BOBBY INGRAM Defends Continuing To Tour And Record Under MOLLY HATCHET Name Without Any Original Members: This 'Is A Brand. It's An Institution.'

In a new interview with Rob Edwards of Talkin' Bout Rock, MOLLY HATCHET guitarist Bobby Ingram and owner of the trademark to the band's name defended the fact that he is currently touring and recording with a MOLLY HATCHET lineup that doesn't include any of the musicians who played on the group's first four albums. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This is what a lot of people won't know, is I gave [original MOLLY HATCHET singer] Danny Joe Brown his first singing job before MOLLY HATCHET. Mel Powell, Phil Stotts, Robin Green and myself were the members of RUM CREEK. We gave Danny the microphone to sing his first show. And I'll never forget it because he said, 'Bobby, I wanna sing for your band, RUM CREEK.' And I said, 'Okay, who are you?' He said, 'Danny Brown.' I'll never forget it. And we became friends right that second. I said, 'Absolutely.' I said, 'Here's the microphone.' And I said, 'Do you know how to be a frontman?' He says, 'What's that?' And he turned out to be one of the best Southern rock frontmen in the history of the whole Southern rock thing. It's, like, who's better than Danny Joe Brown? He's number one in my book. So that's something I'll never forget."

Bobby continued: "So, yeah, it's been a long history. And then when [Danny] quit HATCHET in '79, [he] knocked at my front door on a rainy Sunday night and [he] said, 'Bobby, help me put a band together. Let's put a band together again.' I said, 'Okay.' And that was the DANNY JOE BROWN BAND. That's when I met John Galvin, who's still with the band now. John left for about — I don't know — five or six years or something in the interim of all the chaos in the '90s, but now John's been back in the band since '96, and we just move forward.

"So, yeah, it's been a lot of changes, and there's been a lot of generational attributes and a lot of musicians that have come into the band. So it's kind of turned into a faceless type of band."

Ingram added: "MOLLY HATCHET is a brand. It's an institution. It is a legacy, a spirit, and a tradition, and we carry on that. That's what I do. I carry it on, and that's what I intend to do until the good Lord takes me, or till I can't play any longer.

"This is all I've known pretty much all my life. Yeah, I've been to school and all that here, but I love music. I love playing MOLLY HATCHET songs. I love writing albums. I love producing albums. And we've had the most fantastic [record] label [Germany's SPV GmbH / Steamhammer]. Me and [SPV's] Olly Hahn have been together now 30 years this year. That's when 'Devil's Canyon' came out; this is the 30th anniversary of 'Devil's Canyon'. Rainer Hänsel was my manager at the time. He was MOTÖRHEAD's manager and MANOWAR and YES and whoever, all these other groups over in Europe. And they kind of introduced us to the European audience over there, so MOLLY HATCHET started spreading worldwide, and now it is worldwide. I'm doing interviews from Australia to Brazil to Russia to Finland to Sweden, all the way down to Nigeria — everywhere. And it's pretty amazing to see how the legacy has perpetuated into these foreign countries now. So we just keep it going.

"MOLLY HATCHET's always been the hardest rocking of the Southern bands," Bobby said. "That is a fact, Jack. And we will continue to be. And we have been embraced by the hard rock community over there in Europe, and we love it, man. And we still have our veteran core fans that listen to the band, come to all of our shows, and they're bringing their kids, and in many instances, they're bringing their grandkids, and it was each of their generation's first concert. Man, that tears me up when I hear that. When you're shaking the father's hand and the son's hand and the grandson's hand, and they're all standing in front of you…"

After Edwards noted that MOLLY HATCHET continues to successfully tour all around the globe without any original members, Bobby said: "Well, and it's, like, what is really original? What's original? What do people call original? Danny and I started out before MOLLY HATCHET with RUM CREEK. So what is that? Yes, everybody looks at the original six, but there's been other factors here that everybody needs to look at. Danny and I looked at each other as we were original to each other with the Southern rock we were doing. Danny carried over it into HATCHET. He carried me into HATCHET. And then he was sick and left, and then I carried it on. So there's been a lot of generation changes, and MOLLY HATCHET is a generational-type band. So are other bands. LYNYRD SKYNYRD. It's another Southern band. And they're carrying on. Johnny's [Van Zant] doing a magnificent job, and Rickey's [Medlocke] doing a fanta[stic job] … carrying on the legacy of that group. And those guys, they're carrying on the tradition, legacy and spirit of LYNYRD SKYNYRD. We're doing the same thing with MOLLY HATCHET. It's the songs. It's all about the songs. That's what's timeless here."

MOLLY HATCHET will release its first studio album in 16 years, "Lost Horizon", on November 27 through Steamhammer worldwide. All 12 tracks were recorded at London's legendary Abbey Road Studios. Alongside Ingram and the long-standing bandmates John Galvin (keyboards) and Tim Lindsey (bass),two new, younger recruits, Garrett Ramsden (drums) and Parker Lee (vocals),stand in the long tradition of first-rate MOLLY HATCHET musicians.

MOLLY HATCHET was formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1971, but Ingram didn't join the band until 1987.

Of the original MOLLY HATCHET lineup, all six members are dead, as are the band's second and third lead singers, Jimmy Farrar and Phil McCormack, respectively.

In June 2000, Ingram became the sole owner of the trademark MOLLY HATCHET, acquired from Pat Armstrong, the band's early manager.

"It's very resilient," Bobby told Savannah Morning News in a 2021 interview. "It's been a challenge, sure it has. But it's also been something that I like. I like hard work. I like challenges. The thrill of the challenge and the reward at the end. I didn't expect to do all this, but I saw that it needed it so I did it."

He added: "I'm the longest-standing member, consecutively. That means not veering from the mission, the vision, and the values of MOLLY HATCHET. I've stayed on course, on track, foundational, fundamental roots intact in creating new branches of the tree."

In a 2018 interview with Coachella Valley Weekly, Ingram said: "I have always felt a need and strong desire to keep the MOLLY HATCHET tradition, legacy, and spirit alive and well, and to keep it on the road, playing concerts, and recording new albums.

"I've seen every member come and go in the last [four decades]," he added. "I feel fortunate to be able to do it for so long and so consistently. I've never faltered or stepped out on the group, so to speak. I never joined another band. This has been my baby for over three decades, and I'm proud of it. I know what kind of sacrifice it takes to make it happen. It's all worth it to see the joy of the fans, to see their faces light up, and see them jumping up and down and hollering and forgetting their troubles. That's the reward. That's the payoff."

In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, Ingram confirmed that in order to continue with MOLLY HATCHET, he had to first license the name, and then buy it from the group's then-management.

"How much did it cost me to buy the trademark? It cost every cell in my body," Bobby said. "Every thought; every past, present and future thought. That's what it cost. I'm not going to tell you a dollar amount. It was offered to not only me — it was offered to every member of this group, and it was offered to non-members of the band. It was offered to Japanese investors, who were interested in buying MOLLY HATCHET. I couldn't see that happen. I wanted to keep it intact. And I didn't want this thing to be scattered, and I will be damned if I will let there be another MOLLY HATCHET out there. That's for sure. I've stopped a few people dead in their tracks."

MOLLY HATCHET 2026 is:

Bobby Ingram - Lead Guitars
John Galvin - Keyboards
Tim Lindsey - Bass
Garrett Ramsden - Drums
Parker Lee - Lead Vocals