In 1987 they got the great opportunity to serve as the house band for a tour by reknowned bluesman John Lee Hooker. That was followed by a similar role set up by the Rosebud Agency on a tour with John Hammond, Pinetop Perkins, Elvin Bishop and John Lee Hooker. Aside from Hammond’s acoustic set, this tour kept The Nighthawks on stage for over four hours at each show—and there were about 50 of them the length of the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Florida. Their superior musicianship in this dynamic role took The Nighthawks recognition to a new high as they were dubbed the “Northeast rhythm section” and the “ultimate back-up band.”

Mark continued to pursue solo work during this period, doing session work with performers like Bob Margolin and the Bel Airs. This lead to a partnership with the Bel Airs, a very highly regarded roots rock band based in Columbia, MO, that played music ranging from blues to soul that was similar to The Nighthawks. The Bel Airs had featured Mike Henderson on harp and guitar, but since he had moved on to Nashville, Mark joined them to record and tour. Mark’s powerful singing and harp playing blended nicely with the Everly Brothers style harmonies of the Pruitt brothers—
Dick on bass/lead vocals and David on guitar/vocals—and drummer Pat O’Connor rounded out the group. Some of the fine work by this group is included on Mark’s 1989 release “Nothin’ But”, which features half the tracks backed by D.C area musicians and the rest with the Bel Airs.

Mark spent time touring the Midwest with the Bel Airs—enjoying himself so much he passed up an opportunity to rejoin Nighthawks Jan Zukowski and Pete Ragusa to back up John Lee Hooker. Also during this time, two anthologies of some of The Nighthawks best were released under the titles “Best of the Blues” and “Best of the Rock”—these were also subsequently combined on the release “Best of The Nighthawks.”

Having taken about a year to regroup, Mark, Jan and Pete decided they wanted to get The Nighthawks going again. Through previous performances with the Southern Rock band Wet Willie, the band had gotten to know singer, sax and harp player Jimmy Hall, and he joined them in 1988. On guitar, the band first turned to Steuart Smith, who produced “Hard Living” and had played with Mark in Switchblade. But Smith already had many other obligations that would ultimately lead him to Nashville and most recently to playing guitar for the Eagles.

So the band called on a number of guitar players during the late 1980s—including Jim Solberg, Pete Kennedy and Warren Haynes, who also had many obligations that would lead him to roles as a member of the Allman Brothers and the leader of Government Mule.

Another guitarist who played a prominent role with the band was Jimmy Nalls, a D.C. native who had become known for his work with the band Sea Level, as well as with Dr. John, D.C. Dog and as a session player for Capricorn Records. The combination of Nalls and Hall gave the band a new sound featuring Hall’s gospel harmonies. This version of the band toured a good bit between 1988-1990, including trips to Europe several times that included Germany and Scandinavia. They recorded some demos during this time, but no album was released. The only recording of this incarnation of that band is on “Blues From a Mountain Stage” where they perform the Ray Charles song “Leave My Woman Alone.” During this period, some longtime fans had trouble adjusting to the change in the band’s sound. This group of players lasted a couple years, until Hall and Nalls went in different directions musically.

The Nighthawks were again in search of a guitarist, and this time turned to a young prodigy from Chapel Hill, NC—24-year-old Danny Morris. He could play traditional blues, but also brought an element of 60s go-go and surf music to the mix. The band also decided to add 18-year-old keyboard player Mike Cowan, who had played with Morris in NC. This new incarnation of the group was anxious to get into the studio and the result was “Trouble,” a very highly regarded showcase of their evolving skills. It features a great set of songs and energetic performances ranging from blues to rock to R&B. It helped to put them back on the blues/rock map after a long break between studio albums.

When Mike reached age 21, he decided it was time for a change and left to go to college. The band went back to being a foursome, and this allowed Danny to really step up and mature as a musician. This line-up would be captured on the live showcase “Rock This House,” recorded at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Northern Virginia in 1993. It’s a night of great bar band blues featuring classic songs by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Merle Travis, James Brown, Carl Perkins and Otis Rush. It was shortly after this that, after four years with the band, Danny decided to form his own band and pursue his love of surf music. So once again, The Nighthawks were in search of a guitarist.