One of the top session drummers in the 1960s. After backing the Everly Brothers in 1963 at the age of 17, he moved to California, where Hal Blaine, the king of session drummers, began to send Gordon his overflow work.

During this period, Gordon appeared on Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (1967) and The Notorious Byrd Brothers.

Later, Gordon was a member of Derek and the Dominos, where he had the good fortune to co-write the song Layla with Eric Clapton.

Gordon worked with Chris Hillman again when he was the drummer in the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band from 1973 to 1975.

Gordon also played with John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Traffic, Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and Jackson Browne.

Though he was initially known for being a straight-laced guy, Gordon eventually began to use heroin and cocaine like many of his colleagues in the music business. Sadly, in the 1970s, severe psychological problems began to manifest in Gordon's behaviour. He once punched Rita Coolidge for no apparent reason and he complained of hearing voices, especially the voice of his mother. By the late 1970s, Gordon's mental difficulties, later diagnosed as acute paranoid schizophrenia, had ruined his musical career.

Then, in 1983, Gordon brutally murdered his own mother. The insanity defense having been narrowed in California, Gordon was convicted of second-degree murder in 1984 and sentenced to 16 years to life. Most of his time has been served in Atascadero State Hospital. Gordon remains wealthy, thanks to royalties from Layla and a handful of other songs.