The Molly Hatchet trademark is owned by Bobby Ingram, their guitarist since 1987 (when he replaced founding member Dave Hlubek, who rejoined the band eighteen years later and stayed with them until his death in 2017).

Also included in the current lineup are veteran musicians of the Southern scene, drummer Shawn Beamer, bassist Tim Lindsey and vocalist Parker Lee.

The band originated and was based in Jacksonville, Florida, and shared influences and inspiration with what is perhaps the most well-known act in the Southern rock genre, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

During the late 1960s, Hlubek (vocals, guitar), Skip Lake (drums), Tim Lindsey (bass) and Chris Caruso (keyboards) were in the Psychedelic music outfit Mind Garden.

Maddox was gone by this time and shortly afterwards, Hall was replaced by Duane Roland and Fred Bianco, a friend Thomas had met working in a music store, joined as drummer.

Roland only lasted a month before he left and Kenny Niblick was the new guitarist until he and Bianco quit in mid-1975 as Steve Holland returned and Bruce Crump became the drummer.

And after Maddox left, Hlubek was the band's vocalist prior to former Rum Creek singer Danny Joe Brown's entrance in the spring of 1976.

Guitarists Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, bassist Banner Thomas and drummer Bruce Crump were joined in the spring of 1976 by Brown.

In a 2008 interview in Modern Drummer magazine, Crump talked about the band's early days, signing with manager Pat Armstrong and Ronnie Van Zant's interest in producing Molly Hatchet: "We started playing the Florida bar circuit until some of the guys from 38 Special recommended a guy they knew from Macon, Georgia who had managed a few bands.

Molly Hatchet proceeded to tour behind both records and expanded their fan base, appearing at theaters, arenas and stadiums with the likes of AC/DC,[12][13][14] Aerosmith,[15] The Babys,[13] The Charlie Daniels Band,[16] Cheap Trick,[13][14] Def Leppard,[12] Journey,[17] Judas Priest,[12] Eddie Money,[17] The Outlaws,[16] REO Speedwagon,[15] Rush,[18] Santana,[17] Scorpions,[14] Bob Seger,[15] Thin Lizzy,[17] .38 Special,[16] Pat Travers,[12] UFO[15] and The Who.

[11] Danny Joe Brown's stage persona, gruff voice and cowboy horse-whistling were replaced by Jimmy Farrar's new vocal style, mixed with a new, harder-rocking sound.

After a quick rehearsal backstage, Blackfoot's Rickey Medlocke took Brown's place as front man and their other guitarist, Charlie Hargrett, played behind Hlubek's lead.

In November 1984 the album The Deed Is Done was released, produced by Terry Manning, which was more of a straightforward Pop rock offering,[26] with Bruce Crump returning on drums.

[3] The band went on a year-long tour to support the album, playing smaller venues such as clubs and theaters, as opposed to the stadiums and arenas that had expanded their popularity.

On July 8, 1990 Molly Hatchet, which had been dropped by Capitol after the commercial failure of Lighting Strikes Twice, announced at a show in Toledo, Ohio, that the concert would be their final one; after that night, the band would be disbanding.

In late 1990, after some failed attempts to involve former members, a revised version of the band led by Brown and Ingram - both temporarily licensed from guitarist Duane Roland and Armstrong Management to the use of the name Molly Hatchet[29][30] - featured new players Rik Blanz (guitar), Rob Scavetto (keyboards), Eddie Rio (bass) and David Feagle (drums).

By 1993, the lineup was: Brown, Ingram, Erik Lundgren (guitar, from The Johnny Van Zant Band), Mac Crawford (drums) and a returning Banner Thomas (bass), with Mike Kach (keyboards), who was replaced in 1994 by Andy Orth.

Bryan Bassett (ex-Wild Cherry) took over as second guitarist in 1994 and Buzzy Meekins (formerly of the Outlaws and Danny Joe Brown Band) was bassist after Banner left again in 1995.

During the first half of the 1990s, Molly Hatchet played selected shows and tours, but did not record again until 1995, when they began working on a new studio album with German producer Kalle Trapp.

In April 1995 after continuing health problems, Brown had to once again leave the band and Jimmy Farrar was brought back for a few weeks to front the group and help "legitimize" the current version.

At this point, the band consisted of vocalist Phil McCormack, guitarists Bobby Ingram and Bryan Bassett, returning keyboardist John Galvin, bassist Andy McKinney, and drummer Mac Crawford.

In that same period, keyboardist Tim Donovan began filling in for Galvin on the road and Sean Shannon became the group's new drummer in 1998 after Crawford left.

With the help of his friends and former members Bruce Crump, Banner Thomas, Steve Holland and Dave Hlubek, he ended the show with "Flirtin' with Disaster".

[31] In June 2000 Bobby Ingram became the sole owner of the trade and service mark "Molly Hatchet", acquired from management and from original guitarist Duane Roland.

Tim Donovan (1997–2002), Scott Woods (2002), Jeff Ravenscraft (2003–2004), Gary Corbett (2004) and Richie Del Favero (2004–2005) played live keyboards until 2005, after which the group dispensed with having a touring keyboardist for a while.

Initially another guitarist, Jimbo Manion, played live alongside Ingram until Hlubek had satisfied his other commitments and was able to return full time later that year.

In 2008 keyboardist John Galvin returned to the live stage after Hlubek's recurring health issues prevented him from appearing at all of the band's gigs.

[42] Molly Hatchet continued to tour extensively but had to replace frontman Phil McCormack due to persistent illness conditions.

In early 2023, new singer Parker Lee suddenly replaced Jimmy Elkins (who suffered a bad bike accident) fronting the band in US and European tours.

One iconic aspect of Molly Hatchet's image is that many of the band's album covers feature art inspired by heroic fantasy, several of which were painted by artists such as Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, and Paul R.