From the 1970s onwards, he was a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic-based genres.
[3] Throughout his career, Malone was asked to record for artists such as Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, George Jones, Janie Fricke, Johnny Cash, Don Williams, Dobie Gray, Donna Fargo, David Allen Coe, Merle Haggard, The Whites, Crystal Gayle, Charley Pride, Moe Bandy, Floyd Cramer, Dr. Hook, Barbara Mandrell, Johnny Paycheck, Kenny Rogers, Michael Johnson, Dottie West, Lynn Anderson, John Hartford, New Grass Revival, Béla Fleck, Barefoot Jerry, B.J.
Thomas, Bobby Bare, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, J. J. Cale, John Anderson, Dolly Parton, and Lacy J.
[4] He provided percussion on the hits "Jolene" by Dolly Parton in 1973, and "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle in 1977.
He died from COVID-19 on August 26, 2021, at age 83, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee.