List of Molly Hatchet members
Molly Hatchet is an American Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Originally formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek, the group's early years were characterized by regular personnel changes and sporadic performances, with no stable lineup in place. By 1976, the band had been officially reformed with a lineup of Hlubek, Steve Holland and Duane Roland on guitars, Danny Joe Brown on vocals, Banner Thomas on bass and Bruce Crump on drums. The current lineup of Molly Hatchet includes keyboardist John Galvin (who originally joined in 1984), guitarist Bobby Ingram (since 1987), drummer Shawn Beamer (since 2001), bassist Tim Lindsey (since 2004) and vocalist Jimmy Elkins (since 2019).
History
1971–1995
Molly Hatchet was originally founded by guitarists Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland in 1971.[1][2] During its early years, the band performed with various musicians in the Jacksonville area, not settling on an official lineup.[3] Early members of the group included vocalist Bobby Maddox,[4] guitarist Donald Hall,[5] and drummer Fred Bianco.[6] Hlubek also performed vocals during certain periods of the band's formation.[7] By the spring of 1976, the group had settled on a lineup including Hlubek and Holland, bassist Banner Thomas (who joined in 1973), drummer Bruce Crump (who joined in early 1976), third guitarist Duane Roland and vocalist Danny Joe Brown (both of whom joined in 1976).[3] Brown joined from Rum Creek, which featured future Danny Joe Brown Band and Molly Hatchet guitarist Bobby Ingram.[8]
After the release of Molly Hatchet and Flirtin' with Disaster, Brown left Molly Hatchet in 1980 due to problems with diabetes, with Jimmy Farrar taking his place.[9] Beatin' the Odds and Take No Prisoners followed, after which Thomas also left in November 1981 following an argument with Hlubek.[10] He was replaced by Ralph "Riff" West.[11] The following year, Crump moved to Los Angeles, California and was replaced by Barry "B.B." Borden.[12] In May, Brown returned to replace Farrar and the group released No Guts... No Glory in 1983.[13] By 1984, Crump had returned and keyboardist John Galvin – a former member of the Danny Joe Brown Band who contributed keyboard parts to No Guts... No Glory as a guest performer – had joined the band full-time, after Holland grew tired of touring and left the band.[14]
The new two-guitarist lineup released The Deed Is Done in 1984, followed by Double Trouble Live in 1985, before Hlubek left the band at the beginning of 1987 in order to address his ongoing problem with drug addiction.[15] He was replaced by Bobby Ingram, another alumnus of the Danny Joe Brown Band.[8] After releasing and touring in promotion of Lightning Strikes Twice, Molly Hatchet played its last show in July 1990 before Roland, West, Crump and Galvin all left.[8] Brown and Ingram subsequently rebuilt the group later in the year, touring for another five years with various personnel.[8]
1995–2017
In April 1995, Danny Joe Brown was forced to leave Molly Hatchet again due to ongoing health problems. He was replaced by Phil McCormack, who had earlier substituted for Brown during a tour in 1992.[16] The group's new lineup – which also included guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Andy McKinney, drummer Mac Crawford and former keyboardist John Galvin – returned to the studio and released Devil's Canyon in 1996.[17] This was followed in 1998 by Silent Reign of Heroes, which also featured contributions from keyboardist Tim Donovan, who had filled in for Galvin during several recent touring cycles.[17] Sean Shannon replaced Crawford in 1999, when the group also briefly worked with three guitarists again when Mike Owings joined as a member lead guitarist until he left the band in 2000. Mike Owings later joined David Allan Coe 2013 and now is playing in the southern rock band Jacksonville Slim and Express Train out of Jacksonville, Florida.Mike Owings played guitar in three southern rock bands simultaniously including Second Shot, Shanytown and Southern Rocks Finest.Mike Owings was a member of The Bobby Ingram project in the early 1980's but was fired for being " too southern". Mike Owings then joined The Allen Collins Band in 1984. This was the last three guitar line up of Molly Hatchet.[18]
After the release of Kingdom of XII in 2000, guitarist Bryan Bassett was replaced by Russ Maxwell.[8] The band recorded the double live album Locked and Loaded before the end of the year, although it was not released until 2003.[19] Further lineup changes followed during the band's touring the following year, as Shannon was replaced in September 2001 by Dale Rock, who then made way for Shawn Beamer the next month.[19] McKinney also left in February 2002 and was replaced by Jerry Scott, shortly before Ingram took a short break from touring after suffering a heart attack, and the band continued with only Maxwell on guitar.[19] Scott was replaced by J.J. Strickland in May 2003, before Tim Lindsey took over in February 2004.[20] Maxwell left the next month, with Jake Rutter taking his place.[20]
In January 2005 founding member Dave Hlubek returned to Molly Hatchet for the first time in 18 years.[21] The guitarist's touring appearances were limited due to his ongoing health issues, with Jimbo Manion performing in his place at select shows.[22] During the 2000s and 2010s, many former members of the band died – vocalist Danny Joe Brown on March 10, 2005 due to kidney failure and pneumonia caused by his diabetes,[23] guitarist Duane Roland on June 19, 2006 due to natural causes,[24] bassist Riff West on November 19, 2014 due to health complications caused by a car accident several months earlier,[25] drummer Bruce Crump on March 16, 2015 after a lengthy battle with throat cancer,[12] and bassist Banner Thomas on April 10, 2017 due to a heart attack following a bout of pneumonia.[26]
2017 onwards
On September 2, 2017 guitarist Dave Hlubek died of a heart attack.[27] The group continued to perform with just one guitarist, as Ingram stated that he "could never" replace Hlubek.[28] On October 29, 2018, former vocalist Jimmy Farrar died due to complications from congestive heart failure, kidney failure and liver failure.[29] Molly Hatchet continued to tour until Phil McCormack died on April 25, 2019.[30] Jimmy Elkins took his place and was officially announced as the band's new vocalist in October 2019.[31] Steve Holland, the last original member of the group, died on August 2, 2020.
Members
Current
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Galvin |
|
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from No Guts... No Glory (1983) onwards (except retrospective live releases) | |
Bobby Ingram | 1987–present |
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from Lightning Strikes Twice (1989) onwards (except retrospective live releases) | |
Shawn Beamer | 2001–present (inactive 2011–13) |
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from 25th Anniversary: Best of Re-Recorded (2004) onwards (except Live at Rockpalast 1996) | |
Tim Lindsey | 2004–present |
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge (2005) onwards (except Live at Rockpalast 1996) | |
Jimmy Elkins | 2019–present | lead vocals | Battleground (2019) |
Former
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Hlubek |
|
|
| |
Steve Holland | 1971–1984 (died 2020) | lead and rhythm guitars |
| |
Banner Thomas |
|
|
| |
Bruce Crump |
|
|
| |
Duane Roland | 1976–1990 (died 2006) |
|
| |
Danny Joe Brown |
|
|
| |
Jimmy Farrar | 1980–1982 (died 2018) | lead vocals |
| |
Ralph "Riff" West | 1981–1990 (died 2014) |
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from No Guts... No Glory (1983) to Greatest Hits (1990) – two previously unreleased tracks | |
Barry "B.B." Borden | 1982–1984 | drums | No Guts... No Glory (1983) | |
Rik Blanz | 1990–1991 | lead and rhythm guitars | none | |
Rob Scavetto | keyboards | |||
David Feagle | 1990–1991 | drums | ||
Eddie Rio | bass | |||
Rob Sweat | 1991 | |||
Kevin Rian | 1991–1993 | |||
Kenny Holton | drums | |||
Mac Crawford | 1993–1999 |
|
| |
Erik Lundgren | 1993–1994 | lead and rhythm guitars | none | |
Mike Kach | keyboards | |||
Bryan Bassett | 1994–2000 |
|
| |
Andy Orth | 1994–1995 | keyboards | none | |
Buzzy Meekins | 1995 (died 2015) | bass | ||
Andy McKinney | 1995–2002 |
|
| |
Phil McCormack | 1995–2019 (until his death) |
|
all Molly Hatchet releases from Devil's Canyon (1996) to Live at Rockpalast 1996 (2013) (except retrospective live releases) | |
Sean Shannon | 1999–2001 |
|
Kingdom of XII (2000) | |
Mike Owings | 1999–2000 | lead and rhythm guitars | Departed just prior to Kingdom of XII recording | |
Russ Maxwell | 2000–2004 |
| ||
Dale Rock | 2001 | drums | none | |
Jerry Scott | 2002–2003 |
| ||
J.J. Strickland | 2003–2004 | 25th Anniversary: Best of Re-Recorded (2004) | ||
Jake Rutter | 2004 | lead and rhythm guitars | Live in Hamburg (2005 DVD+CD) |
Backup
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jai Winding | 1978–1984 (session) | keyboards | Winding performed keyboards on the band's first five studio albums, prior to the arrival of John Galvin.[32] | |
Tim Donovan | 1997–2002 (session/touring) |
|
Donovan regularly filled in for Galvin on tour, and performed on Silent Reign of Heroes and Kingdom of XII.[33] | |
Scott Woods | 2002–2003 (touring) | keyboards | Donovan retired from touring in November 2002, at which point Woods took over as touring keyboardist.[19] | |
Jeff Ravenscraft | 2003–2004 (touring) | Ravenscraft took over from Woods as touring keyboardist in September 2003, remaining until early 2004.[20] | ||
Gary Corbett | 2004 (touring) | Corbett replaced Ravenscraft in 2004 and left around the same time as guitarist Jake Rutter in September.[20] | ||
Richie Del Favero | 2004–2005 (session/touring) |
|
Del Favero took over from Corbett in September 2004 and performed on Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge.[34] | |
Jimbo Manion | 2005 (touring substitute) | lead and rhythm guitars | Manion filled in for the returning Dave Hlubek at select shows during 2005, due to his ongoing health issues.[22] | |
Scott Craig | 2011–2013 (touring substitute) | drums | Craig substituted for Shawn Beamer between 2011 and 2013 after the regular drummer suffered a heart attack.[35] |
Timelines
Members
Recording
Album | Lead vocals | Guitar | Guitar | Guitar | Bass | Drums | Keyboards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Molly Hatchet (1978) | Danny Joe Brown | Duane Roland | Dave Hlubek | Steve Holland | Banner Thomas | Bruce Crump | Jai Winding (session musician) |
Flirtin' with Disaster (1979) | |||||||
Beatin' the Odds (1980) | Jimmy Farrar | ||||||
Take No Prisoners (1981) | |||||||
No Guts... No Glory (1983) | Danny Joe Brown | Riff West | B.B. Borden | ||||
The Deed Is Done (1984) | none | Bruce Crump | John Galvin | ||||
Lightning Strikes Twice (1989) | Bobby Ingram | ||||||
Devil's Canyon (1996) | Phil McCormack | Bryan Bassett | Andy McKinney | Mac Crawford | |||
Silent Reign of Heroes (1998) | |||||||
Kingdom of XII (2000) | Sean Shannon | ||||||
Best of Re-Recorded (2004) | Russ Maxwell | J.J. Strickland | Shawn Beamer | ||||
Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge (2005) | Dave Hlubek | Tim Lindsey | |||||
Southern Rock Masters (2008) | |||||||
Justice (2010) | |||||||
Regrinding the Axes (2012) | |||||||
Battleground (2019) | Jimmy Elkins | none |
Lineups
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
Spring 1976 – May 1980 |
|
|
May 1980 – November 1981 |
|
|
November 1981 – May 1982 |
|
none – live performances only |
May 1982 – 1984 |
|
|
1984 – late 1986 |
|
|
Late 1986 – July 1990 |
|
|
Late 1990 – 1991 |
|
none – live performances only |
1991 |
| |
1991–1993 |
| |
1993–1994 |
| |
1994 |
| |
1994–1995 |
| |
1995 |
| |
April 1995 – early 1999 |
|
|
June 1999 – March 2000 |
|
none – live performances only |
March – late 2000 |
|
|
Late 2000 – September 2001 |
|
|
September – October 2001 |
|
none – live performances only |
October 2001 – February 2002 |
| |
February 2002 – May 2003 |
| |
May 2003 – February 2004 |
|
|
February – March 2004 |
|
none – live performances only |
March – September 2004 |
|
|
September 2004 – January 2005 |
|
none – live performances only |
January 2005 – September 2017 |
|
|
September 2017 – April 2019 |
|
none – live performances only |
April 2019 – present |
|
|
References
- Russell, Xavier (May 21, 2017). "RC Blog #6: Help For Hlubek". Rock Candy. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "The Molly Hatchet story – page 1". Kieran Keegan. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Kinner, Derek (October 1, 2014). "The War Over Molly Hatchet". Folio Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "History". Dirk's Unofficial Molly Hatchet Site. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Archambeau, Philippe (November 2002). "Banner Thomas's interview". Road to Jacksonville. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Kinner, Derek (Interviewer); Bianco, Fred (Interviewee) (January 13, 2019). Fred Bianco – Original Molly Hatchet Drummer Interview. Retrieved July 11, 2019 – via YouTube.
- "Molly Hatchet 1980–1985 4-CD Box Set Coming". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Smith, Michael Buffalo (February 2001). "Gypsy Trail: Bobby Ingram Carries The Molly Hatchet Torch Into The 21st Century". Swampland. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Graham, Samuel; Sutherland, Sam (September 20, 1980). "Axe Murderers" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 37 no. 1730. New York City: Record World Publishing. p. 18. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Breaking: Southern Rock Legend Dies At 63". Society of Rock. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Smith, Michael Buffalo (October 2000). "Still Jammin' for Danny Joe: Riff West's Life in Molly Hatchet, Foghat, White Witch and Service to All Creatures Great and Small". Swampland. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Kinner, Derek (March 23, 2015). "A Modest Rock Star: The World Mourns The Loss Of Molly Hatchet Drummer And Jacksonville Music Legend". Folio Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Barton, Geoff (January 28, 2011). "Cult Heroes No. 46: Molly Hatchet". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Smith, Michael Buffalo (May 2002). "Galvinized Metal: An Exclusive Interview With Molly Hatchet's Keyboard Wizard John Galvin". Swampland. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet Founder Dave Hlubek Dead at 66". Ultimate Guitar. September 5, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Lewry, Fraser (April 28, 2019). "Molly Hatchet singer Phil McCormack dead at 58". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Larkin, Colin. "Molly Hatchet Biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet: Kingdom Of XII: Review/Opinion". Music Waves. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "News Archive". Dirk's Unofficial Molly Hatchet Site. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Stickman's Molly Hatchet News Page". Stickman's Molly Hatchet Site. Archived from the original on March 19, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet Guitarist And Founder Dave Hlubek Dies Aged 66". Metal Forces. September 2, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Band Members". Molly Hatchet. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Danny Joe Brown, 53; Original Singer in Rock Band Molly Hatchet". Los Angeles Times. March 15, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet guitarist Duane Roland dies". United Press International. June 23, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Ralph West Obituary – Deland, FL". Orlando Sentinel. December 6, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Banner Thomas (1956–2017)". Legacy.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Munro, Scott (September 4, 2017). "Molly Hatchet's Dave Hlubek dies aged 66". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet Celebrates 40 Years at Stagecoach 2018". Coachella Valley Weekly. April 25, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Hartmann, Graham (October 29, 2018). "Former Molly Hatchet Singer Jimmy Farrar Dead". Loudwire. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Kaufman, Gil (April 29, 2019). "Molly Hatchet Singer Phil McCormack Dies at 58". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Molly Hatchet To Release 'Battleground' Live Album". Blabbermouth.net. October 14, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
- "Jai Winding: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Tim Donovan: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge – Molly Hatchet: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- Yanko, Michael (September 19, 2013). "Molly Hatchet 2013 Tour". Real Rock News. Retrieved July 11, 2019.