Notes & Queries – September 2025

Q: I’ve been listening to recordings by Larry Sparks (Ramblin’ Guitar, Pine Tree 500) and Lee Allen (“Beer, Whiskey, and Women” and “The Old Home Place,” Jalyn 45-356), all of which feature the mandolin work of David Cox. Did he appear on any other recordings? What can you tell me about his life in music? Thanks.  - Jerry Steinberg, Salem, Virginia A: George David Cox (February 15, 1940 - October 2, 2002), who went by David and sometimes by Dave, was a talented mandolin player who logged time with a number of bluegrass bands in the 1960s and ‘70s. A native of Campton, Wolfe County, Kentucky, Cox spent his early years on his family’s farm, where he earned a nickel a week for doing chores. On weekly trips to town, he used his nickel to listen to a song by Bill Monroe on a jukebox; “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Rose of Old Kentucky” were among his favorites. Closer to home, his mother played guitar and sang songs of the Carter Family. David’s earlies