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- Jeff Cook was the guitarist and co-founder of Alabama.
- He suffered from Parkinson’s disease for 10 years.
- Jeff passed away at the age of 73 on Nov. 7.
Jeff Cook, the guitarist and co-founder of the band, Alabama, died at the age of 73 on Nov. 7. The singer’s death was announced via a press release issued by his relatives and it revealed he was surrounded by family and close friends when he passed on at his home in Destin, FL. A cause of death has not yet been released but he was known to have suffered from Parkinson’s disease for several years.
Find out more about Jeff and his successful music career below.
Jeff formed Alabama with his cousins in 1972. 
Jeff with his band, Alabama, in 2019. (Shutterstock)
The band, who started in 1969 via their Twitter bio, was originally called Wildcountry but was changed to Alabama in 1977 and included Jeff’s cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry. Jeff, who earned a broadcast engineer license at the age of 13, provided backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboard, and fiddle for the band, which was named after the state he grew up in. The band was successful, achieving hit singles like “Tennessee River,” “Feels So Right,” and “Mountain Music,” and were active until 2004, when they stopped producing and performing regularly until 2013. Jeff went on to form other music groups, including Cook & Glenn and the Allstar Goodtime Band, and ended up performing with Alabama again in 2022 for the band’s 50th anniversary tour.
