Don Nix

Don Nix (born September 27, 1941 in Memphis , Tennessee ) is an American saxophonist , songwriter , arranger and author . Although AMG described his personality as obscure, he is one of the defining figures in Southern Rock and Southern Soul .

Life

Nix attended Messick High School with Donald "Duck" Dunn and Steve Cropper, where they performed as The Royal Spades . From this group came the " Mar-Keys ", which became the first session band for the style- defining Stax label. With "Last Night" / "Night Before" they had a big hit, which became the first of Nix's successes. After the success evaporated, he returned to Memphis and played as a freelance artist on various recordings, for example for the Mar-Keys, who were revived in a different line-up, as well as for Stax stars such as William Bell and Carla Thomas .

In the mid-1960s he traveled to Los Angeles, where he visited his friend Leon Russell , one of the most important producers on the local music scene. He had met him on tours with the Mar-Keys. Nix played in the Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, where he played in the backing band of Gary Lewis & the Playboys , a group produced by Russell. The friendship with Russell also gave him the opportunity to see how a record is made and he began producing in studios in Memphis, for example at Stax and Ardent .

He spent the next few years as a producer and songwriter for Freddie King , Albert King , Sid Selvidge and Charlie Musselwhite . In 1970 he signed a contract with Shelter Records, where his old friend Russel was a co-owner. With sales poor, he returned to the producer profession, working with John Mayall and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

In the 1980s he retired from the music business, but then started again as a producer in Nashville . As an author, he has published a book about his previous experiences (Road Stories & Recipes, Schirmer Books / Simon & Schuster , New York, 1997). In 2002 he released an album called "Going Down" in which he re-recorded his old songs. Brian May ( Queen ) and Steve Cropper played the accompaniment musicians during the recordings . *

Discography

• 1971: In God We Trust (Shelter)
• 1971: Living by the Days (Elektra)
• 1974: Hobos Heroes & Street Corner Clowns (Stax)
• 1976: Gone Too Long (Cream Records)
• 1979: Skyrider (Cream Records)
• 1994: Back to the Well (Icehouse Records)
• 2002: Going Down : The Songs of Don Nix (Evidence)
• 2006: I Don't Want No Trouble (Section Eight Productions)
• 2008: Passing Through (Section Eight Prod)
• 2008: Going Down (Blues Boulevard)

Albums as producer (selection)

• Home - Delaney & Bonnie (1969)
• Getting Ready - Freddie King (1971)
• Lovejoy - Albert King (1971)
• Ten Years Are Gone - John Mayall (1973)
• Cross Country Blues - John Mayall (1994)
• Stax Profiles - Albert King (2006)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} AMG Guide biography of Steve Kurutz