Clay Cook
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Douglas "Clay" Cook (born April 20, 1978) is an American songwriter, producer, and musician who is best known as a member of the
Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...
. After dropping out of college, he and classmate
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
formed the band Lo-Fi Masters. Cook co-wrote several songs with Mayer that appear on Mayer's first two releases, ''
Inside Wants Out ''Inside Wants Out'' is the debut EP by American singer-songwriter John Mayer. Released by Mayer Music on September 24, 1999, the album was later re-released by Columbia Records on August 2, 2002, with the omission of "Neon 12:47 AM". Basic tracks ...
'' and ''
Room for Squares ''Room for Squares'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, originally released on June 5, 2001, and re-released on September 18, 2001, by both Aware Records, Aware and Columbia Records. Upon its release, it peaked at ...
'', including "No Such Thing", "Comfortable", "Man on the Side" and "Neon". Cook was also a member of
The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...
and
Y-O-U Y-O-U, also known as the Pleaserock collective, is a rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, probably most widely known for their collaborations with The Brothers Chaps on projects such as Strong Bad Sings and the karaoke music from strongbad ...
.


Biography

Clay Cook attended Smoke Rise Elementary,
Tucker High School Tucker High School is the only public high school in Tucker, a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is operated by the DeKalb County School District. Its student body consists of over 1,800 students from many different cultures. ...
, and is a graduate of
South Gwinnett High School South Gwinnett High School (SGHS) is a public high school for students in grades 9–12. The school is located in Snellville, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system, one of the 15 largest public school sys ...
in
Snellville, Georgia Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metro ...
in 1996. Following this, Cook enrolled at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. While there, Cook met fellow student and singer-songwriter
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
. The two of them formed the duo known as Lo-Fi Masters, putting 5 of their songs on an eponymous demo tape which was made at Berklee. In March 1998 after two years, Cook made the decision to leave Berklee with his bandmate, John Mayer, to move their duo to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, as he was a Georgia native and was aware of the music scene in the city. They began their career in earnest there, quickly making a name for the two-man band. They frequented the local coffeehouse and club circuit in venues including Atlanta's famous venue
Eddie's Attic Eddie's Attic is a music club in Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 1992 in music, 1992 by Eddie Owen (entrepreneur), Eddie Owen, it is a venue for both local musical talent and musicians of some acclaim who often got their start in the Atlanta area. ...
. On their writing partnership, Cook said, "Even back then, my role was more like that of a producer and John was the writer. I'd give input to clean up the rough edges and help him get his vision of the song more clear. For instance, he might have written six verses to a song, and I'd help him get it down to three."Small, Mark (2005). Although actual songwriting credits refer only to a couple of songs on Mayer's first recor
"John Mayer '9: Running with the Big Dogs"
Berklee.edu (accessed April 23, 2007)
Cook and Mayer wrote songs in Atlanta which later appeared on Mayer's record ''
Room for Squares ''Room for Squares'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, originally released on June 5, 2001, and re-released on September 18, 2001, by both Aware Records, Aware and Columbia Records. Upon its release, it peaked at ...
'', including: " No Such Thing", "Love Song for No One", and "Neon". Due to musical and creative differences, the two eventually parted ways. Cook moved to California to work in a music shop and later joined
The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...
. Since then he has released two albums of solo material while playing with bands. His albums are entitled ''The Year I Grew Up'' and ''On Mountain Time''. Cook has also played with Sugarland and
Shawn Mullins Shawn Mullins (born March 8, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter who specializes in folk rock, instrumental rock, adult alternative, and Americana music. His 1998 single "Lullaby", hit number one on the Adult Top 40 and was nominated for a Gr ...
. Cook joined the Zac Brown Band, and their album '' You Get What You Give'' was nominated for the 2011 Grammy's, marking Cook's first recorded material that has been nominated. The band won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "As She's Walking Away" with
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...
. In 2011 Cook announced he had conceptualized his next solo album and planned on working on it throughout the rigorous touring schedule of the Zac Brown Band. Cook released this new album, ''North Star'', on October 22, 2013. In recent years, Cook has also collaborated with artists to produce albums and CDs. For example, he produced and mixed albums of Atlanta artists
Gareth Asher and the Earthlings Gareth Asher and the Earthlings are an Atlanta, Georgia-based country and folk rock band formed by Georgia-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Gareth Asher in 2011, initially under the name ''Gareth Asher and the Infantry''. Asher is an American ...
, as well as a single for the Atlanta-based hard rock band Echoes End, fronted by Kevin Coughlin, a longtime friend and film composer of the Along Came The Devil Horror film series.


Discography


Albums


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Clay 1978 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American Southern Rock musicians Zac Brown Band members People from Tucker, Georgia People from Snellville, Georgia The Marshall Tucker Band members 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)