JEFF COOK BROUGHT THE DOUBLE-NECK GUITAR TO COUNTRY MUSIC — AND WAS VOTED A TOP 3 GUITARIST IN AMERICA IN 1985. BUT RANDY OWEN SAID: “HIS HARMONIES I’LL MISS THE MOST.” Most fans know Jeff Cook as Alabama’s guitarist. Few know he was a pioneer. Cook is credited as the first to bring the electric double-neck guitar into country music. He owned rare doublenecks from Music Man, Peavey, Mosrite, and Fender Custom Shop — including the only two doubleneck Music Man guitars ever made. In 1985, Guitar Player Magazine’s readers voted him one of the top 3 guitarists in America — alongside Albert Lee and Steve Morse. He was also inducted into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame and named Gibson’s Guitarist of the Year. But Jeff played far more than guitar. Fiddle, keyboards, bass, banjo, mandolin, piano — if it had strings or keys, he could master it. Yet when Jeff passed in 2022 after a decade-long battle with Parkinson’s, Randy Owen didn’t talk about the guitars or the awards. He said: “He could play any instrument he chose, but his harmonies I’ll miss the most.” Sometimes the greatest musicians aren’t remembered for what they played — but for how they made the music feel. “No other guitar player I’ve known had the range of styles Jeff had. No one can take your place. Ever.” — Teddy Gentry
Jeff Cook Changed Country Music With Six Strings, Twelve Strings, And A Voice That Held It All Together Most people…