SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CelebrityAccess) — Mojo Nixon, the psychobilly icon behind novelty hits such as “Elvis Is Everywhere” died, according to an announcement from his family. He was 66.
Nixon, whose real name is Neill Kirby McMillan Jr., was found dead on the Outlaw Country Cruise, just hours after performing after suffering what his family said was a ‘cardiac event’
A native of North Carolina, Nixon first professional music gig was with the Denver-based punk band Zebra 123 before he relocated to San Diego where he connected with Richard “Skid Roper” Banke and formed a duo and landed a recording deal with the Los Angeles-based indie label Enigma Records in 1985.
The duo’s breakthrough came two years later with the release of their 1987 album Bo-Day-Shus!!! featured the novelty hit “Elvis Is Everywhere.”
After parting ways with Skid Roper in 1989, Nixon launched a solo career, recording multiple albums with his backing band the Toadliquors, recording songs such as “Bring Me the Head of David Geffen,” “Orenthal James (Was a Mighty Bad Man),” and “Prairie Home Invasion,” a collaboration with Jello Biafra.
In the late 1990s, Nixon worked as a radio DJ in San Diego (on KGB-FM) and Cincinnati (on WEBN-FM) and tried his hand as an advice columnist for the short-lived Peterbelly Magazine.
Nixon announced his retirement from the music business in 2004 but staged a comeback two years later in support of Kinky Friedman’s campaign for Texas Governor.
He followed up his unretirement with the release of Whiskey Rebellion, a collection of previously unreleased material and began hosting multiple shows in SiriusXM. He was also the focus of The Mojo Manifesto, a documentary on his life released at SXSW in 2022.
