Danny Joe Brown


Danny Joe Brown was the lead singer of the Southern rock group Molly Hatchet, after succeeding founder Dave Hlubek in 1976, and co-writer of the band's biggest hits from the late 1970s.

Biography

Brown was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1951 and graduated from Terry Parker High School in 1969. Shortly after graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and was stationed in New York for two years. Once he left the Coast Guard, Brown's focus turned solely to music and he joined Molly Hatchet in 1974.
He is best known for writing and singing on such songs as "Flirtin' with Disaster" and "Whiskey Man." He was also the vocalist on "Dreams I'll Never See," a faster-tempoed cover of the Allman Brothers song. The band's sound was immediately recognizable by Brown's distinct voice: a deep, raspy, throaty growl.
Brown left Molly Hatchet in 1980 because of chronic diabetes and pancreatic problems, but soon started his own band, The Danny Joe Brown Band, which released a single studio album in 1981. He later rejoined Molly Hatchet in 1982, only to leave again in 1995 after suffering a stroke. He died at his mother's home in Davie, Florida in March 2005, at the age of 53. His obituary attributed his death to kidney failure, a complication of the diabetes he had since age 19 along with Hepatitis C. Brown moved into his mother's home after becoming ill. He was married to Crystle H. Brown for 20 years leaving behind six children: Jacob Daniel Brown,
Matthew Langley Brown, Danny Joe Brown Jr., Ashley Louise Brown, Chrystle Rebeccah Brown, and Aaron Morgan.
Brown is buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Discography

With Molly Hatchet