Singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist
Clay Cook is a journeyman solo artist and member of the
Zac Brown Band who worked closely with singer/songwriter
John Mayer early in his career. Born in Georgia in 1978,
Cook attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he met aspiring songwriter
Mayer. The two struck up a friendship and formed the band Lo-Fi Masters and recorded a demo album. Prior to graduating,
Cook relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue a music career alongside
Mayer. Together, the duo would collaborate on many songs, several of which appeared on
Mayer's debut album,
Room for Squares. After parting ways with
Mayer,
Cook moved to California where he toured with an early version of
Sugarland and eventually joined his uncle, lead singer Doug Gray, in the
Marshall Tucker Band. In 2008,
Cook joined the
Zac Brown Band, with whom he toured and recorded several albums including the band's Grammy-nominated 2011 release,
You Get What You Give. As a solo artist,
Cook has recorded a handful of independently released albums including 2001's Lead Me On, 2003's Self Serving, 2004's Smoke & Mirrors, 2005's Natural Progression, 2008's Year I Grew Up, and 2009's On Mountain Time. In 2013,
Cook released North Star. ~ Matt Collar