Molly Hatchet is an American southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1975. They are widely known for their hit song "Flirtin' with Disaster" from the album of the same title. The band, founded by Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, took its name from a prostitute who allegedly mutilated and decapitated her clients Several Molly Hatchet album covers feature heroic fantasy art by artist Frank Frazetta.Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Molly Hatchet shared influences and inspiration with the most well-known act in the Southern rock genre, Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as another up-and-coming Southern rock act, .38 Special whose singer was Donnie Van Zant, the brother of late Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist, Ronnie Van Zant. .38 Special enjoyed influential connections in the music industry.
When Brown left the group to form The Danny Joe Brown Band with future Molly Hatchet guitarist Bobby Ingram, he was replaced by vocalist Jimmy Farrar, coming from the cover band Raw Energy out of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Along with Farrar came a new approach to the band's sound. The earlier albums feature more variation in guitar tone and style and exhibit a distinct southern cultural influence – which changed with the addition of Farrar on vocals. By this time, other acts such as Van Halen, had made harder metal-influenced rock popular in the 1980s.
The 1990 retirement announcement couldn't keep a revised band from reforming around Brown and Ingram. The new line-up played selected shows and tours but pulled back from recording more new albums for a time. However, by the mid-1990s, they were again working on a new studio album. In 1996, after a stroke and a worsening of his chronic diabetes, Brown had to leave the band, who brought in lead singer Phil McCormack (formerly of the Northern Virginia bands Jazzbo McMann and The Dixie Roadducks) to finish the album Devil's Canyon in 1996. During the rest of the 1990s, the band's line-up curiously contained not a single original member who had performed in Molly Hatchet prior to 1984; Bobby Ingram had obtained a license from the original members to work with the name. As Ingram had recorded on the last Molly Hatchet album that featured the original members, he was technically considered an "original" member himself, as was John Galvin.
n 2000, the album Kingdom of XII was recorded and released in Europe, where the band went on tour to promote the album. It was released in the United States in 2001. Locked and Loaded, 25th Anniversary: Best of Re-Recorded (2003) and Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge (2005) followed.
In June 2000, Ingram became the sole owner of the trade and service mark "Molly Hatchet", acquired from Pat Armstrong the original manager of the band. In January 2005, Ingram invited Hlubek to rejoin Molly Hatchet where he remains today.
Danny Joe Brown died on March 10, 2005, less than an hour after returning to his home in Davie, Florida from a four week hospitalization. He was 53. He had previously left the group after suffering a massive stroke in 1995 while driving to his brother's house. In defiance of a long battle with diabetes and the effects of the stroke, Brown was able to take the stage one last time at the Jammin' for DJB benefit concert in 1998 where, with the help of his friends, he ended the show with "Flirtin' with Disaster".
On Monday, June 19, 2006, founding guitarist Duane Roland died at his home in St. Augustine, Florida at the age of 53 according to Bobby Ingram on the Molly Hatchet MySpace website. His death was listed as being of "natural causes" according to a June 25, 2006 obituary in the Boston Globe.
Former Molly Hatchet members Steve Holland, Bruce Crump, Jimmy Farrar and Riff West still perform together in a group called Gator Country. Original guitarist Duane Roland also played in this group from its inception in 2005 until his death in 2006.