This Lynyrd Skynyrd -style, blues rock outfit emerged from the US deep south. The name derived from a tale of a woman in seventeenth-century Salem who beheaded her lovers with an axe after sleeping with them. The initial line-up comprised Dave Hlubek (guitar), Steve Holland (guitar), Duane Roland (b. 3 December 1952, Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA, d. 19 June 2006, St. Augustine, Florida, USA; guitar), Banner Thomas (bass), Danny Joe Brown (b. 25 August 1951, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, d. 10 March 2005, Davie, Florida, USA; vocals) and Bruce Crump (drums). Their 1978 debut album, produced by Tom Werman (of Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent fame), was an instant success, with its three-pronged guitar onslaught and gut-wrenching vocals. The band then achieved a US Top 20 placing with their second album, Flirtin’ With Disaster. Brown was replaced by Jimmy Farrar in 1980, before the recording of the band’s third album, Beatin’ The Odds. Farrar’s vocals were less distinctive than Brown’s, and an element of their identity was lost during the time that Farrar fronted the band. Nevertheless, commercial success continued, with both Beatin’ The Odds and Take No Prisoners peaking on the Billboard album chart at numbers 25 and 36, respectively.
In 1982, Danny Joe Brown rejoined the band in place of the departed Farrar, while Thomas and Crump were replaced by Riff West and B.B. Borden respectively. No Guts... No Glory emerged and marked a return to the band’s roots: explosive guitar duels, heart-stopping vocals and steadfast rock ‘n’ roll. Surprisingly, the album flopped and Hlubek insisted on a radical change in direction. Steve Holland quit and drummer Crump returned, while keyboard player John Galvin (from the Danny Joe Brown Band) was recruited for the recording of The Deed Is Done. This was a lightweight pop rock album, largely devoid of Molly Hatchet’s former trademarks. Following its release, the band retired temporarily to lick their wounds and reassess their future. In 1985, Double Trouble Live was unveiled, with a return to former styles. It included versions of their best-known songs, plus a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute in the form of ‘Freebird’. Founder member Dave Hlubek subsequently departed, to be replaced by Bobby Ingram. The band signed a new recording contract with Capitol Records and returned with 1989’s Lightning Strikes Twice. This leaned away from their southern roots towards highly polished AOR. Featuring cover versions of Paul Stanley’s ‘Hide Your Heart’ and ‘There Goes The Neighborhood’, the album was poorly received by fans and critics alike.
A number of line-up changes ensued in the early 90s, leaving Brown as the only remaining original member. During this period he was continually plagued by illness as a result of diabetes. and eventually left Molly Hatchet in 1996 as they embarked on another recording comeback. The line-up that recorded Devil’s Canyon comprised Bobby Ingram, John Galvin, Phil McCormack (vocals), Bryan Bassett (guitar), Andy McKinney (bass) and Mac Crawford (drums). The revived band, with additional keyboard player Tim Donovan, then completed 1998’s Silent Reign Of Heroes. Further line-up changes saw mainstays Ingram, Galvin and McCormack joined by a regularly rotating cast list of musicians, as the band continued to tour and record with great success. Original guitarist Hlubek rejoined the line-up in early 2005 shortly before his former colleague Danny Joe Brown succumbed to diabetes.
