Don Cook

Don Kirby Cook (born May 25, 1949 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American record producer and songwriter whose work is mainly in the field of country music. Artists who recorded Cook's material include Barbara Mandrell, John Conlee, Mark Collie, Wade Hayes and Brooks & Dunn. Cook's production work began in the early 1990s when he worked with Brooks & Dunn.

Musical career

Don Cook began writing songs at age twelve and recorded his first demo at age fourteen. He played at various clubs and coffeehouses in Houston, Texas during his teenage years, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee through the suggestion of a friend. Through the assistance of Don Gant, he signed with Acuff-Rose Music. In the 1980s, Cook had several cuts that were released as singles, including "Lady Lay Down" by John Conlee, which was Cook's first Number One as a songwriter.

Cook co-wrote "Brand New Man", the first single release by Brooks & Dunn, and was asked to produce for the duo as well. At first, he was reluctant, but he was encouraged to keep producing after the commercial success of Brooks & Dunn's debut album. Over time, Cook produced most of Brooks & Dunn's material, including thirteen of their songs which went to Number One. Other artists who released his work as singles include Mark Collie, Wade Hayes, Lari White and Steve Wariner.

Don Cook (organist)

R. Don Cook is the organ area coordinator and the university carillonneur at Brigham Young University (BYU).

Cook has bachelor and master's degrees in organ from BYU. He has a DMA from the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the BYU faculty he was an organist at Christ Church, Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas.

Cook developed the Organ Tutor: Organ 101 program, a multi-media program that has been used to teach organ in multiple countries. His course plans were also used as the basis for a program began in 2003 at the University of Utah.

Cook has been a member of the BYU faculty since 1991. He has directed the BYU Organ Workshop since its founding in 2002.

Besides being the official player of the Bell Tower at BYU, Cook was also involved with selecting the bell used in the old Brigham Young Academy building when it was refurbished into the Provo City Library at Academy Square. His playing of the Bell Tower at BYU has been featured as part of Provo's Freedom Festival. Many of the works Cook plays on the BYU carillon are his own compositions.

Don Cook (journalist)

Don Cook (1920-1995) was one of the longest-serving, full-time, Paris-based American foreign correspondent of the twentieth century. He worked for the New York Herald Tribune (1943-1964) and the Los Angeles Times (1964-1989) consecutively for 46 years. His career spanned the close of World War II in Europe and the creation of today's Germany, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the crises in Berlin, and the Ronald Reagan-Mikhail S. Gorbachev summits. Cook also wrote several books on history, current affairs and biography. Cook also contributed articles on diplomacy, foreign policy and nuclear disarmament for American and British magazines, among them Atlantic and Foreign Affairs.

Early life

Cook was born August 8, 1920 in Bridgeport, CT, and grew up in Philadelphia, PA.

Early career

His career began at St. Petersburg Times in Florida where he was a copy boy. He was then hired by TransRadio Press Service in Philadelphia and subsequently moved to its national office Washington DC. In 1943, the New York Herald Tribune hired him to cover the treasury and the White House and then sent him to London.