Gary Cox
January 17, 1953 – August 12, 2012
Gary Cox is best remembered as the founding lead guitarist for legendary American power pop band, Artful Dodger. Formed in Fairfax, Virginia in 1973, the band enjoyed a brush with fame and a loyal cult following thanks to their Beatles/Stones/Faces influenced sound. They were often compared to the Raspberries. In 1975, the band was signed to Columbia Records who released their debut self-titled album which was produced by Jack Douglas of Aerosmith fame. Even though the album was a critical fave and the band toured nearly non-stop – even opening several 1976 dates for KISS, the album failed to sell much beyond their core fan base. A couple more albums followed before Cox left the group in 1981. He rejoined the Artful Dodger for a reunion in 1991 and then again in the mid 2000s. In between, Cox ran his own professional event disc jockey service and worked as a physical therapy assistant. Gary Cox died of a brain tumor on August 12, 2012. He was 59.
Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.
What You Should Own
Longtime favorite powerpop band, so quite saddened to hear this. Best to his family and the band. Great work, Gary, you’ve made me happy for many years.
I knew Gary Cox and Gary Herrewig when we were at Herndon High School. Remember hearing them in the group Homestead, still have a 45 of that group. Lots of nice and fun memories from that time. So sorry to hear about Gary’s passing.
Just down loaded Artful Dodger (first album) on my iTunes, … GREAT album!
RIP Gary