Robert F. Rook Jr., better known in bluegrass music circles as Bobby Diamond, passed away at his home in York, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, September 22, 2011. He was 78 years old.
Born May 16, 1933, in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, a son of the late Beula and Robert F. Rook Sr., Diamond, grew up in Waynesboro and has spent 65 years of his life in York. He was an accomplished bluegrass banjo and fiddle player.
Diamond performed and recorded with many notables including Jack Cooke and the Virginia Mountain Boys; Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals – the band name thought of by Diamond; Red Allen and the Kentuckians; Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (deputising for Bill Keith during a trip out west), Reno and Smiley, Billy Baker and banjo player Chris Warner.
He played fiddle on the LP Bluegrass Special, Red Allen Live (Storyville SRY 1211, 53) and more recently on Jack Cooke’s Sittin’ On Top Of The World (Pinecastle PRC-1157). He also played on Bluegrass Old & New (Wedge SR 1027, 1967) by Delmer Delaney & the Windy Mountain Boys, a band that included Warner.
Mr. Rook also worked many years as a manager and truck driver for Billet Amusements. He was a U.S. Navy veteran.
