Don Nix

Author of the blues classic "Going Down," Don Nix was one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock. As a producer he worked with <a href="spotify:artist:5dCuFngSPyOOnTAvrC7v2s">Freddie King</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0AD4odMWVQ2wUSlgxOB5Rl">Jeff Beck</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:66SiMdpsWXE23qqX0JaWg9">Furry Lewis</a>, among others; as an artist, he released solo albums on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Shelter%22">Shelter</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%2C%22">Elektra,</a> as well as smaller labels like <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Icehouse%22">Icehouse</a>.

Born in Memphis, Nix attended Messick High School with Donald "Duck" Dunn and <a href="spotify:artist:1gLCO8HDtmhp1eWmGcPl8S">Steve Cropper</a> of the famed <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%22">Stax</a> house band <a href="spotify:artist:2vDV0T8sxx2ENnKXds75e5">Booker T. & the MG's</a>. After graduation, Nix spent a short stint in the Army before returning to Memphis, where he joined <a href="spotify:artist:3mVSCOj1XBlL6s776Kx0Ed">Dunn</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1gLCO8HDtmhp1eWmGcPl8S">Cropper</a>, along with Wayne Jackson, Packy Axton, <a href="spotify:artist:0PFINRRYMH2hgt2Io9CodA">Terry Johnson</a>, and Smoochy Smith, as a saxophonist in the <a href="spotify:artist:4EYRKWX3RvHihDHDr8TocR">Mar-Keys</a>.

The group scored a smash hit with the instrumental "Last Night" on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Satellite%22">Satellite</a> label (later <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%2FVolt%22">Stax/Volt</a>), and Nix went on the road with the group, while a house band from Memphis attempted to recorded follow-up hits under the <a href="spotify:artist:4EYRKWX3RvHihDHDr8TocR">Mar-Keys</a>' name.

After the success of "Last Night" fizzled, Nix returned to Memphis and spent the next several years as a horn for hire, occasionally playing gigs with a re-formed version of <a href="spotify:artist:4EYRKWX3RvHihDHDr8TocR">the Mar-Keys</a> or backing <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%22">Stax</a> stars such as <a href="spotify:artist:0mFoqJiNDtYntypvy6roGR">William Bell</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1QAGLCom3FHTTiuRFsjzOj">Carla Thomas</a>.

In the mid-'60s, Nix began making trips to L.A. to visit <a href="spotify:artist:6r1Xmz7YUD4z0VRUoGm8XN">Leon Russell</a> and Carle Radle, friends he'd met through touring. The friendship with <a href="spotify:artist:4M4hr3Yx8ArpST0G9zCRzH">Russell</a>, a big producer at the time, landed Nix a position in Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars backing one of <a href="spotify:artist:4M4hr3Yx8ArpST0G9zCRzH">Russell</a>'s acts, <a href="spotify:artist:5aSnz1nvFeSHw02Ijw0VO3">Gary Lewis & the Playboys</a>. Their friendship also provided Nix the opportunity to see how a session was put together, and he began engineering and producing at studios around Memphis such as <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%22">Stax</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ardent%22">Ardent</a>.

Nix spent the next several years writing and producing for artists such as <a href="spotify:artist:5dCuFngSPyOOnTAvrC7v2s">Freddie King</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5aygfDCEaX5KTZOxSCpT9o">Albert King</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7qXIEyAkxjRHPrPTXwuP2F">Sid Selvidge</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4NikxGoDm5LGVYAHj0Euoc">Charlie Musselwhite</a>. In 1970, he signed a recording deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Shelter+Records%22">Shelter Records</a> (co-owned by his old friend <a href="spotify:artist:6r1Xmz7YUD4z0VRUoGm8XN">Leon Russell</a>) and released a solo album, In God We Trust and followed it a year later with Living by the Days. Neither album sold very well, and after a few more attempts, Nix returned to recording other artists, producing records for <a href="spotify:artist:5s4z3mRAE7nxE3jjft8J3h">John Mayall</a> and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

After having been absent from record industry throughout most of the '80s, Nix relocated to Nashville and began writing and producing again. He published a book about his experiences titled Road Stories & Recipes, and re-recorded many of his classic tracks with musicians such as <a href="spotify:artist:2NcbLU1bW55eahD0UgD7U3">Brian May</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1gLCO8HDtmhp1eWmGcPl8S">Steve Cropper</a> for 2002's nostalgic Going Down. He followed this with I Don't Want No Trouble in 2006, and Passing Through -- both on his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Section+Eight+Productions%22">Section Eight Productions</a> label -- and in 2009, he released Hobos, Heroes and Street Corner Clowns for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Concord%22">Concord</a>'s revitalized <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stax%22">Stax</a> imprint. In 2013, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Real+Gone+Music%22">Real Gone Music</a> reissued Living by the Days. Don Nix died on December 31, 2024, at the age of 83. ~ Steve Kurutz