Molly Hatchet

Molly Hatchet would've done just fine even if Lynyrd Skynyrd hadn't met their end in tragedy. Addled music critics - already baffled that Molly Hatchet could even get signed when The Ramones had clearly destroyed all previous rock genres - made their simplistic assumptions. Few noticed that Molly Hatchet (named after a notorious southern prostitute who would routinely behead her customers post-copulation) sported sharp songwriting beneath the berserker Viking imagery of their album covers.

Old-fashioned rock radio, however, was perfectly happy to play the best tracks from Hatchet's Flirtin' with Disaster. And when frontman Danny Joe Brown left the band for personal reasons related to the hard drinking life of a musician on the road, Jimmy Farrar stepped in as lead vocalist. To the surprise of even longtime fans, the band only became more inventive and ambitious with 1980's Beatin' the Odds and 1981's Take No Prisoners.

Sadly, Molly Hatchet was too heavy to pull off the same pop/rock that made chubby stars out of 38 Special. Hlubek left the band, and other members soon followed. The version of Molly Hatchet that tours the world today contains no original members.