The Danny Joe Brown Band was centered around its lead singer, Danny Joe Brown. At the time that the band was formed, Danny Joe Brown had just left the by now famous Molly Hatchet. Molly Hatchet was a southern rock act that had followed in the footsteps of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Outlaws to achieve considerable fame in the southern rock genre of music. Danny Joe formed this band in 1980 and kept its musical emphasis quite close to the original style that his former band, Molly Hatchet had originated. Interestingly, at the same time, his former band was starting to lean more towards a straight ahead hard rock approach. In contrast, DJBB kept with the almost no frills southern rock approach expected by fans of the music genre. This included songs about southern/western flavored topics such as gambling and The Alamo. The band was signed to the same label that Molly Hatchet was on, Epic Records. It released its only self-titled album in 1981. At the completion of the album tour, Brown returned to Molly Hatchet after giving this latest touring outfit his blessings to continue on under the name of Bounty Hunter… He died of renal failure at his home in Davie, FL, on March 10, 2005.
Best known as the raspy-voiced frontman for Southern rock combo Molly Hatchet, singer Danny Joe Brown was born August 24, 1951, in Jacksonville, FL. In 1974, Brown teamed with lead guitarists David Hlubek and Steve Holland to form Molly Hatchet, so named in honor of the 17th century prostitute chopping off her clients' heads. After adding guitarist Duane Roland, bassist Banner Thomas, and drummer Bruce Crump and honing its Dixie-fried hard rock on the Southeast club circuit, Molly Hatchet issued its self-titled debut LP in the fall of 1978, selling a million copies. The follow-up, Flirtin' with Disaster, moved twice as many units, but as the band's commitments increased, Brown's struggle with diabetes grew more difficult, and exhaustion forced him to resign in 1980. He resurfaced in 1981 with a solo project, Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band, before rejoining Molly Hatchet a year later… One of the most puzzling moves in the history of Southern rock occurred when vocalist Danny Joe Brown left Molly Hatchet after the huge success of 1979's Flirtin' With Disaster, one of the genre's definitive albums. He released one solo album on Epic, 1981's Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band. This album is of interest to Southern rock fans because it should come as no surprise that it sounds like Molly Hatchet. It was finally reissued on CD in 2004 by Wounded Bird. Like Molly Hatchet, Brown's band also featured a three-guitar attack, courtesy of Bobby Ingram, Steve Wheeler, and Kenny McVay. A couple of extra musical touches support Brown's throaty growl: slide guitar riffing by Ingram and Wheeler, keyboard accents by John Galvin and harmony vocals that certainly must have been encouraged by producer/engineer Glyn Johns, a legend who'd worked with the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Eagles and Eric Clapton. The best tracks are "Sundance", "Nobody Walks on Me", "The Alamo", "Run for Your Life", and, in particular, "Edge of Sundown", a mythical guitar-driven epic springing directly from the loins of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and the Outlaws' "Green Grass & High Tides". But that's not a bad thing. "Edge of Sundown" also plays an important role in Molly Hatchet's convoluted history. Ingram and Galvin would go on to join and lead Molly Hatchet itself (keeping the band alive long after Brown retired due to poor health) and an acoustic version of "Edge of Sundown" is featured on the underrated 2001 album Kingdom of XII. Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band doesn't contain any earthshaking surprises, but it will reliably please Southern rock fans.
Tracklist:
01. Sundance 02. Nobody Walks On Me 03. The Alamo 04. Two Days Home 05. Edge Of Sundown 06. Beggar Man 07. Run For Your Life 08. Hear My Song 09. Gambler's Dream 10. Hit The Road
Produced and Engineered by Glyn Johns
• Danny Joe Braun - vocals • Bobby Ingram - guitar, slide guitar, vocals • Steve Wheeler - guitar, slide guitar • Kenny McVay - guitar • John Galvin - keyboards, vocals • Jimmy Glenn - drums
Original Release Date: 1981 Reissue Date: January 27, 2004 Label: Wounded Bird Records Catalog No.: WOU 7385
All Star Tribute
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