| Don Nix | |
| Birth Date: | 27 September 1941 |
| Birth Place: | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1961–present |
| Past Member Of: | The Mar-Keys |
Don Nix (born September 27, 1941) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer.[1] Nix, who is best known for his song "Going Down," was described by AllMusic as "one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock."[2]
Nix was born into a musical family in Memphis, Tennessee. His brother Larry became a mastering engineer for Stax Records and for the Ardent Studios in Memphis.[3] Nix began his career playing saxophone for the Memphis-based Mar-Keys, alongside Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn. The group scored a hit single with "Last Night" in 1961. After leaving the Mar-Keys, Nix worked as a session musician for Stax.
After relocating to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, Nix worked as a producer and songwriter with such acts as Leon Russell, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and Freddie 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, has become a blues-rock standard, having been covered by Freddie King, the Who, and the Rolling Stones.[4] In 1971, Nix made the acquaintance of George Harrison, leading to Nix organizing the backup vocalists for the Concert for Bangladesh.[5]
As a solo artist, Nix released nine albums between 1971 and 2008, and has published three books.