'I Still Can't Whistle'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            A lifetime ago, I started playing guitar and following every major Southern rock act like a bloodhound. Country music had always ruled at our house, but I was a kid, and kids like to go against the grain sometimes. The first time I ever saw Molly Hatchet's debut album was on my school bus. This beautiful blonde girl sitting across from me was taking it to her art class, and I mustered up the courage to ask if I could look at the album cover. The artwork was like nothing I had ever seen, and the guys on the back looked mean and cool as well. I thought I might like this band, and I also thought it might give me something to talk about with the blonde-haired girl.

            We had a tiny record store in our town back then called "The Mystery Train", so as soon as I got a chance to go to town, I went. I sauntered into the store like I knew what life was about and bought my very own Hatchet album. Remember now, I hadn't even heard what these guys sounded like because I was still in hot pursuit of the blond-haired girl. My mom picked me up that afternoon standing there with this cool album under my arm and man, did I feel tough. I felt like I should have had a cigarette or something to enhance my coolness, but my mom would have knocked me out right downtown.

            I went to my room, put the album on, and fell in love instead -- with some stranger called "Bounty Hunter". By this time, I forgot all about the girl because this new music was pushing all my buttons. This Danny Joe Brown guy sang and whistled like he was calling cattle! I didn't know much back then, but I knew that I wanted to be just like him. Problem was, I could whistle like Andy Griffith, but I couldn't whistle like Danny Joe.

            This music was fluid with awesome guitar riffs and breaks and everything I love. By the time "Bounty Hunter" ended, I found myself knee deep in "Gator Country". Man, did I like this music. This offshoot of rock and country felt right to me because it felt down home like everything else I had been exposed to. The songs, to me at least, felt like they were written from a seasoned adult's point of view, but they still rocked. Funny thing about Hatchet is, I have never grown tired or bored with those first few albums.

            I'm no longer a kid now, and Danny Joe Brown passed away some years back. But I challenge you to check out the following songs if you like Southern rock at all. And if you whistle pretty good, you will enjoy it more than I ever have 'cause I still can't whistle. When I call my horses, I have to do it Andy Griffith style, and it's kind of embarrassing.

            Scott Coner's Molly Hatchet Song "Must" List:

            * "Bounty Hunter".

            * "Gator Country".

            * "Whiskey Man".

            * "Dreams I'll Never See".

            * "Boogie No More."

            * "Flirtin' With Disaster".

            * "Big Apple".

            (Scott Coner is a noted country singer-songwriter who has recorded the legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, Charlie Daniels and T. Graham Brown. Learn more about him and hear his music at www.ScottConer.com. Subscribe to his You Tube channel at www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.)