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Dominoes Falling ?

Mannyinnewyork

Mannyinnewyork

Sep 28, 2016
2,214
4,028
Spencertown, New York
#1
Always loved the song Layla. That ending that goes on and on always brings back wonderful memories. I loved the way they used it in the movie Goodfellas as well.
I always thought the outro was better than the song itself.

Just today I was sent this anecdotal piece of info. I was really bummed when I saw this. The outro - the awesome, piano heavy , solid but simple moving bass line and melody appear to be taken from a song written by Rita Coolidge - recorded before Layla and at the time Coolidge was dating the drummer that played on the Layla tracks. Coolidge was not credited at all.

If anyone know that this is misinformation, please let me know. I can't find anything refuting this and when I hear the Coolidge track it is obviously very much like what was done in Layla. Maybe I am missing something - I hope so because I'd hate to think poorly of Clapton or anyone else involved in the making of that great album.





and then this

 
#2
"The coda was credited to drummer Jim Gordon, who played the main piano part while Allman contributed the (slightly off-key) slide guitar. But years later, it was revealed that Gordon had stolen the melody of the “Layla” coda from his ex-girlfriend, singer Rita Coolidge."

Music: The tragedy of the ‘Layla’ coda

Clapton may have had no idea where that part originated.
 
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#3
Lagado said:
"The coda was credited to drummer Jim Gordon, who played the main piano part while Allman contributed the (slightly off-key) slide guitar. But years later, it was revealed that Gordon had stolen the melody of the “Layla” coda from his ex-girlfriend, singer Rita Coolidge."

Music: The tragedy of the ‘Layla’ coda

Clapton may have had no idea where that part originated.
Click to expand...

Got it - thanks for the additional info. Big bummer for Coolidge on several levels.
 
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#5
Lagado said:
"The coda was credited to drummer Jim Gordon, who played the main piano part while Allman contributed the (slightly off-key) slide guitar. But years later, it was revealed that Gordon had stolen the melody of the “Layla” coda from his ex-girlfriend, singer Rita Coolidge."

Music: The tragedy of the ‘Layla’ coda

Clapton may have had no idea where that part originated.
Click to expand...
I don't think Clapton knew, he seems to want people to get proper credit. In tough times Bobby Whitlock sold away his publishing rights to the Layla album, Clapton bought them back and gave them back to Whitlock.
 
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#9
The story of Jim Gordon is truly tragic... It's been chronicled before, but many notable drummers mark Gordon as the player to emulate... solid feel and pocket for days, plus creative... The mental issues were apparent for a while apparently, but nobody realized where they were leading until the tragedy was realized.

Supposedly he's been playing drums in prison. Good info on him here-

Studio and Touring Great Jim Gordon - Modern Drummer Magazine

Invalid Link Removed
 
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#11
Gordon was the Jeff Porcaro or J R Robinson of his day. I grew up on a lot of things he played on, All Things Must Pass, Layla, Dave Mason's Alone with You, Eric's first solo record, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Pet Sounds, and so many more. No doubt he had mental problems, but I'll always be quite certain that the 'recreational cocktails' that were so stupidly prevalent in those days fanned a small ember into the raging mental fire that led to his gruesome conclusion. Lots of people played with fire in those days (I shudder to think how much dope was downed during the Layla sessions), and more than a few got burned. One more needless death from the eternal lie of 'sex, DRUGS, and rock & roll'.
 
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#12
JW56789 said:
Gordon was the Jeff Porcaro or J R Robinson of his day. I grew up on a lot of things he played on, All Things Must Pass, Layla, Dave Mason's Alone with You, Eric's first solo record, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Pet Sounds, and so many more. No doubt he had mental problems, but I'll always be quite certain that the 'recreational cocktails' that were so stupidly prevalent in those days fanned a small ember into the raging mental fire that led to his gruesome conclusion. Lots of people played with fire in those days (I shudder to think how much dope was downed during the Layla sessions), and more than a few got burned. One more needless death from the eternal lie of 'sex, DRUGS, and rock & roll'.
Click to expand...
I worked with Jim in the 80's. He wasn't a heavy hitter; played lighter than most guys. He was friendly and no issues. He played a Camco walnut kit when I worked with him.
 
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#19
12 notes. That's all.

The Infinite Monkey Theorem, which itself seems to have been copied and passed through millennia, roughly claims that given an infinite span of time 100 monkeys with 100 typewriters would "produce" the works of Shakespeare. Point is that there is a very finite pool of notes and we put them in sequence to form melody. My dad used to say that all rock songs were copied patterns from classical (European) music. But the reality is the classical composers, and the composers before them, all copied to the beginning of humanity. Whether Clapton or someone within his sphere heard a Rita Coolidge song "ever" in their life prior to the recording of Layla seems pretty likely. Does that imply that Clapton stole it? That would be decided by wholly unqualified judges and jurors and lawyers. Did Rita Coolidge influence Layla? Maybe, probably.
But the real question is where did Rita Coolidge hear those notes? Because there is not a mathematical possibility that after a millennia of humans creating and sequencing sounds that this was the first time these few notes came together.

If this is about compensation, fine. Go after Clapton. If this is about fairness or "musical legitimacy" you're gonna need to go back at least 40,000 years. Or you could decide that Einstürzende Neubauten is the only original band. Or wait, maybe Blixa Bargeld had influences? Dang, maybe all musicians should just give up.
 
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#20
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