Duane Roland

Duane Roland (December 3, 1952 – June 19, 2006) was an American guitarist for the Southern hard rock band Molly Hatchet. He was a member of the band from its founding in the mid-1970s until his departure in 1990. After leaving the band he played with the Southern Rock Allstars and Gator Country, which included many of the founding members of Molly Hatchet.

Early years Roland was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana but moved to Florida with his family at the age of 7. Duane originally played drums in his first band, in high school, before gravitating to the guitar. He came from a musical family—his mother was a pianist and his father an "occasional guitarist".

On his decision to become a serious musician he said: I was at the "West Palm Beach Music Festival" and the line up was Johnny Winter, Vanilla Fudge, Janis Joplin, King Crimson and the Rolling Stones. It had rained and I was laying on a piece of plastic. King Crimson was late so Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin and The Vanilla Fudge got up and jammed and I came straight up off that plastic and said, "That's what I wanna do! I watched Johnny play and that was it for me." Drummer Bruce Crump said Roland was the anchor of Molly Hatchet during the 1980s, a time when the band's lineup was constantly changing. "During all that time, Duane was the constant," said Crump. "I can't imagine playing Molly Hatchet music without Duane Roland. It just wouldn't be the same."