I never heard this story before, but it appears that Rita Coolidge had a hand in the writing one of the most-played classic rock songs of all time

[www.youtube.com]


The song she references:
[www.youtube.com]


I think she's due a big chunk of royalties...

I always thought that Jim Gordon wrote the second half of the song solely on his own....until now.

Layla


"...Shortly afterward, Clapton returned to the studio, where he heard Jim Gordon playing a piano piece he had composed separately. Clapton, impressed by the piece, convinced Gordon to allow it to be used as part of the song.[14] Though only Gordon has been officially credited with this part, Whitlock claimed, "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the D&B days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.' ... Her sister Priscilla wound up recording it with Booker T. Jones. ... Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off."[22] "Time" ended up on the album Chronicles by Booker T. and Priscilla Jones which was released in 1973. Whitlock's story was echoed by Coolidge herself in her 2016 autobiography. The claim is also substantiated in Graham Nash's 2014 autobiography 'Wild Tales'".



Anyhow, that last part of Layla took on a disturbing vibe whenever I hear it ever since Gordon flipped out (to put it mildly) in the early '80s.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-04-02 04:07 by Hairball.

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Hairball
I always thought that Jim Gordon wrote the second half of the song solely on his own....until now.

Layla


"...Shortly afterward, Clapton returned to the studio, where he heard Jim Gordon playing a piano piece he had composed separately. Clapton, impressed by the piece, convinced Gordon to allow it to be used as part of the song.[14] Though only Gordon has been officially credited with this part, Whitlock claimed, "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the D&B days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.' ... Her sister Priscilla wound up recording it with Booker T. Jones. ... Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off."[22] "Time" ended up on the album Chronicles by Booker T. and Priscilla Jones which was released in 1973. Whitlock's story was echoed by Coolidge herself in her 2016 autobiography. The claim is also substantiated in Graham Nash's 2014 autobiography 'Wild Tales'".



Anyhow, that last part of Layla took on a disturbing vibe whenever I hear it ever since Gordon flipped out (to put it mildly) in the early '80s.

This version is also supported by Kent Hartman's book, The Wrecking Crew.

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loog droog
I never heard this story before, but it appears that Rita Coolidge had a hand in the writing one of the most-played classic rock songs of all time

Interesting! The interview is almost an hour long -- could you give an approximation of where the part you're referencing is?

thanks!
swiss

You wonder what is happening to Jim Gordon's royalties....presumably piling up in some account somewhere.
Jim's story is one of the most tragic in rock. The Dominos were somewhat cursed, it seems.
Maybe some private deal has been arranged with EC's music publishing people.

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swiss

Quote
loog droog
I never heard this story before, but it appears that Rita Coolidge had a hand in the writing one of the most-played classic rock songs of all time

Interesting! The interview is almost an hour long -- could you give an approximation of where the part you're referencing is?

thanks!
swiss

Early on at about 6:10

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jlowe
Jim's story is one of the most tragic in rock.

Not the saddest, but that one always hits me hard. He was SUCH a good drummer. Drummed on so many incredible songs and one of those drummers where you knew it was him cause it was unique and @#$%& powerful. So sad he went nuts.