Danny Joe Brown, 53; Original Singer in Rock Band Molly Hatchet

Danny Joe Brown, 53, the original raspy-voiced singer with the Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, died Thursday at his home in Davie, Fla., of renal failure and pneumonia. He had diabetes since age 19.

Brown joined lead guitarists David Hlubek and Steve Holland in 1974, and the trio added guitarist Duane Roland, bassist Banner Thomas and drummer Bruce Crump the following year to form the six-member band. Based in Jacksonville, Fla., the group was named for a 17th-century prostitute known as “Hatchet Molly” for her proclivity of chopping off clients’ heads.

After performing in clubs, the band released its debut album, “Molly Hatchet,” in the fall of 1978, selling a million copies. The band’s second album, “Flirtin’ with Disaster,” sold double that. But Brown, exhausted from touring and struggling with diabetes, left the band in 1980 and made a solo album, “Danny Joe Brown & the Danny Joe Brown Band.”

He rejoined Molly Hatchet in 1982 and can be heard on subsequent albums, including “No Guts ... No Glory,” “The Deed Is Done” and “Double Trouble Live.” Brown’s health gradually deteriorated, and a stroke in 1998 ended his career.