Jim McReynolds (February 13, 1927 – December 31, 2002) was better known as half of the American bluegrass duo Jim & Jessie.
Jessie McReynolds (born July 9, 1929) and his brother James were born and raised in Carfax, a community near Coeburn, Virginia. Their grandfather, Charles McReynolds, had led the band "The Bull Mountain Moonshiners" who recorded at the famous Bristol Sessions in 1927.
Their harmony was exceptional, a rarity some say only brothers can produce. Jim's enhanced high tenor combined with Jesse's deep lead and unique mandolin style set this duo apart in the world of traditional music, now termed Bluegrass. Very early in their career, Jesse developed a "McReynolds style" technique on the mandolin, combining his invention of "crosspicking and split-string playing", which distinguished his picking from others. Many have imitated, but few have successfully mastered his unique style of fast execution of intricate melodic patterns. Jim sang as a high tenor and played guitar. They played with their backing band, The Virginia Boys, consisting of five-string banjo, fiddle and bass.
The Virginia Boys have included musicians such as fiddler Vassar Clements, banjo player Allen Shelton, Mike Scott, Vic Jordan, Bobby Thompson, Carl Jackson, fiddler Jimmy Buchanan, Glen Duncan, Jesse's oldest son, the late Keith McReynolds, Randall Franks and many more.
In 1952, Jim & Jesse were signed to their first major label, Capitol Records. They have also recorded for Columbia Records, Epic Records and Opryland USA. They also released under their own Old Dominion record label. In 1960, their first single for Columbia was "The Flame of Love" backed by "Gosh I Miss You All The Time". Their other classic songs include "Cotton Mill Man", "Diesel On My Tail", "Are You Missing Me", and "Paradise".
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jim and Jesse starred on the live radio show, the Suwannee River Jamboree, broadcast on Saturday nights from Live Oak, Florida on WNER radio. The show was also syndicated throughout the South-eastern United States. The brothers replaced the Stanley Brothers on the show. They left when Martha White began using the duo as a sponsor. On March 2, 1964, they were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry after making several appearances as guest performers, and they moved to Gallatin, Tennessee later that year.
In 2002, both brothers were diagnosed with different types of cancer. Jesse's battle was successful. Sadly, on December 19, Jim's wife Arreta, died suddenly of a massive heart attack. Jim started hospice care the next day. His death from thyroid cancer came on December 31, at 7:40 p.m. at the Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, Tenn., at the age of 75, ending the longest active professional brother duet in country music history - 55 years.
Since the death of his brother Jim, Jesse has continued to perform with their Virginia Boys band. He still performs in the bluegrass music tradition but has added other genres of music to his repertoire, including Chuck Berry and Grateful Dead songs. Jesse participated in a 2010 tribute to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter titled Jesse McReynolds & Friends Tribute to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter: Songs of the Grateful Dead, released on Woodstock Records. It features Garcia's friends David Nelson and Sandy Rothman, along with Stu Allen, of the present Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band.
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| Jesse McReynolds |
The duo's honours include induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame's "Walkway of Stars", the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame, the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honour, and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Individually and collectively they were nominated for several Grammy Awards. They also received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, presented by Hillary Clinton and Jane Alexander at The White House on September 23, 1997.
In 2017 Jessie suffered a ruptured aneurysm that almost killed him. He’s been dealing with a nagging complication from that trauma ever since. His last hospital visit was for the removal of kidney stones in 2020. (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)