Jeff Cook, co-founder of country band Alabama, dies at 73

Jeff Cook, the co-founding member of the band Alabama, is no more.

Cook battled Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nervous system ailment that impairs mobility and causes tremors, for ten years. In 2017, he made his illness public.

The Tennessean received confirmation of his passing on Tuesday afternoon from a band spokesperson. Cook passed away at his Florida beachfront house in Destin.

Along with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, Cook helped create a pattern for what a successful country band can accomplish as a guitarist, fiddler, and vocalist in Alabama.

He and the band filled in the sketch with a string of successes, including "Song of the South," "Mountain Music," "I'm In A Hurry," "Cheap Seats," and "My Home's In Alabama," which are now widely regarded as must-hear country music.

Cook, a native of Alabama's sleepy hamlet of Fort Payne, started out pursuing his passion for music as a disc jockey in his hometown.