Dave Hlubek

August 28, 1951 – September 3, 2017

Dave Hlubek, a co-founding guitarist of southern rock band Molly Hatchet, has died at the age of 66, reportedly having suffered a heart attack.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Hlubek also sang lead vocals for Molly Hatchet in the group’s early days before the addition of Danny Joe Brown in 1974. He was part of the six-man line-up who recorded the group’s genre-classic self-titled debut, released in 1978, on which the guitar playing was split with Duane Roland and Steve Holland. Hlubek remained with the band for a further five albums before being replaced by Bobby Ingram due to self-confessed “unbearable” levels of rockstar excess and substance abuse.

Ingram went on to take over the running of Molly Hatchet, something that Hlubek found hard to stomach. In 2005, while he was a member of Skinny Molly, he told Classic Rock: “The name once really meant something, until somebody [Ingram] got a hold of it by a clerical error. I hear these days they do good shows and bad ones, but all things come to an end and, believe me, there’s a finale on the way.” However, later that same year Hlubek rejoined Molly Hatchet, and continued to play with them while his health allowed.

“Dave will be missed but never forgotten, as the music lives on through his legacy in Molly Hatchet,” said a statement from the current band. DL