Phil McCormack (463 views)

[Baronessa]

Phil McCormack (31 July 1960 - 26 April 2019)
Member Of: The Roadducks (1976 - 1996), Molly Hatchet (1996 - 2019)
Vocal Range: F♯2 - B5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Summary}Phil's vocal timeline is a bit of a puzzling and frustrating one, as during his beginnings in the Roadducks before Molly Hatchet, he sang in a surprisingly less southern-influenced, more so strong, melismatic baritone that could reach surprising heights for someone who's only familiar with his Danny Joe Brown impersonations in latter-day Molly Hatchet. After Danny Joe couldn't be able to finish his vocals for Devil's Canyon, it was clear that Phil wanted to make his vocals as faithful as possible to how Danny Joe would have sung them, abandoning any shred of his clear tone for the laryngeal bellowing that Molly Hatchet fans had come to expect from the band's original vocalist. It is unclear at this point whether Phil is even able to go back to his old tone after singing with his raspy approach for so long and it is perhaps understandable for him not to considering his focus on brand loyalty, but one can't help considering what Molly Hatchet could have been had Phil continued to evolve his technique and provided a more original take in the band's vocal department.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Range Timeline}The Roadducks:
Get *ucked (1987): D3 - B4 - B5

Molly Hatchet:
Devil's Canyon (1996): F♯2 - A4
Silent Reign of Heroes (1998): B2 - E5
Kingdom of XII (2000): A2 - C3 - A4
Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge (2005): B2 - B4
Southern Rock Masters (2008): C♯3 - G♯4
Justice (2010): A2 - A4

Significant High Notes:

B5 ("Tombstone Shadow")
E5 ("Cajun Fever", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "Tombstone Shadow")
C♯5 ("Gator Country" live Rockpalast 1996, "Oceanside Avenue")
C5 ("Cajun Fever")
B4 ("Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Sad Situation", "White Hot Woman")
A4 ("67 Breakdown", "Been to Heaven, Been to Hell", "Blue Thunder", "Bounty Hunter" live Rockpalast 1996, "Come Hell or High Water", "Cornbread Mafia", "Dead and Gone (Redneck Song)", "Dreams I'll Never See", "Edge of Sundown", "Good Time Thing", "Heart of the U.S.A.", "I Know a Little" live Scandals Nightclub 1986, "In the Darkness of the Night", "Justice", "Miss Saturday Night", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "Never Say Never", "No Stranger to the Darkness", "Oceanside Avenue", "Sad Situation", "Saddle Tramp", "Stone Cold Stranger", "Vengeance", "Whiskey Man" live Rockpalast 1996, "Why Won't You Take Me Home?")
G♯4 ("The Boys Are Back in Town", "Eat Your Heart Out", "It's All Over Now" live Rockpalast 1996, "Junk Yard Dawg", "Laughin' Eyes", "The Look in Your Eyes", "Melissa", "One Last Ride", "Tumbling Dice", "Vengeance", "White Lightning")
G4 ("67 Breakdown", "American Pride", "Been to Heaven, Been to Hell", "Behind the Bedroom Door", "Blue Thunder", "Bounty Hunter" live Rockpalast 1996, "Cajun Fever", "Come Hell or High Water", "Cornbread Mafia", "Dead and Gone (Redneck Song)", "Deep Water", "Desperado", "Diamonds in the Rough", "Down from the Mountain", "Dreams I'll Never See", "Dreams of Life", "Flirtin' With Disaster", "Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer's Song)", "Gator Country" live Rockpalast 1996, "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Good Time Thing", "Gypsy Trail", "Heart of the U.S.A.", "Hell Has No Fury", "I'm Gonna Live 'Til I Die", "I'm Ready for You", "In the Darkness of the Night", "It's All Over Now" live Rockpalast 1996, "The Journey", "Junk Yard Dawg", "Justice", "Kickstart to Freedom", "Miss Saturday Night", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "Mississippi Queen", "Moonlight Dancin' on the Bayou", "Never Say Never", "No Stranger to the Darkness", "Once in a Lifetime Girl", "One Last Ride", "Payback's a Bitch", "Roadhouse Boogie", "Rolling Thunder", "Sad Situation", "Saddle Tramp", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Silent Reign of Heroes", "Son of the South", "Stone Cold Stranger", "Tatanka", "Time Keeps Slipping Away", "Tombstone Shadow", "White Hot Woman", "White Lightning", "Wild Horses", "World of Trouble")
F♯4 ("67 Breakdown", "American Pride", "As Heaven Is Forever", "Behind the Bedroom Door", "Dead and Gone (Redneck Song)", "Deep Water", "Diamonds in the Rough", "Down from the Mountain", "Dreams I'll Never See", "Eat Your Heart Out", "Flames Are Burning", "Flirtin' With Disaster", "Get in the Game", "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Good Time Thing", "Heartless Land", "I Know a Little" live Scandals Nightclub 1986, "Just Remember (You're the Only One)", "Kickstart to Freedom", "Laughin' Eyes", "The Look in Your Eyes", "Melissa", "Oceanside Avenue", "Rainbow Bridge", "Rolling Thunder", "Safe in My Skin", "Tomorrows and Forevers", "Tumbling Dice", "Turn My Back on Yesterday", "Vengeance", "White Hot Woman", "Why Won't You Take Me Home?", "Wild Horses")
F4 ("Angel in Dixie", "Been to Heaven, Been to Hell", "The Boys Are Back in Town", "Cornbread Mafia", "Devil's Canyon", "Dreams of Life", "Fall of the Peacemakers", "Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer's Song)", "Free Bird", "Gator Country" live Rockpalast 1996, "Gypsy Trail", "Hell Has No Fury", "The Journey", "Junk Yard Dawg", "Justice", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "No Stranger to the Darkness", "One Last Ride", "Payback's a Bitch", "Roadhouse Boogie", "Saddle Tramp", "Safe in My Skin", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Silent Reign of Heroes", "Son of the South", "Time Keeps Slipping Away", "White Lightning")
E4 ("American Pride", "As Heaven Is Forever", "Behind the Bedroom Door", "Blue Thunder", "Bounty Hunter" live Rockpalast 1996, "Cajun Fever", "Come Hell or High Water", "Deep Water", "Desperado", "Devil's Canyon", "Diamonds in the Rough", "Down from the Mountain", "Eat Your Heart Out", "Edge of Sundown", "Fall of the Peacemakers", "Flames Are Burning", "Flirtin' With Disaster", "Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer's Song)", "Get in the Game", "Heart of the U.S.A.", "Heartless Land", "I Know a Little" live Scandals Nightclub 1986, "I'm Gonna Live 'Til I Die", "I'm Ready for You", "In the Darkness of the Night", "It's All Over Now" live Rockpalast 1996, "Just Remember (You're the Only One)", "Kickstart to Freedom", "Laughin' Eyes", "The Look in Your Eyes", "Melissa", "Miss Saturday Night", "Mississippi Queen", "Moonlight Dancin' on the Bayou", "Once in a Lifetime Girl", "Rainbow Bridge", "Rolling Thunder", "Sad Situation", "Silent Reign of Heroes", "Stone Cold Stranger", "Tatanka", "Tequila Sunrise", "Tombstone Shadow", "Tomorrows and Forevers", "Turn My Back on Yesterday", "Whiskey Man" live Rockpalast 1996, "Why Won't You Take Me Home?", "Wild Horses", "World of Trouble")

Significant Low Notes:

F3 ("The Boys Are Back in Town", "Cornbread Mafia", "Devil's Canyon", "Dreams of Life", "Gator Country" live Rockpalast 1996, "Gypsy Trail", "Heartless Land", "Hell Has No Fury", "The Journey", "Junk Yard Dawg", "Justice", "Never Say Never", "No Stranger to the Darkness", "One Last Ride", "Saddle Tramp", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Son of the South", "Tumbling Dice", "White Lightning")
E3 ("American Pride", "As Heaven Is Forever", "Bad to the Bone", "Been to Heaven, Been to Hell", "Behind the Bedroom Door", "Cajun Fever", "Come Hell or High Water", "Dead and Gone (Redneck Song)", "Desperado", "Down from the Mountain", "Dreams I'll Never See", "Edge of Sundown", "Flames Are Burning", "Gypsy Trail", "I'm Gonna Live 'Til I Die", "I'm Ready for You", "In the Darkness of the Night", "Just Remember (You're the Only One)", "The Look in Your Eyes", "Melissa", "Miss Saturday Night", "Mississippi Queen", "Moonlight Dancin' on the Bayou", "Oceanside Avenue", "Once in a Lifetime Girl", "Rainbow Bridge", "Rolling Thunder", "Sad Situation", "Safe in My Skin", "Silent Reign of Heroes", "Stone Cold Stranger", "Tatanka", "Tequila Sunrise", "Tombstone Shadow", "Turn My Back on Yesterday", "Vengeance", "White Hot Woman", "Why Won't You Take Me Home?", "Wild Horses", "World of Trouble")
E♭3 ("The Boys Are Back in Town", "Heartless Land", "Hell Has No Fury", "Never Say Never", "Sharp Dressed Man")
D3 ("American Pride", "As Heaven Is Forever", "Bad to the Bone", "Been to Heaven, Been to Hell", "Desperado", "Dreams I'll Never See", "Dreams of Life", "Edge of Sundown", "Flames Are Burning", "Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer's Song)", "Free Bird", "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Gypsy Trail", "Gator Country" live Rockpalast 1996, "The Journey", "Junk Yard Dawg", "Just Remember (You're the Only One)", "Justice", "The Look in Your Eyes", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "No Stranger to the Darkness", "Oceanside Avenue", "One Last Ride", "Payback's a Bitch", "Rainbow Bridge", "Saddle Tramp", "Safe in My Skin", "Stone Cold Stranger", "Tequila Sunrise", "White Lightning")
C♯3 ("Heartless Land", "I Know a Little" live Scandals Nightclub 1986, "Melissa", "Vengeance")
C3 ("Devil's Canyon", "Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer's Song)", "In the Darkness of the Night", "Never Say Never", "One Last Ride")
B2 ("Free Bird", "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "The Journey", "Mississippi Moon Dog", "Saddle Tramp")
A2 ("Cornbread Mafia", "Down from the Mountain", "I Know a Little" live Scandals Nightclub 1986, "In the Darkness of the Night")
F♯2 ("Down from the Mountain")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}C6 ("Been to Heaven, Been to Hell"^[1a])
D5 ("White Lightning"^[2a])

D2 ("Tatanka"^[1b])
…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..
[1] Questionable identity.
a. Unidentified accompanying vocalist.
b. Unidentified backing vocalist.

[2] Questionable representativeness.
a. Short, ambiguously pitched "woo"s..

…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..
• Blue marks falsetto notes.
• Bold marks outstanding passages.
• Italics mark non-melodic notes.
• Underlines mark obscured notes.