Duane Roland (Molly Hatchet)

Duane Roland (b. Jeffersonville, December 3, 1952 – d. St. Augustine, Florida, June 19, 2006) -- Guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Duane Roland lived in Jeffersonville and Evansville before moving to Florida at age seven. He came from a musical family, as his dad played a little acoustic guitar and his mother was a classical pianist. Although Duane played drums with his first high school band, he soon focused on guitar and was strongly influenced by seeing Johnny Winter play at the West Palm Beach Music Festival. After proving his guitar skills with the Ball Brothers Band in Florida, he filled in for little-known Southern rock band Molly Hatchet and became a permanent member in 1975. At the time, the band had not recorded, so Roland played on the first seven albums before leaving the group in 1990. In addition to sharing lead guitar duties, he also co-wrote some of their hits, including "Boogie No More" and "Bloody Reunion." He later played with super group Southern Rock All Stars, which has included other members of Molly Hatchet plus members of Blackfoot, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot, and the Rossington Band. In 2005, Roland joined up other former members of Molly Hatchet to form Gator Country, a name taken from one of their old songs. Roland's time in Gator Country was short-lived because of his early death of natural causes in 2006.