Jim Gordon, one of the most sought after drummers for sessions and touring, died in prison today. Jim started his career in Los Angeles where, as a member of a session group known as the Wrecking Crew, laid down tracks for the Beach Boys, The Byrds, Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton, and other well known groups. At the height of his career, he was doing stints in Las Vegas, and was so busy that, after a gig in Vegas, he would fly back to Los Angeles and record 2 or 3 sessions before flying back to Vegas in time to do the next show there.
The non-stop work Jim was involved in took a heavy toll on him, and a dark side that laid dormant in him came to the surface. In the 1970’s he had several psychiatric episodes, which were misdiagnosed as alcohol abuse. In 1976, he murdered his mother after hearing voices which told him to do so. During his trial, he was finally properly diagnosed with schizophrenia, but instead of getting treatment, he was handed a sentence of 18 years to life in prison, where his illness continued to not be properly treated. He never showed up for any of his parole hearings, and was unable to function in any meaningful way. This was his state when he died today. Mental health treatment has come a long way, but in some ways, American society is still in the dark ages where it comes to mental health.
This hits me personally, as my wife was diagnosed with schizophrenia more than 20 years ago. If you ever saw the movie “A Beautiful Mind”, which depicted Nobel Laureate John Nash’s fight with the disease, you were also looking at my wife, who also talked to people who did not exist, heard voices, and hallucinated. Luckily, a drug called Olanzapine (Zyprexa) was available at the time, and my wife has lived a normal life with this medication. The same drug was also available for Jim Gordon while he was in prison, but was never given to him, and he continued to suffer until he died.
How we treat the mentally ill in the US is a shame. So much can be done, but happens rarely. As President, Ronald Reagan signed an executive order that released many thousands of mentally ill people from institutions where they were receiving help, and today mental illness runs rampant among the homeless population, where they are largely ignored, and told by Conservatives to get a job when the fact is that most are not hireable. What we are doing to “The least of these” is a stain on the moral character of this nation, and must be turned around. You never know. Serious mental illness could happen to any one of us. Conservatives fight against treatment for the mentally ill at their own risk. Shame on them.