Don Nix

Don Nix (born September 27, 1941) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer.^[1] Nix, who is best known for his song "Going Down," was described by AllMusic as "one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock."^[2]

Don Nix
Born	(1941-09-27) September 27, 1941 (age 83) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Memphis soul blues rock
Occupations	Musician songwriter producer
Instruments	Guitar vocals saxophone
Years active	1961–present
Formerly of	The Mar-Keys

Career

Nix was born into a musical family in Memphis, Tennessee. His brother Larry became a mastering engineer for Stax Records and for the Ardent Studios in Memphis.^[3] Nix began his career playing saxophone for the Memphis-based Mar-Keys, alongside Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn. The group scored a hit single with "Last Night" in 1961.^[2] After leaving the Mar-Keys, Nix worked as a session musician for Stax.^[2]

After relocating to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, Nix worked as a producer and songwriter with such acts as Leon Russell, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and Freddie King, among others.^[1][2] Nix's best known composition, "Going Down," was originally released by the band Moloch on their eponymous album in 1969, has become a blues-rock standard, having been covered by Freddie King, the Who, and the Rolling Stones.^[4] In 1971, Nix made the acquaintance of George Harrison, leading to Nix organizing the backup vocalists for the Concert for Bangladesh.^[5]

As a solo artist, Nix released nine albums between 1971 and 2008, and has published three books.

Discography

• In God We Trust (Shelter, 1971)
• Living by the Days (Elektra, 1971)
• Hobos, Heroes and Street Corner Clowns (Enterprise, 1973)
• Gone Too Long (Cream, 1976)
• Skyrider (Cream, 1979)
• Back to the Well (Appaloosa, 1993)
• Goin' Down: The Songs of Don Nix (Evidence, 2002)
• I Don't Want No Trouble! (Section Eight, 2006)
• Passing Through (Section Eight, 2008)

Bibliography

• Road Stories and Recipes (1997), Schirmer Books/Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0-02-864621-5
• Who's That with Don Nix? – A photojournal of Don Nix's personal experiences.
• Memphis Man: Living High, Laying Low (1997, 2015) Sartoris Literary Group, Jackson, Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-941644-39-3

References

1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Blues (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 282. ISBN 0-85112-673-1.
2. "Don Nix | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
3. "Memphis Man" Living High, Laying Low (1997, 2015) Sartoris Literary Group, Jackson, Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-941644-39-3 p. 100
4. "Newark 15th December, Prudential Center". Rollingstones.com. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
5. O'Dell, Chris; Ketcham, Katherine (2009). Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. New York: Touchstone. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.