Don Nix | |
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 Nix,c. 1970s | |
| Background information | |
| Born | William Donald Nix (1941-09-27)September 27, 1941 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | December 31, 2024(2024-12-31) (aged 83) Germantown, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1958–2008 |
| Formerly of | The Mar-Keys |
William Donald Nix (September 27, 1941 – December 31, 2024) was an American musician, songwriter, and producer.[1] Nix, who was best known for his song "Going Down," was described byAllMusic as "one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock."[2]
William Donald Nix[3] was born into a musical family inMemphis, Tennessee, on September 27, 1941.[1] His brother Larry became a mastering engineer forStax Records and for theArdent Studios in Memphis.[4] Nix began his career playing saxophone for the Memphis-basedMar-Keys, alongsideSteve Cropper andDuck Dunn.[1] The group scored a hit single with "Last Night" in 1961.[2] After leaving the Mar-Keys, Nix worked as asession musician for Stax.[2]
After relocating to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, Nix worked as a producer and songwriter with such acts asLeon Russell,Gary Lewis and the Playboys,John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, andFreddie 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, and has become a blues-rock standard, having been covered by Freddie King,J.J.Cale theJeff Beck Group,the Who, andthe Rolling Stones.[5] In 1971, Nix made the acquaintance ofGeorge Harrison, leading to Nix organizing the backup vocalists for theConcert for Bangladesh.[6]
As a solo artist, Nix released nine albums between 1971 and 2008, and published three books.
Nix died at his home inGermantown, Tennessee, on December 31, 2024, at the age of 83.[7]
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