Jack Cooke

A teenage Jack Cooke informed his sister, "I'm never going to work. I'm going to let this guitar do it for me." The remark later appeared prescient rather than mere adolescent exaggeration, yet it was bass playing that established the Virginia native among bluegrass music's most respected figures. He launched his professional path in 1955 by supporting Ralph and Carter Stanley within the Stanley Brothers' backing ensemble, the Clinch Mountain Boys. The following year he joined Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys for a four-year engagement that also required him to handle vocal parts. By 1960 he had assembled his own ensemble, the Virginia Mountain Boys, and guided it across the ensuing ten years; Del McCoury passed through its ranks during that span. Simultaneously he performed as a sideman with Earl Taylor's band and the Stoneman Family. In 1970 he rejoined Ralph Stanley to assemble a fresh edition of the Clinch Mountain Boys, remaining through countless tours and sessions. He was still part of the lineup in 2006 when he issued the solo album Sittin' on Top of the World, produced by Jim Lauderdale and issued by the Pinecastle label.