Mojo Nixon on March 16, 2022 in Austin, Texas.Photo:Michael Loccisano/Getty
Michael Loccisano/Getty
Mojo Nixon, the “Elvis Is Everywhere” singer, has died. He was 66.
The musician performed on the cruise the evening before. He was a frequent performer and co-host on the annual voyage.
“Mojo Nixon. How you live is how you should die. Mojo Nixon was full-tilt, wide-open rock hard, root hog, corner on two wheels + on fire…,” wrote his family. “Passing after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners + a good breakfast with bandmates and friends.”
“A cardiac event on the Outlaw Country Cruise is about right… & that’s just how he did it, Mojo has left the building.”
“Since Elvis is everywhere, we know he was waiting for him in the alley out back. Heaven help us all,” concluded the statement.
The performer was born on Aug. 2, 1957, in North Carolina. He was raised in Virginia, but he began his music career in Denver, where he joined the punk band Zebra 123.
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Once the punk band separated, he traveled to San Diego and joined Dick Montana’s band, the Snuggle Bunnies. Richard Banke, also known as Skid Roper, joined the band. The group went on to win the best new band in San Diego during the Battle of the Bands. They also scored a three-hour recording session at Soundtrax Studio in San Diego.
Shortly after, Nixon and Roper earned a contract with Enigma Records, which assisted them in releasing their 1985 debut albumMojo Nixon & Skid Roper. Two years later, Nixon releasedBo-Day-Shus!!!,which began with his hit “Elvis Is Everywhere.”
Mojo Nixon in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, July 25, 1989.Paul Natkin/Getty
Paul Natkin/Getty
After the success of “Elvis Is Everywhere” — which led him to perform onThe Arsenio Hall Show— the performer released several albums with more collaborators, such as the Toadliquors and Jello Biafra.
Two years after the success of “Elvis Is Everywhere,” Nixon entered the acting business. He portrayed James Van Eaton in the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis biopicGreat Balls of Fire. His credits also includedSuper Mario Brosfrom 1993 andCar 54, Where Are You?the following year.
He then shifted to hosting radio shows in Cincinnati, Ohio, and San Diego. In the early aughts, he scored a job with SiriusXM, hosting theOutlaw Country: Music That Won’t Be Fenced Inshow.
HisOutlaw Countryco-worker, Elizabeth Cook, also shared the news of his death onFacebook. “I’m sad to share that Mojo Nixon, my partner in crime on SiriusXM outlaw, passed away today aboard The Outlaw Country Cruise. He was a total maniac, a complete pain in my ass, and he will be missed.”
In 2022, a documentary chronicling his life premiered at SXSW titledThe Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon.
source: people.com
