PASSINGS Phil McCormack, lead
PHIL McCORMACK
singer of the band Molly Hatchet, died on April 26, 2019 of a heart attack while on tour. He was 58. Phil had fronted the band since 1996. His death follows the pass- ing of founder/guitarist Dave Hlubek in 2017 and the bands second lead singer Jimmy Farrar last year Back when Danny Joe
Brown was the only remaining original member of the band, health complications forced him to retire in 1996, and he asked Phil to come in and complete recording on the band’s Devil’s Canyon album. Phil would go on to front the band until his passing. Hatchet continued to tour, and their most recent album release was Justice back in 2010. With Hatchet, Phil rocked stages
worldwide, from Munich to Dubai, Sturgis to Okinawa. He always gave his all in perform- ance as well as when meeting fans. He loved meeting people and hanging out with fans. Prior to joining Hatchet, McCormack was lead singer for the Virginia based band the Road Ducks. Back in our GRITZmagazine days, we
teamed up with Molly Hatchet for the “Great Molly Hatchet Give Away Contest,” aka: the “I Love Molly Hatchet” contest, asking readers to write a short essay on why they loved Hatchet. The winner won a trip to Las Vegas, all expenses paid, to attend a huge all-star outdoor show with Hatchet, Bad Company, Night Ranger, Billy Squier and many more.
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The winner also got to see Hatchet in a pri- vate showcase in a room built to hold only 500 people, plus dinner with the band at a steak house in the hotel. As the editor I was also invited and we all had a ball on that first contest. I have many great memories of Phil from that weekend. He rocked the small venue just as hard as the outdoor one in front of 25,000 souls, and sitting beside him at din- ner, I learned the true meaning of the word “carnivore.” The man loved a steak! We spent a lot of time talking. When we first arrived, I decided to play the slots. I had never done it before. I pulled the handle and won $65. Phil kept telling me to gamble that money and double it. I told him no, because I’d never won anything to speak of, and I wasn’t going to lose it. He laughed so hard, and ragged me about that the whole weekend. Hatchet used to play every year at the Charlie Daniels Angelus benefit in Tampa in Decem- ber, and I was always there as both reporter
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