Died On This Date (February 21, 2009) Bruce Moody / Bluegrass Guitar Picker
themusicsover Bruce Moody
March 14, 1940 – February 21, 2009
Bruce Moody was a respected bluegrass guitar player from the mountainous region of North Carolina. He started learning to play the guitar at the age of 14, and by his early 20s, he was touring with his uncle, Clyde Moody, one of bluegrass’ founding fathers. In later years, Moody played with the Toe River Valley Boys, the Bluegrass Gentleman, the Jones Brothers and the Log Cabin Boys. Bruce Moody passed away on February 21, 2009, just a couple of weeks shy of his 69th birthday.
Butch Baldassari was a respected mandolin player and educator. Over the course of his career, he formed two superb groups, Weary Hearts and the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble with whom he released a handful of albums. He also played in bluegrass perennial favorites, Lonesome Standard Time from time to time. In later years, worked as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Butch Baldassari was 56 when he died of a brain tumor on January 10, 2009.
Jim McReynolds was a guitarist and singer who, with his brother, Jesse McReynolds, made up a popular bluegrass duo, Jim & Jesse. Whether working just side-by-side, or within the confines of their group, the Virginia Boys, the McReynolds brothers were the longest running musical duo in history, with a career that lasted over 55 years. Over the years, the Virginia Boys included such musical greats as 
Jack Cooke was a bluegrass bassist and singer best remembered for his time playing in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys. Cooke first came to prominence as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys with whom he played from 1956 to 1960. He played on some of Monroe’s biggest hits, including the classic, “Big Mon.” After leaving Monroe, he fronted his own band for a few years until getting the call to join Stanley in 1970. He played in the Clinch Mountain Boys up until early 2009. Cooke received a Grammy in 2002 as part of the Jim Lauderdale & Ralph Stanley album, Lost in the Lonesome Pines. Jack Cooke, 72, passed away at a local hospital on December 1, 2009.