David L. Cook (born November 11, 1968) is an American
Christian country music
Christian country music (sometimes marketed as country gospel, gospel country, positive country or inspirational country) is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as (in terms of t ...
singer, songwriter and comedian.
Born to Donnell and June (née Mercer) Cook, David is the oldest of six children. He has written more than 2,500 songs and has won multiple
Emmy and Telly Awards.
His song, "Drop that Rock", was featured on his album ''In the Middle of It All'' and garnered a
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...
nomination for Christian Country Album of the Year in 1999.
In all of Cook's overseas recordings his surname is Cooke to distinguish it from his work in the United States. The male members of
The Cook Family Singers
The Cook Family Singers were originally formed in 1885 by David J Cook and his wife Martha, who hailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They had six children, and on Sunday afternoons after church they would pass time by perfecting their singing ...
have always used just their middle initials as a trademark, a trait beginning back in 1885 when the first such group was formed.
In 1990 Cook was diagnosed with a
dissociative disorder
Dissociative disorders (DD) are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or perception. People with dissociative disorders use dissociation as a defense mechanism, pathologically and involuntarily. The in ...
and
psychogenic amnesia
Psychogenic amnesia or dissociative amnesia is a memory disorder characterized by sudden retrograde episodic memory loss, said to occur for a period of time ranging from hours to years to decades. More recently, "dissociative amnesia" has been ...
reportedly brought on by an abusive father. In 1999 Cook's story was used as a lead story with
The 700 Club
''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, con ...
.
Biography
Cook was born in
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...
; after two years, his family moved to
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. Cook began his musical career at age five, singing with his family's group,
The Cook Family Singers
The Cook Family Singers were originally formed in 1885 by David J Cook and his wife Martha, who hailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They had six children, and on Sunday afternoons after church they would pass time by perfecting their singing ...
. After his parents' divorce, the group continued without Donnell, but in 1980, the group disbanded because of June's health issues.
He continued singing both gospel and secular music.
Early life
Early in life, Cook was abused by his father, who had a severe drinking problem. While intoxicated, Cook's father reportedly became violent towards his family. After many years of this abuse Cook developed many psychological problems that ended up following him through to his life as an adult. He developed a severe
dissociative disorder
Dissociative disorders (DD) are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or perception. People with dissociative disorders use dissociation as a defense mechanism, pathologically and involuntarily. The in ...
and
psychogenic amnesia
Psychogenic amnesia or dissociative amnesia is a memory disorder characterized by sudden retrograde episodic memory loss, said to occur for a period of time ranging from hours to years to decades. More recently, "dissociative amnesia" has been ...
. He recalled having periods of "missing time" but never really understood the cause. In 1990, doctors finally diagnosed the disorders after Cook experienced what they thought was a severe stroke and was rushed to the Coral Springs Medical Hospital in Fort. Lauderdale.
He checked himself out of the hospital and disappeared from his Florida home and was found five months later in a
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
, hospital with similar health complaints. Cook had been around Charlotte for five months and no one realized there was anything wrong until he started developing stroke symptoms again. Doctors diagnosed his problems, which were not organic, and referred him to see the proper specialists. He claims to have had no recollection of leaving Florida, nor what he had done during his five months in Charlotte. When asked, he stated that, "It was like someone switching off a light and then switching it back on."
[David L. Cook official website](_blank)
Retrieved April 5, 2014. Cook's story has been told through different media.
The 700 Club
''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, con ...
did a full-length documentary about his life, which aired worldwide.
Cook wrote a religious self-help book, ''Inspirational Words'' about the issues he overcame.
Health
On November 11, 2009, Cook was diagnosed with a
parathyroid
Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes ...
tumor
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
in his neck. Doctors assessed that the tumor was pressing against his vocal cords making it virtually impossible for him to perform. He was treated at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains acad ...
.
Music
Cook's first solo Christian album, ''Come Follow Me'', was released in 1985. The album was written and produced by singer/producer Frank X. Loconto, a former member of the group Lane Brothers. In 1986, he signed with the American Musical Academy of Arts Association (AMAAA), and released another album, ''Personal Feelings''.
In 1997, Mountainview Records released Cook's album, ''In the Middle of it All'', which earned him a
Gospel Music Association
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...
Dove Award nomination for Christian Country Album of the Year in 1999.
However, after a fallout with Mountainview records in 1999, he started his own record label, DLC Records. During this period Cook created a comedy character, named Mortermer Crabbottom, in the tradition of comedic Southern characters like
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a fictional character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of ''The Andy Griffith Show''.
A naïve and gentle auto mechanic, he became a character in the January 1963 episode, ''Man in a Hurry'' ...
.
Cook recorded an album in character, ''Split Personality'', based on the life and times of Mortermer Crabbottom growing up in fictional Crabbottom USA.
In 1999, the Country Gospel Music Association inducted Cook into its Hall of Fame, along with
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...
,
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...
,
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...
,
Jody Miller
Myrna Joy "Jody" Miller (November 29, 1941 – October 6, 2022) was an American country music singer. "Home of the Brave" and "Queen of the House" are her well-known albums. She is a recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal ...
and
Lulu Roman
Lulu Roman (born Bertha Louise Hable on May 6, 1946) is an American comedian, singer, and author. She is known as a regular on the comedy-music show ''Hee Haw'', which debuted in 1969.
Roman was born with a thyroid dysfunction in a home for un ...
.
In 2012 Cook co-wrote "Hands of Hope" with
David Meece
David Meece (born May 26, 1952) is an American contemporary Christian musician who enjoyed success in the mid-1980s, and into the early 2010s, with more than thirty Top 10 hits including several No. 1 songs.
In November 2012, Meece was given a ...
and
Bruce Carroll. The song was fashioned along the same lines as "We Are the World", which featured many famous voices from the music industry. The song went number one on the charts and remained there for two weeks.
The song was used as the theme song for Turning Point Centers for Domestic Violence.
On May 5, 2012
NATAS
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, ed ...
announced that the song Hands of Hope garnered Cook, Meece and Carroll the Emmy nomination for best Arrangement/Composer of a television theme song.
In 2021, Cook in partnership with
Skip Martin
Lloyd Vernon "Skip" Martin (May 14, 1916, in Robinson, Illinois – February 12, 1976, in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and music arranger.
Background
Martin was active principally as an arranger for some ...
the lead singer of the group
Kool and the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/ soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...
recorded a version of the classic
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. song,
People Get Ready
"People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the '' People Get Ready'' album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 14 on the ''Billboard' ...
. Martin approached Cook and requested he lend his voice to the project along with fellow artists,
AZ Yet
Az Yet is an American R&B group from Philadelphia, best known for their songs " Last Night" and the cover " Hard to Say I'm Sorry" originally performed by Chicago.
Formation
Formed in 1989 initially as a duo with Shawn Rivera and Dion Allen, t ...
,
The Dazz Band
The Dazz Band is an American R&B/ funk band most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include "Let It Whip" (1982), " Joystick" (1983), and "Let It All Blow" (1984). The name of the band is ...
,
Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...
,
Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including " Love Wil ...
, Howard Hewitt,
John P. Kee,
Steve Perry
Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...
,
Ray Parker Jr.
Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film ''Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 hi ...
,
Cece Peniston
Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song " Finally" r ...
,
Tony Terry,
Neal McCoy
Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio. Although he first charted on ...
and
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...
. All of the artists donated their talent to help raise awareness and funds for
St. Judes Children's Research Hospital.
Television
In August 2007, Cook joined in partnership with the Firebird Arts Alliance. He was asked by
David Tang
Sir David Wing-cheung Tang, (; 2 August 1954 – 29 August 2017), was a Hong Kong businessman, philanthropist and socialite. He was best known for founding the Shanghai Tang fashion chain in 1994, which he sold in 1998 to Richemont.
Early li ...
, the president of Firebird, to write and produce a theme song for the television series ''New South Crossings''.
The theme song was "Meet Me at the Crossroads". Cook won an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
on January 24, 2009 for his work on the series audio and soundtrack.
Cook appeared in an episode, "Master Class", in which Cook worked with younger artists.
He shows them the ins and outs of working together musically, and during the episode they perform the actual theme song for the series. On June 27, 2010, Cook won another Emmy award, this time for writing and singing the theme song, ''Meet Me at the Crossroads''
In August 2013, Cook began working on his new television series, ''Written N Black & White''. He is listed as one of the stars of the show along with fellow comedian,
Trina Jeffrie
Trina Vond'ray Jeffrie (born June 2, 1962) is an American comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing ...
. The two play an interracial newlywed couple who are comedians and their parents are clueless of the marriage. Although the series is said to take place in New York, the actual taping is done in
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. Some businesses and resid ...
at the former
PTL Studios, which had housed the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker PTL network back in the 1980s.
Awards (Partial listing from 1997 to present)
In July 2006, the International Country Gospel Music Association inducted Cook and fellow artists,
Mike Manuel
Mike Manuel is a Christian country music artist based out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Singing career
Mike traveled with his brothers Greg and Mark as the Manuel Family Band, which had three single radio releases that climbed to the Singing News t ...
,
Gayla Earlene, Doug DeRamus and
Marijohn Wilkin
Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," a ...
into the Hall of Fame.
In January 2009, Cook won his 5th
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for his work on the series, ''New South Crossings'' and he took home his sixth Emmy for the composing and arranging of "Meet Me at the Crossroads" in June 2010.
Cook was nominated on May 6, 2011 for three Emmy Awards for the documentary, ''The Award Goes To: A Look Back at the Legends'', and at the June 18 telecast, he won his 7th Emmy® for Outstanding Excellence in a Live Event
In 2015 Cook hosted the Mississippi Music Awards and was given the prestigious Mississippi Marvel Award for all of his work with new artists coming up in the business.
During the 2015 AMG Heritage Awards, Cook was presented with a ''"Citation of Excellence"'' from the North Carolina Secretary of State,
Elaine Marshall
Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide office ...
. The citation was given to Cook for the development of continued arts programing and mentoring he has implemented across the country.
Entrepreneurship
In 1988, Cook had incorporated Cook's Car Care Company in his native
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. Eventually he transferred his interests to certain family members. The company is still in business today under different ownership.
He incorporated Cook Productions International in 1989 with his business partner Edward Cook. Cook sold his interests in 1992, which dissolved the Florida division.
In 1999 Cook started ''DLC Records'' after leaving Mountainview Records due to contractual and other disputes. While on the label Cook took his 1999 project, ''In The Middle of it All'', up the charts garnering several No. 1 singles, a
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...
nomination and became the number one selling Christian country artists of all time.
He incorporated Cook Enterprises to administer his contracts and personal business affairs, which included a children's television show development agreement with his management group, Five Star Music which produced a weekly show called, ''Crabbottom USA'', taped at local television station,
WHTV TV-39, a
Nashville Tennessee based station.
In 2004, Cook was presented with the opportunity to become the CEO and controlling partner for the International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences (IAMAS Corporation).
Years earlier, the company merged with its daughter company, The American Musical Academy of Arts Association, which proved profitable as there was an upswing in demand for Christian-based music and distribution opportunities. This was profitable as IAMAS was able to use its history in the entertainment industry as a door to help boost other smaller companies into existence.
In 2004, the entertainment industry took a huge hit with the incoming markets of
Napster
Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Sh ...
,
iTunes, and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...
. IAMAS, no longer able to compete, decided to sell off only its American division and retain its overseas holdings. Since IAMAS Corporation had handled Cook's contracts since 1980, Cook offered to buy the company for an undisclosed amount. His offer was accepted and he officially filed for corporation status on November 24, 2004.
In 2005, Cook became the president of the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, a five year appointment. He retired from this position in 2010, and is no longer affiliated with the Charlotte Civic Orchestra. The organization is a 501(c)(3) company, and is entirely composed of volunteers.
In January 2011, Cook and several others launched the Artists Music Guild, a network based company that connects artists with industry professionals who advise them and lead them in the proper course for career mapping. Cook is listed as the executive board president.
On July 9, 2018 Cook purchased the Good Shepherd Funeral Home in
Indian Trail which was once owned and ran by fellow Christian recording stars, Tony Greene and
TaRanda Greene. The company was renamed Life and Legacy Funerals and Cremations.
After the retirement of longtime manager Mickey Hiter, Cook signed with Pink Hammer Entertainment out of Los Angeles, California in August 2012.
Artists Music Guild
Cook and other entertainment industry insiders started the
Artists Music Guild
The Artists Music Guild was a dba company of the International Academy of Music Arts and Sciences, Inc., until April 2014 when it incorporated into a non-profit corporation. The company opened its doors on January 1, 2010. The corporation is an ...
in January 2011 to reduce the risks of artists being taken advantage of in a predatory industry.
On November 11, 2011, The Artists Music Guild held its inaugural convention at the historic
Heritage USA
Heritage USA was an American Christian-themed water park, theme park and residential complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, built by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, founders of ''The PTL Club''.
The park, which occupi ...
complex. The inaugural convention was filmed for a
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...
special, ''A Walk Through the History of Music in the United States'', with more than 2000 people in attendance. Cook has stated that his main goal for making the Heritage USA the official home of the Artists Music Guild's convention was to heal the broken people who were affected by the fall of PTL. The convention reunited several of the former PTL Singers, including Toni Bogart, Brian Keith, Lee Young and Sandy and Russell Hosey. Also in attendance were many of the employees who lost their jobs amid the sexual and financial scandal which caused the fall of the Bakker's ministry.
Cook posited that "''by reuniting these individuals who have not performed together in over twenty plus years it would allow them to come together on their own terms and walk out of the complex without someone telling them they could never come back. It was the ultimate form of healing the hurts from the past.''"
In 2015 the Guild became the parent company for the Mississippi Music Foundation in an effort to build a youth orchestra and a better outreach to educating and developing young and upcoming artists. Cook was added to the advisory board and became the official spokesperson and face of the foundation.
Rumor of Cook's death
On October 3, 2012, mainstream media reported that Cook had been killed in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
after being struck by a car. Web crawlers picked up the story and the rumors went nationwide. The story was later confirmed to be that of a David Lee Cook, a
North Carolina Department of Transportation
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
History
The North Carolina ...
worker who had been killed while removing a tree from the road during hazardous conditions.
The original news organization released an explanation story after finding out of their mistake.
References
External links
David L CookOfficial Web Page
*
All Music GroupCook profile at allmusic.com
Artists Music GuildArtists Music Guild Official Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, David L.
1968 births
Living people
American child musicians
Christian writers
American country singer-songwriters
Composers of Christian music
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American businesspeople
Assemblies of God people
American performers of Christian music
People from Pascagoula, Mississippi
Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Southern gospel performers
American Pentecostals
Emmy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Florida
Country musicians from Mississippi
Country musicians from Florida