Remembering Alabama member Jeff Cook (1949-2022)

Jeffrey Alan Cook, born August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, passed away November 7, 2022.  He announced in 2017 that he had contracted Parkinson's disease.  He is one of the founding members of the country supergroup Alabama with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry. He provided guitar, backing vocals, keyboard and fiddle to the band's sound.

Cook was in ducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.  While with the group, Cook won multiple Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and was inducted into Alabama Hall of Fame three times.

Happy birthday, Jeff Cook, founding member of Alabama!

Jeff Cook, born August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, is one of the founding members of the country super-group Alabama.  He founded the band with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry in 1972. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.

He has released solo projects including a recording with William Shatner.  

In 2017, he disclosed he has Parkinson's disease.

Gordon Cooper, Mercury/Gemini astronaut born 1927

Gordon Cooper, born March 6, 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was one of the first original astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, the first manned space program for the U.S.  He flew on the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) in May 1963.  It was also the longest Mercury flight, and he was the first American to get to sleep during a mission, which lasted 34 hours.  This flight marked the last time an American was to be launched on a solo orbital mission.

In August 1965, Cooper flew as Command Pilot of Gemini V with Pete Conrad.  The mission lasted eight days, setting a new record, demonstrating that astronauts could survive in space for the time necessary to fly to the moon and back.

Cooper retired from NASA in 1970.  He passed away in October 2004 from heart failure at age 77.  He had contracted Parkinson's disease prior to his death.