Don Henley Must Die

The Zoo Crew, those groovy hippie DJs at THE ZOO radio station, are cranking up "Don Henley Must Die" by Mojo Nixon from his 1990 album Otis for all the Zoo Freaks out there. This track is a wild ride, a satirical psychobilly anthem that takes a swing at Don Henley’s serious solo career after his Eagles days. One of the juiciest stories about the song happened on July 31, 1992, at The Hole in the Wall in Austin, Texas. Nixon was performing with his band, the Toadliquors, when Don Henley himself crashed the stage, belting out the chorus: “Don Henley must die, don’t let him get back together with Glenn Frey!” Nixon, floored by Henley’s guts, later said the guy had “balls as big as church bells” and even jokingly asked if Debbie Gibson was in the crowd, referencing another of his parody tunes. Henley, apparently a good sport, was reportedly tipsy and loving every second, especially the jab at a potential Eagles reunion.

The song itself, which hit #20 on the Modern Rock Charts, sparked a bit of chaos when it dropped. Nixon’s label, Enigma Records, was so spooked by the provocative title that they begged radio stations not to play it. But the controversy didn’t faze Henley, who leaned into the joke years before the Eagles got back together. Nixon later shared in a 1990 interview over pizza and beers in Massachusetts that the song was born from his frustration watching the 1989 Grammys, where Henley won Best Rock Male Vocal Performance for The End of the Innocence. Nixon thought everyone was taking themselves way too seriously and wanted to “kick them in the ass” with a call to loosen up and have fun. He even threw in a dig at Sting in the lyrics for good measure, showing his knack for poking at music’s elite.

Mojo Nixon, born Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. on August 2, 1957, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, kicked off his musical journey in the early 1980s in San Diego. A self-described “libertarian cynicalist anarchist,” he teamed up with Skid Roper, a multi-instrumentalist who provided the gritty backup to Nixon’s motor-mouthed lyrics. Their first album, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, dropped in 1985 on Enigma Records, with the single “Jesus at McDonald’s” catching fire on college radio. Nixon’s style, a blend of rockabilly, punk, and in-your-face satire, earned him a cult following. By 1987, their third album, Bo-Day-Shus!!!, featuring the iconic “Elvis Is Everywhere,” became an alternative hit on MTV, cementing his rep as a gonzo troubadour. After splitting with Roper in 1989, Nixon went solo with Otis, assembling a killer band including John Doe of X and Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers.

Nixon’s larger-than-life persona extended beyond music. He acted as drummer James Van Eaton in the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! and played Toad in 1993’s Super Mario Bros. movie. He hosted radio shows like “The Loon in the Afternoon” on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel and was a fierce advocate for free file sharing, famously saying in 2000 he wasn’t “an asshole like Metallica.” Nixon retired from music in 2004 but occasionally popped up for special gigs, like supporting Kinky Friedman’s 2006 Texas governor run. Sadly, he passed away on February 7, 2024, after a cardiac event on the Outlaw Country Cruise, leaving behind a legacy of raw, rebellious tunes.

For more on Mojo Nixon, check out his official website at mojonixon.com. You can dive into fan discussions on the Mojo Nixon Music Facebook page or follow posts on his Instagram and X accounts, though they’ve been quieter since his passing. Fans also keep the vibe alive at the Mojo Nixon Fan Club on Facebook, where Zoo Freaks and others swap stories and celebrate his irreverent spirit. Want to dig deeper? The documentary The Mojo Manifesto, which premiered at SXSW in 2022, is a great way to relive Nixon’s wild ride.