Mojo Nixon, noted for irreverent novelty songs like 1987′s “Elvis Is Everywhere,” “Don Henley Must Die” and “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child,” died Wednesday while on a country music cruise. He was 66.
Nixon, who was born Neill Kirby McMillan, died on the Outlaw Country Cruise, which left Miami on Feb. 4, the Houston Chronicle reported. The performer sang on the annual music cruise as a regular performer and also co-hosted shows, according to Rolling Stone. Nixon, who performed the night before his death, died of cardiac arrest, Variety reported.
“August 2, 1957 - February 7, 2024 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…,” his family wrote in a statement on Nixon’s Facebook page. “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,” the statement continued. “Since Elvis is everywhere, we know he was waiting for him in the alley out back. Heaven help us all.”
Nixon had been performing with his band, the Toadliquors, which includes Houston musician keyboardist Pete Gordon, according to the Chronicle.
“We are absolutely devastated,” Sixthman CEO Jeff Cuellar, whose company organized the Outlaw Country Cruise, said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Our thoughts and hearts are with Mojo’s family and the Outlaw community.”
Born in North Carolina on Aug. 2, 1957, Nixon was raised in Virginia and began playing music in a punk band called Zebra 123, Variety reported. His music soon took on a mixture of punk and rockabilly.
“It was Jerry Lee Lewis on more speed,” Nixon said in a 2020 interview. “Not just speed, but more speed. A lot of things sounded like the Clash, but even faster and stupider.”
Signed to independent record label Enigma with Skid Roper, the pair released their debut album in 1985. Two years later, his “Bo-Day-Shus!!!” album led off with “Elvis Is Everywhere,” Variety reported.
The song brought Nixon national attention and even landed him an appearance on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” according to the entertainment news website. The audience was given cardboard Elvis masks to wear during his performance.
“When I look out into your eyes out there,” Nixon sang, “When I look out into your faces, you know what I see? A little bit of Elvis.”
During an appearance at Austin’s Hole in the Wall in 1992, Nixon played “Don Henley Must Die,” with the Eagles singer making an impromptu guest spot, the Chronicle reported.
Nixon landed a role in the 1989 Lewis biopic, “Great Balls of Fire,” where he played the role of drummer James Van Eaton, according to IMDb.com. The singer has also been mentioned in songs by the Dead Milkmen and Todd Snider, the Chronicle reported.
Nixon also had roles in the 1993 live-action film “Super Mario Bros.” and in a movie update of the 1960s television series, “Car 54, Where Are You?” according to Variety.
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