Mojo Nixon, 66, Dies on Outlaw Country Cruise

Photo: Rick Kern/Getty Images for The Mojo Manifesto

Mojo Nixon, the artist behind comedic hits like “Elvis Is Everywhere” and “Don Henley Must Die,” died on the Outlaw Country Cruise. He reportedly suffered a “cardiac event” after performing a show. “How you live is how you should die,” his family said in a statement obtained by Rolling Stone. “Mojo Nixon was full-tilt, wide-open rock hard, root hog, corner on two wheels + on fire… 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.”

Born Neill Kirby McMillan Jr., Mojo Nixon was born in North Carolina in 1957. Nixon made six albums with musician Skid Roper, peaking on the Billboard charts with their single “Elvis Is Everywhere.” Nixon’s solo single, “Don Henley Must Die” was a hit on alternative radio, and with the actual Don Henley. Nixon told the Austin Chronicle that Henley came to one of his shows and demanded to sing the song clamoring for his demise. “He was shitfaced and he goes, ‘I want to sing that song, especially the part about not getting together with Glenn Frey!’” Nixon said. “He was beltin’ that shit out, screaming like he was Johnny fucking Rotten.”

Nixon collaborated with former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra on the roots rock record Prairie Home Invasion. His documentary, The Mojo Manifesto, premiered at SXSW in 2022. He also played Toad in 1993’s Super Mario Bros. All this in 66 years of living. “Mojo has left the building, his family’s statement concluded. “Since Elvis is everywhere, we know he was waiting for him in the alley out back. Heaven help us all.”

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