Jeff Cook
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Short description|American country musician (1949–2022)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jeff Cook
| image = Jeff Cook.jpg
| caption = Cook performing with Alabama in 2014
| image_size =
| birth_name = Jeffrey Alan Cook
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1949|08|27}}
| birth_place = Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.
| instrument = Vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|11|07|1949|08|27}}
| death_place = Destin, Florida, U.S.
| genre = Country, country rock
| occupation = Musician, songwriter
| years_active = 1972–2022
| past_member_of = Alabama
}}
Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country musician. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to occasional lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical instruments.
Life and career
Jeffrey Alan Cook was born in Fort Payne, Alabama. He was a graduate of Fort Payne High School and Jacksonville State University. He obtained a broadcast engineer license three days after his fourteenth birthday, and worked at a local radio station as a disc jockey while still in high school.{{Cite web |url=http://cookandglenn.com/bio_jeff.html |title=Jeff Cook and the AGB: Jeff Cook biography |access-date=July 7, 2008 |archive-date=December 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212085139/http://www.cookandglenn.com/bio_jeff.html |url-status=dead }}
Cook co-founded the band Wildcountry, along with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, in 1972 (the name was changed to Alabama in 1977). He contributed lead as well as backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboard, and fiddle to the group's productions.[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1500|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic Biography: Alabama] Since the band ceased active production and performance in 2004, Cook has formed the groups Cook & Glenn and the Allstar Goodtime Band, with which he performed."Songwriters Honored with Special Concert," The Huntsville Times, September 13, 2007, p. 7G
In addition to his performance work, Cook founded Cook Sound Studios, Inc., in his native Fort Payne, and also established radio station WQRX-AM, which he later sold, in adjacent Valley Head, Alabama. Cook is also noted for his culinary endeavors, having operated a restaurant and marketed his own sauce."Cook's 'Zesty' Hobby a Feature of Saturday Event," The Huntsville Times, July 25, 2007, p, 1C
Cook endorsed the 2008 presidential candidacy of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and made appearances with the candidate in Alabama.[http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/02/huckabee_tells_huntsville_crow.html "Huckabee Tells Huntsville Crowd He'll Stay in Race," The Birmingham News blogs, February 2, 2008]
Cook was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.
Personal life and death
On April 11, 2017, Cook disclosed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years earlier. He stopped touring regularly with Alabama in 2018,{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/04/11/exclusive-alabama-member-reveals-parkinsons-diagnosis/100325784/|title=Exclusive: Alabama member reveals Parkinson's diagnosis|work=USA TODAY|access-date=May 27, 2017|language=en}} but did join the band for their 50th Anniversary tour in 2022.{{cite news |last1=Raucoules |first1=Gregory |title=Alabama 50th Anniversary Tour coming to Knoxville |url=https://www.wate.com/news/local-news/alabama-50th-anniversary-tour-coming-to-knoxville/ |access-date=March 19, 2022 |work=WATE 6 On Your Side |date=February 15, 2022}} Cook died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Destin, Florida, on November 7, 2022, at the age of 73.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/jeff-cook-alabama-guitarist-dead-obituary-1234627084/ | title=Jeff Cook, Alabama Co-Founder and Guitarist, Dead at 73 | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=November 8, 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/11/08/jeff-cook-alabama-2022-band-co-founding-member-dies/69611215007/ | title=Jeff Cook, co-founding member of country band Alabama, dies at 73 | work=The Tennessean | date=November 8, 2022 | accessdate=November 8, 2022 | author=Matthew Leimkuehler}}
Solo discography
- 2005: On Fire
- 2008: Just Pickin'
- 2009: Ashes Won't Burn
- 2009: Jeff Cook Presents Christmas Joy
- 2009: "Tribute to a Soldier" (single with Charlie Daniels and Ken Randolph)
- 2010: Shaken... Not Stirred
- 2011: 2 Rock 4 Country
- 2011: Bits & Pieces / Odds & Ends
- 2012: Shaken Not Stirred
- 2018: Why Not Me with William Shatner
References
{{Reflist}}
https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1416074853
External links
{{cc}}
- [http://www.jeffcook-agb.com/index.html Jeff Cook and the AGB] official website
- [http://www.thealabamaband.com/ The Alabama Band] official website
- {{discogs artist|Jeff Cook (2)}}
- {{imdb name|1187954}}
{{Alabama (band)|Alabama}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Jeff}}
Category:Alabama (American band) members
Category:American country fiddlers
Category:American country singer-songwriters
Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Florida
Category:People from Fort Payne, Alabama
Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Members of the Country Music Association