Alabama (Photo by Alan Messer)
Alabama Founding Member Jeff Cook Has Passed Away
Alabama guitarist and fiddle player Jeff Cook lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease on Monday, November 7th.
He passed away surrounded by family and friends at his beach house in Destin, Florida. He was 73.
Jeff and his cousins, Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, formed the band over 50 years ago in Fort Payne, Alabama.
They’re one of the biggest groups in country music history, selling 80 million albums and charting 33 Number One hits.
Jeff was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Fiddlers Hall of Fame, and was a Gibson Guitarist of the Year honoree.
He’s survived by his wife of 27 years, Lisa.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Jeff and Lisa Cook Foundation, which helps educate and assist people with Parkinson’s.
Here’s a classic moment of him tearing through the fiddle solo in the song “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)” from Farm Aid 1986.
