Although Doc Holliday performed alongside prominent acts throughout Southern rock's peak years in the 1970s, the group never attained comparable stature, yet it built a dedicated following among genre enthusiasts. The roots trace to 1971, when guitarist and lead vocalist Bruce Brookshire established the blues outfit Roundhouse alongside his sibling. By decade's end, Roundhouse had drawn notice from Molly Hatchet's manager, which paved the way for the rechristened Doc Holliday to land a contract with A&M Records in 1980. The initial configuration included Brookshire, guitarist Rick Skelton, keyboardist Eddie Stone, bassist John Samuelson, and drummer Herman Nixon; their self-titled debut appeared the next year. The subsequent release, Doc Holliday Rides Again, helped expand their listeners as the band shared bills with Black Sabbath, Loverboy, Gregg Allman, and Molly Hatchet. Tensions within the ranks intensified, however, during work on the third album, Modern Medicine, under producer Mack, whose credits encompassed Billy Squier and Queen. The resulting effort, which attempted to blend early '80s rock elements into the band's approach, flopped commercially, severing the A&M arrangement and prompting a breakup. Reunion followed with 1986's Danger Zone, on which the group reverted to its foundational style, and Doc Holliday sustained recording and touring activity through the remainder of the 1980s and the 1990s, with attention increasingly directed toward European audiences that proved more responsive. The first three albums received reissues in 1999, among them their inaugural appearances on CD. Brookshire issued the solo project The Damascus Road in 2001, shifting to an acoustic format that mirrored his growing Christian convictions, yet he maintained the common thread by keeping Doc Holliday active and overseeing the release of A Better Road later that same year.
