crow
David Wagner Drums
1973
Dana Cooper
Dana Cooper Drums
1973
Brother
Derrek Van Eaton / Lon Van Eaton / Lon & Derrek Van Eaton Drums
1973
Blue Suede Shoes
Johnny Rivers Drums
1973
Blue Sky
Barry Greenfield Drums
1973
Angel Clare
Art Garfunkel Drums
1974
Who Is This Bitch, Anyway?
Marlena Shaw Drums
1974
Waitress in a Donut Shop
Maria Muldaur Guest Artist, Drums
1974
Very Rare
T-Bone Walker Drums
1974
Today’s Super Greats
Composer
1974
The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band
Souther-Hillman-Furay Band Drums, Percussion
1974
The Phoenix Concerts Live
John Stewart Drums
1974
The Heart of Saturday Night
Tom Waits Drums, Foot Stamps, Knee Slaps
1974
Sundown
Gordon Lightfoot Drums, Percussion
1974
Son of Dracula
Harry Nilsson Drums, Percussion
1974
Saving Grace
Jerry Riopelle Drums
1974
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan Additional Personnel, Drums
1974
Pratt-McClain
Pratt & McClain Drums
1974
Out of the Storm
Jack Bruce Guest Artist, Drums
1974
Michael Edward Campbell
Michael Edward Campbell Drums
1974
London Underground
Herbie Mann Composer
1974
Last Boogie in Paris
Johnny Rivers / Johnny Rivers & His L.A. Boogie Band Member of Attributed Artist, Drums
1974
Inside Thunder Outside Laughing
Jim Sullins Drums
1974
Hotcakes
Carly Simon Drums
1974
First Grade
Thomas Jefferson Kaye Drums
1974
Dreamspeaker
Tim Weisberg Drums, Percussion
1974
Digby Richards
Digby Richards Drums
1974
Calabasas
B.W. Stevenson Drums
1974
Back Home Again
John Denver Main Personnel, Drums, Percussion
1974
Apostrophe (‘)
Frank Zappa Main Personnel, Drums, Composer
1974
461 Ocean Boulevard
Eric Clapton Composer
1974
1974 A.D.
Ted Neeley Drums, Percussion
1975
Who Do You out Do
Lon & Derrek Van Eaton Drums
1975
Valdy
Valdy Drums
1975
The Higher They Climb, The Harder They Fall
David Cassidy Drums
1975
The Best of Carly Simon
Carly Simon Drums
1975
Taking It All in Stride
Tom Snow Drums
1975
Spirit of America
The Beach Boys Percussion
1975
Skull Session
Oliver Nelson Drums
1975
Silver Morning
Kenny Rankin Drums
1975
Sammy Johns
Sammy Johns Drums, Percussion
1975
Rocket Man (A Tribute to Elton John)
Hugo Montenegro Drums
1975
Railhead Overture
Mike Post Drums
1975
Playing Possum
Carly Simon Drums
1975
Paxton Brothers
Paxton Brothers Drums
1975
New Lovers and Old Friends
Johnny Rivers Drums
1975
Lost Generation
Elliott Murphy Drums, Percussion
1975
Living Together
Fire & Rain Drums
1975
Larger Than Life
Freddie King Guest Artist
1975
Isn’t It Always Love
Karen Alexander Wind
1975
I’ve Got the Music in Me
Thelma Houston Drums
1975
I’m Jessi Colter
Jessi Colter Horn
1975
Horizon
Carpenters Drums
1975
Help Me Rhonda
Johnny Rivers Drums, Percussion
1975
Hello It’s Me
Lani Hall Drums
1975
Greatest Hits
Seals & Crofts Drums
1975
Gord’s Gold
Gordon Lightfoot Drums
1975
From the Heartland
Becky Hobbs Sax (Baritone)
1975
Extra Texture
George Harrison Drums
1975
Elua
Cecilio & Kapono Drums
1975
Diamonds & Rust
Joan Baez Drum, Drums, Percussion
1975
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Daryl Hall & John Oates Drums
1975
Cold on the Shoulder
Gordon Lightfoot Drums, Percussion
1975
Adventures in Paradise
Minnie Riperton Guest Artist, Drums, Percussion
1975
A Star Is Bought
Albert Brooks Musician
1976
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Gordon Lightfoot Drums
1976
Wild Night
Johnny Rivers Drums
1976
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty / Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Drums
1976
To the Heart
Mark-Almond Drums
1976
Time Is on My Side
Tracy Nelson Drums
1976
There’s Music in the Air
Letta Mbulu Drums
1976
The Pretender
Jackson Browne Guest Artist, Organ, Drums
1976
Summertime Dream
Gordon Lightfoot Drums
1976
Sudan Village
Seals & Crofts Drums
1976
Southwest
Herb Pedersen Drums
1976
Slippin’ Away
Chris Hillman Drums
1976
Silverado
Silverado Drums
1976
Sammy Walker
Sammy Walker Drums
1976
Right There
Lamont Dozier Drums
1976
Ragin’ Cajun
Doug Kershaw Main Personnel, Drums
1976
Photograph
Melanie Drums
1976
Michel Polnareff
Michel Polnareff Drums
1976
Love Is a Fire
Country Joe & Energy Crisis Drums
1976
Joey Stec
Joey Stec Drums
1976
Jessi
Jessi Colter Horn
1976
I Hear Music
England Dan & John Ford Coley Drums
1976
Home Is Where the Heart Is
David Cassidy Drums
1976
Gulf Winds
Joan Baez Drums
1976
From Every Stage
Joan Baez Drums
1976
Cry Tough
Nils Lofgren Drums
1976
Coming Out
The Manhattan Transfer Drums
1976
Careless
Stephen Bishop Drums
1976
Bigger Than Both of Us
Daryl Hall & John Oates Main Personnel, Drums, Musician
1976
Beautiful Noise
Neil Diamond Drums, Congas, Vocal Harmony
1976
Angelo
Angelo Drums
1976
Alice Cooper Goes to Hell
Alice Cooper Drums, Performer
1976
A Kind of Hush
Carpenters Drums
1977
True Story
Jelly Drums
1977
The Sound of Bread
Bread Drums
1977
Terence Boylan
Terence Boylan Drums
1977
Swept Away
Steve Hunter Drums
1977
Slowhand
Eric Clapton Composer
1977
Road to Tomorrow
Chi Coltrane Drums
1977
Reelin’ in the Years, Vol. 5
Drums, Composer
1977
Pastiche
The Manhattan Transfer Drums
1977
Paris by Night
Patrick Juvet Drums
1977
Mirriam
Jessi Colter Horn
1977
Love Broke Thru
Phil Keaggy Drums
1977
Lace & Whiskey
Alice Cooper Drums
1977
Joe Cocker’s Greatest Hits
Joe Cocker Drums
1977
Islands
The Band Horn
1977
El Mirage
Jimmy Webb Drums
1978
This Night Won’t Last Forever
Bill LaBounty Drums
1978
Statue Makers of Hollywood
Alpha Band Sax (Baritone)
1978
Outside Help
Johnny Rivers Drums
1978
James Griffin
James Griffin Drums
1978
In Your Eyes
Mary MacGregor Drums
1978
Got No Breeding
Jules and the Polar Bears Sax (Baritone), Horn, Drums
1978
Goodbye Girl
David Gates Drums
1978
Frozen in the Night
Dan Hill Drums
1978
Dream of a Child
Burton Cummings Drums
1978
…Too
Carole Bayer Sager Drums
1979
The Muppet Movie [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Kenny Ascher / The Muppets / Paul Williams Drums
1979
The Global Blues
Danny O’Keefe Drums
1979
Thanks I’ll Eat It Here
Lowell George Drums
1979
St. Vincent’s Court
Kim Carnes Organ
1979
Shot Through the Heart
Jennifer Warnes Drums
1979
One Voice
Barry Manilow Main Personnel, Drums
1979
Make Your Move
Captain & Tennille Drums
1979
Hearts Under Fire
Dann Rogers Horn
1979
Greatest Hits
Steely Dan Drums
1979
Come to L.A.
Chilly Composer
1980
Suzy
Terence Boylan Drums
1980
Replay
Crosby, Stills & Nash Drums
1980
Jose Feliciano [1980]
José Feliciano Drums
1980
In Concert
John Stewart Drums
1980
Flash Harry
Harry Nilsson Musician
1980
Beauséjour
Michel Berger Drums
1981
Stop & Smell the Roses
Ringo Starr Sax (Baritone)
1982
Slacker!
Interesting that he played on loads of albums by bands which already had drummers.
Yes , a few pissed off drummers over the journey.
That’s a list. He doesn’t play on Plastic Ono Band though, that’s Ringo
tl/dr
Interesting that Afterworders don’t seem to read music magazines anymore. The Jim Gordon book was widely reported months ago, and MOJO printed a very impressive expert that chronicled the roots and development of Gordon’s illness and obsessions. And it was accompanied by a great sidebar that listed his great contributions to a couple of key albums.
And was (I think) the subject of a recent Word In Your Ear podcast.
It’s a fair cop – for me, certainly. I’ve gone from buying two or three regularly each month to buying none regularly, with the occasional ad hoc purchase being based on what I can see on the cover. It means that I risk missing the odd good article if it’s not prominently flagged.
Two reasons: I’m trying to be more careful about what I do with my cash these days; and, when I do buy one, I’m often mildly disappointed by the cost to content ratio – which discourages further purchases.
I get subs for xmas & birthday to Uncut and Mojo but they live in the smallest room. I get a much higher “I must buy that” ratio from the Andy Kershaw podcast ($5 per month).
@fatima-Xberg
Which albums did they focus on?
Here’s MOJO’s 10 Jim Gordon recommendations:
THE EVERLY BROTHERS • »Love Is Strange« (1965)
(…especially the clack-clack-clack of Gordon’s trademark woodblock punching time…)
THE BEACH BOYS • »God Only Knows« (from LP Pet Sounds, 1966)
(…he’s on percussion: four plastic orange juice bottles, cut with a razor blade to tune to different notes…)
MASON WILLIAMS • »Classical Gas« (1968)
(…when the brass comes in, Jim doubles in volume…)
LEON RUSSELL • »Pisces Apple Lady« (from LP Leon Russel, 1970)
(…New Orleans style syncopation and punctuation. Sometimes being a drummer means just smashing the shit out of your cymbals…)
DEREK & THE DOMINOS • »Layla« (from LP Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, 1970)
(…Gordon’s drums are the canvas on which Clapton and Allman paint their duelling guitars…)
DELANEY & BONNIE • »Only You Know And I Know« (from LP Country Life, 1972)
(…dig that locomotive snare shuffle…)
JOHN LENNON • »Power To The People« (1971)
(…his flammy beats add exhortative drive, like Ringo on steroids…)
NILSSON • »Jump Into The Fire« (from LP Nilsson-Schmilsson, 1971)
(…rollicking cocaine-beat… epitomised by his unhinged, near-three-minute tom assault from 3:58…)
THE INCREDIBLE BONGO BAND • »Apache« (1973)
(…Gordon’s terse, funky beats can claim to be one of the most repeated in pop history…)
HUES CORPORATION • »Rock The Boat« (1973)
(…dig those tom offbeats…)
Thanks for that.
Very few stocked at newsagents and far too much repetition of the same old bands for me to pay for a subscription plus postage to Oz.
If I had seen that feature I’d have grabbed it.
Can’t remember the last time I picked up a copy of Mojo or Uncut, never mind actually bought one.
While each might run an interesting feature every once in a blue moon, they’ve raked over music so thoroughly and so often there’s not really much left for them to unearth
Readly is good for that, they have quite a few different music mags (Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock, Record Collector, Shindig, Rolling Stone, classic Pop, even one called Prog) so it doesn’t matter if there isn’t much to interest you in any given month.
I was going to say that. Don’t know why everybody doesn’t have a Readly sub, it’s probably cheaper than buying Mojo and Uncut every month. Every month I sit down with both of them, fire up the Sonos and go through the reviews.
I’ve very tempted to subscribe. The music coverage is excellent. Sadly no FT or Economist – I know I’m a bit weird but I think they are a) very good and b) very expensive. I might make it a retirement present to myself.
I too looked for the Economist. Pretty thin on politics too. But the classic music mags are there so I am giving it a trial.
Also tempted, but I do prefer print for magazines and I spend way too much time on my phone as it is.
Well switch to a tablet @Dai
Don’t have a decent one. Gave up on them a while ago. Trying Pressreader again, found it a bit clunky before though
I wouldn’t dream of trying to read Mojo on my phone, much less New Scientist.
Gave up on Mojo when they stopped printing it on vellum. Fkin fashion victims
Even better if your library offers “Press Reader”. There’s no additional cost (as it’s part of your council tax) you can read offline, and it has the day’s newspapers too.
I’ve used apps like Press Reader or Borrow Box. The latter is funded via my local library, the former flourished for a while with airlines after they removed physical papers from flights and lounges. The Guardian has remained available to both but I’ve never seen a paywalled title like the Times or Telegraph, or one I would actually read like the FT, available. I don’t think they are on Readily either (as far as I know).
The range available via the library has been hobbled by funding cuts – I noticed the Radio Times had gone a few weeks back. There’s a reasonable selection of E books, but there’s a wait of up to a year for anything popular, so if you’re trying to read an author’s books in order it’s virtually impossible.
Ours does and I did get it working though it wasn’t a very satisfying experience. I vaguely remember not being able to get it to work last time I looked but I ought to give it a go.
I have given up regular purchasing as the cover was invariably some 60s classic act retrospective with “Sgt. Pepper – the true story” or similar and I’m just not interested, even in bands I really like. I’ve read everything I want to about them and have numerous books if I need a top up. Fatima is right though, the news and reviews are always interesting.
Update!
The library option is really good now. Magazines are via the Libby app and newspapers via Pressreader. Both seem to work really nicely, especially on the tablet, so Uncut, Mojo and the Graun are now freemans! Excellent.
There’s a Spotify playlist by the author of the upcoming biography (Drums & Demons, Joel Selvin).
Always thought he was the mutts nuts as a drummer. Underwhelmed by an author that decides all of Gordon’s evil deeds are down to his (the author’s) diagnosis of Gordon’s mental health rather than someone professionally trained to do so.
For those, like me, who missed this.
Thanks just listened. Sad story.
The first bit was uplifting though. Like the stick mark on his snare drum being about the size of a quarter such was his precision. Or how with Tom Petty’s band in the studio they decided they wanted to double up a drum piece so there and then he repeated it exactly. They were all staggered.