Born in Memphis, Nix attended Messick High School with Donald "Duck" Dunn and Steve Cropper of the famed Stax house band Booker T. & the MG's. After graduation, Nix spent a short stint in the Army before returning to Memphis, where he joined Dunn and Cropper, along with Wayne Jackson, Packy Axton, Terry Johnson, and Smoochy Smith, as a saxophonist in the Mar-Keys.
The group scored a smash hit with the instrumental "Last Night" on the Satellite label (later Stax/Volt), and Nix went on the road with the group, while a house band from Memphis attempted to recorded follow-up hits under the Mar-Keys' 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 the Mar-Keys or backing Stax stars such as William Bell and Carla Thomas.
In the mid-'60s, Nix began making trips to L.A. to visit Leon Russell and Carle Radle, friends he'd met through touring. The friendship with Russell, a big producer at the time, landed Nix a position in Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars backing one of Russell's acts, Gary Lewis & the Playboys. 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 Stax and Ardent.
Nix spent the next several years writing and producing for artists such as Freddie King, Albert King, Sid Selvidge, and Charlie Musselwhite. In 1970, he signed a recording deal with Shelter Records (co-owned by his old friend Leon Russell) 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 John Mayall and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
by Steve Kurutz
Tracks
1. In God We Trust - 4:29
2. Golden Mansions - 4:08
3. I'll Fly Away (Traditional) - 3:29
4. He Never Lived A Day Without Jesus (Don Nix, Bobby Whitlock) - 4:07
5. Nero My God To Thee (Traditional) - 1:09
6. Amos Burke - 3:03
7. Long Way To Nowhere (Don Nix, Larry Rasberry) - 3:38
8. Iuka - 5:20
9. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Traditional) - 3:58
10.I've Tried - 1:29
All songs by Don Nix except where indicated
Musicians
*Don Nix - Vocals
*Barry Beckett - Keyboards
*Roger Hawkins - Drums
*David Hood - Bass
*Eddie Hinton - Electric, Rhythm, Slide Guitars
*Furry Lewis - Slide Guitar
*Larry Rasberry - Rhythm Guitar
*J.A. Spell - Fiddle
1971 Don Nix - Living By The Days (2011 japan SHM remaster)
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