remembering MOLLY HATCHET guitarist Steve Holland (1954-2020)

remembering MOLLY HATCHET guitarist Steve Holland (1954-2020)

Steve Holland died on August 2, 2020.

Steve, who formed Molly Hatchet with fellow guitarist Dave Hlubek in 1971, was the last surviving member of the group's early lineup as it appeared on their 1978 self-titled debut. Hlubek, singer Danny Joe Brown, guitarist Duane Roland, bassist Banner Thomas and drummer Bruce Crump had died before him.

Steve played on the band's first studio albums. He left in 1984.

Steve was born in Dothan, Ala., according to a biography by the Alabama Music Office, and he started playing the guitar at the age of eight. When Dave and Steve first founded Molly Hatchet, they went through several lineup changes before settling on the classic crew of Brown, Roland, Thomas and Crump. Steve helped form Gator Country in 2005, and that band released one album, a live set fittingly titled Gator Country Live, in 2008. The band seems to have stopped around 2010.

On the topic of Molly Hatchet's sound fellow guitarist Dave Hlubek, according to Wikipedia, felt differently than what they categorized as: "When they finally signed their recording contract with Epic Records, they received help and advice from Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, who was originally supposed to produce their first album but was killed in a plane crash in 1977. While most people tagged Molly Hatchet as 'Southern rock', Hlubek admits it was only because of their location. He considered Molly Hatchet, along with Blackfoot, to actually be heavy metal bands from the South. In fact, he also said that, although hard to talk about, it was the demise of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were on top of the world at that time, that opened the door for Molly Hatchet."

Molly Hatchet - Dreams I'll Never See | Live at Capitol Theatre (1978)