Mojo Nixon, alternative ‘Elvis Is Everywhere’ hitmaker, passes away at 66 helobaba.com
Mojo Nixon, alternative musician, actor, DJ and Sirius XM radio host, prominently known for his cult hit Elvis Is Everywhere, has died at 66. His family announced the sad news of his passing on Wednesday.
Nixon’s real name was Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. His family has reported the cause of his death as cardiac arrest. The unfortunate happened while he was onboard the annual Outlaw Country Cruise where he was working as a performer and host.
Nixon’s family released a statement on Facebook, which read:
“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…”
The same statement also confirmed that he had delivered a blazing performance for the country music cruise: “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.”
More about Mojo Nixon
Deemed the cult hero of the MTV era, the Burn Down the Malls singer released many controversial tracks throughout his musical career. The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon is a 2022 documentary that captured Neill Kirby McMillan Jr on a bicycle trip across the country. It recounts his unconventional journey to finding mainstream success during the “golden age of MTV”.
The MTS staple and rockabilly singer was known for birthing songs about anarchy. His novelty song Elvis is Everywhere captures the essence of his humorously irreverent artistic expression. Born in North Carolina on August 2, 1957, he often paired up with Skid Roper, aka Richard Banke, in the early ’80s.
Nixon especially deified Elvis Presley, a sentiment which ultimately found vocal expression in his best-known track. Besides pushing the loud frantic style of Mojo Nixon songs that blended early rock and roll with punk rock, he made his acting debut in the music biopic Great Balls of Fire in 1989. He was seen as drummer James Van Eaton in the movie.
Ironically, which is possibly just as iconic, Nixon recorded the controversial song Don Henley Must Die, attacking pop culture. This song was featured on his solo album Otis, in association with Enigma Records. The song was so outrageously outspoken that his own record company forbade its radio plays. A few years down the line, Nixon, a man whose song was pulled off the radio, went on to work as a radio DJ on KGB-FM and WEBN-FM.
(This is a developing story.)
