The Cox Family

The Cox Family is a North American Bluegrass family group from Cotton Valley, Louisiana, USA. The singing group comprises father Willard, son Sidney, and daughters Evelyn and Suzanne. Their distinctive sound derives from a combination of Country, bluegrass, and gospel styles. The Cox family was joined for a short time in the early 1990s by Greg Underwood on the bass, during the absence of third daughter Lynn. The Cox Family first began performing regularly together at fairs and festivals in 1976, though an earlier performance can be heard in the 1974 version of Broken Engagement which appears on Beyond the City (1995). Their career was given a big boost when in the early '90s they met Alison Krauss, who brought them to the attention of Rounder Records. They also gained massive exposure when in 1994 they caught the ear of Adam Duritz, frontman of the multi-platinum-selling Counting Crows, who was so impressed with the Cox Family that he invited them to open for the band during its North American tour. Krauss, who has produced all but the family's very first release Quiet Storm on Wilcox Records, recorded several of Sidney's songs, which appeared on both of her Grammy Award-winning albums, including the title track of I've Got That Old Feeling. The Cox Family recorded two records of their own on Rounder Records: Everybody's Reaching Out for Someone (1993) and Beyond the City (1995), which earned them a Grammy nomination for "Best Bluegrass Album". They also collaborated with Krauss on an album entitled I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, which won a Grammy in 1994 for "Best Country/Gospel/Bluegrass Album." The Cox Family also shared a Grammy for their participation in the various-artists project Amazing Grace: A Country Salute to Gospel. Their major-label debut, Just When We're Thinking It's Over, was released on Asylum Records in 1996. In July 2000, shortly after recording two songs for the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the family were dealt a blow when Willard Cox and his wife Marie were seriously injured in a traffic accident near their home in Cotton Valley. In February 2009, Marie Cox, Willard Cox's wife and mother to their children, died from cancer. Alison Krauss was among the many that attended the funeral.