When Don Henley Surprised His ‘Nemesis,’ Mojo Nixon
by Best Classic Bands Staff
During a visit to Austin, TX to lend his support to a local environmental issue, Don Henley showed he has a sense of humor about himself and those who may mock him.
It all began with a number on roots rock singer-songwriter Mojo Nixon‘s 1990 album, Otis, that is titled “Don Henley Must Die.” It begins with the lines: “He’s a tortured artist/Used to be in the Eagles/Now he whines/Like a wounded beagle/Poet of despair!/Pumped up with hot air!/He’s serious, pretentious/And I just don’t care.”
It turned out that on August 2, 1992*, Nixon was also in the capital of Texas, performing on his 35th birthday with his band the Toadliquors at The Hole in the Wall, a small music club just across the street from the University of Texas campus. Much to his surprise, Henley showed up and jumped onstage, joining in on the chorus: “Don Henley must die, don’t let him get back together with Glenn Frey!”
As Nixon, a longtime host on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel, later recalled, “So I said, ‘Whaddya want? You wanna fight? You wanna debate?’ And he said, ‘I want to sing the song, especially the part about not getting together with Glenn Frey.'” He did, and the crowd went wild. “To quote my drummer, he must’ve had balls bigger than church bells to do that.”
*Some reports peg the event as occurring a few days’ earlier, in late July.
Related: Nixon died on Feb. 7, 2024, one day after performing on the Outlaw Country Cruise
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationMOJO rules!!!! And like him or not, ya gotta give Henley props for having the sack to do that. Haha!