Brothers Fred and Greg Wickham grew up in Warrensburg, Missouri, a small college town and farming community about 60 miles east of Kansas City. Both were avid roots rock and roll fans growing up, but were also consistently exposed to Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, Merle Haggard, and other country greats, thanks to their father's tremendous appreciation for the genre in its purest form. The Wickhams began to seriously pursue performing and songwriting in the early 1990's, creating home recordings of predominantly country tunes, most of which could be conveniently labeled "alt.country."

The band began to take shape several years ago when, by a stroke of good fortune, Richard Burgess answered a local newspaper ad for a bass player. Burgess developed a rockabilly and roots music passion, which he energetically displays during the bands live performances. Together, the Wickhams and Burgess went through a series of drummers, band names, honky-tonks and roadhouses, churning out their own brand of high energy roots rock and roll throughout the midwest.

In 1996 the band was solidified by the addition of Scottie McCuiston on drums. McCuiston, a seasoned musician, had played the cover bar circuit for years, but longed to join a band performing original material. McCuiston proved to be the missing ingredient.

Appearing as "Big Iron" (named after the old Marty Robbins hit), the band's heartfelt songs and blistering live performances began to attract attention and an avid following.

Big Iron's early success in 1997 led to their current stint as a staple at the Hurricane, Kansas City's rock and roll hot spot, where the band played with the likes of Junior Brown, the Skeletons, Todd Snider and the Bottle Rockets.

Meanwhile, the band began recording their debut album with the assistance of the legendary Lou Whitney (of Morells and Skeletons fame) in Springfield, Missouri. While nearing completion of the record, the band changed its name to the now familiar "Hadacol."