Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about purpose, awe and good vibrations. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe (birth, death, love, the big picture); and our personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. Here, you’ll encounter interviews, essays and some episodes created simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Musician and Funny Man Mojo Nixon was Best Known for "Elvis is Everywhere"
Mojo Nixon died while hosting the Outlaw Country Cruise in February 2024. His family said he left this earth "after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners ..."
He was 66, enjoying himself until the end.
Nixon (birth name Neill Kirby McMillan Jr.) believed that you could make fun of anything as long as the joke was funny and you accepted the consequences.
Known for songs such as "I Hate Banks" and "Debbie Gibson is Pregnant with My 2-Headed Love Child," he recorded six albums with partner Skid Roper before going solo in 1989.
"Bo Day Shuss!!!" — Nixon and Roper's third album — includes "Elvis is Everywhere," Nixon's best-known song. It was recorded in 1987 and became an MTV hit. In the chapters, you'll see a photo of the album, available on Amazon Music.
Go here to watch Nixon and Roper's "Elvis is Everywhere" video, and make sure to read the comments. Here's one of them: "Sorry to see you go, Mojo. Hope you and Elvis are having a few good laughs in Great Beyond. R.I.P."
The artwork accompanying this episode is the cover of Nixon's solo album "Whereabouts Unknown," released in 1995.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Excerpt:
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"He explained his songwriting philosophy to Rolling Stone
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in 2023:
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'I firmly believe you can make fun of
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anything as long as your joke is funny.
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And I also believe that you can say
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anything
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as long as you're willing to suffer the
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consequences.'"
Kate:
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That's just a snippet of Sheldon Zoldan's tribute
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to Mojo Nixon,
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who died in February
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2024.
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For more, here's the rest of the story.
Sheldon:
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Mojo Nixon was not for everybody, but he
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was well enough known to receive obits in
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every major newspaper.
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Nixon,
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birth name, Neill Kirby McMillan Jr.,
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died February 7th from a cardiac event aboard
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the Outlaw Country Cruise
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where he was the host.
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He was 66.
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The Song of the Day is paying tribute
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to the musicians, singers, and songwriters who died
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in 2024.
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Nixon's family posted his death on his website
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saying, "You should die how you live —
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passing after a blazing show, a raging night,
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closing the bar,
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taking no prisoners,
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a good breakfast with bandmates and friends.
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A cardiac event on the outlaw country cruise
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is about right, and that's just how he
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did it."
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Nixon and his partner, Skid Roper, recorded six
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albums before Nixon went solo in 1989.
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Nixon's songs with and without Roper were similar.
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Some were populous like "I Hate Banks" and
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"Burn Down the Malls."
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Others skewed people:
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"Debbie Gibson is Pregnant with My Two-Headed
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Love Child,"
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"Don Henley Must Die," and "Elvis is Everywhere."
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He explained his songwriting philosophy to Rolling Stone
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in 2023:
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"I firmly believe you can make fun of
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anything as long as your joke is funny.
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And I also believe that you can say
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anything
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as long as you're willing to suffer the
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consequences.
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We don't need a thought police."
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Nixon retired from music in
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2004.
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He became a DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio.
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He also was an actor. He played drummer
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James Van Eaton in the 1989
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biopic about Jerry Lee Lewis.
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Spookily,
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Van Eaton died two days after Nixon.
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"Elvis is Everywhere,"
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recorded in 1987,
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became his best-known song.
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He said Elvis,
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Foghorn
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Leghorn, and Otis Campbell,
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the drunk on "The Andy Griffith Show," were
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his religious trinity.
Kate:
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This is Kate Jones. You'll find a lot
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of other tributes on Everyday Creation.
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Please check them out, and thank you for
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listening.
