Jeff Cook passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease on November 7, 2022 in Destin, Florida. He was 73.
He was born Jeffrey Alan Cook on August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, United States to Betty Cook and the late James Cook.
Jeff Cook graduated from 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.
The American country music artist, Jeff cook was best known for being a member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed on guitar, fiddle and other musical instruments.
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.
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 performs.
Aside from 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. He is also noted for his culinary endeavors, having operated a restaurant and marketed his own sauce.
Cook endorsed the 2008 presidential candidacy of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and made appearances with the candidate in Alabama.
On April 11, 2017, Cook disclosed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years earlier and stopped touring regularly with Alabama in 2018.
He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.
Jeff Cook’s funeral arrangements are yet to be announced by the family.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years Lisa Cook, his mother Betty Cook, brother David Cook , and his nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, his family asks for donations to the Jeff and Lisa Cook Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness for Parkinson’s disease.