Jim Gordon has Passed On...

Jim Gordon was a brilliant drummer.

.........I read once that Jim Gordon along with girlfriend at that time ; Rita Coolidge wrote the piano / ending part of Layla. Rita was never given any credit and or royalties for her efforts on that part of the song. If anybody knows if that is in fact true, please chime in. 

I tried to play drums for 17 years and yes ;  Jim Gordon was a really good drummer. I enjoyed the way he approached them. A troubled but talented soul.....        

Whether the "Layla" story is true, I don't know, but it's been repeated many, many times.  The Delta Lady gives a detailed account in her autobiography.  Personally, I believe her.  A related story is that she broke off her relationship with Gordon because of physical abuse.

I always thought that the piano part added at the end of Layla sounded very unrelated to the rest of the song.

In one of his YouTube videos, Bobby Whitlock recounts the writing of the coda in "Layla". Go onto YouTube, do a search for Bobby Whitlock, and all his videos will become available for viewing. He's quite a character!