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was one of the top session drummers in the '60s. After backing the Everly Brothers in 1963 at age 17, he went to California. Hal Blaine, king of session drummers, began to send
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his overflow work.
During this period,
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appeared on Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (Columbia, 1967) and Notorious Byrd Brothers. Later,
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was a member of Derek and the Dominoes, where he had the good fortune to co-write the song "Layla" with Eric Clapton.
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also played with John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Traffic, Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Jackson Browne.
Sadly, in the '70s, severe psychological problems began to manifest in
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's behavior. He complained of hearing voices, especially the voice of his mother. By the late '70s,
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mental difficulties - later diagnosed as acute paranoid schizophrenia - had ruined his musical career.
Then, in 1983,
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brutally murdered his own mother.
The insanity defense having been narrowed in California,
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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.