Jim & Jesse

Jim and Jesse McReynolds were born in Carfax, Virginia just over two years apart in 1927 and 1929 respectively. Born to a musical family in a small, tucked away community in the mountains of Virginia, Jim and Jesse were destined to be bluegrass collaborators for life.

Thanks to their rich, brotherly harmonies and Jesse’s unique approach to the mandolin, the duo set themselves apart early on and landed a recording contract on Capitol Records in 1952, when Jim (the older of the two) was only 25. The two remained inseparable for their entire careers, recording over 30 records as a duo, composing countless songs together, and even living alongside one another at the Double J Ranch in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jim and Jesse came up in a musical family that supported themselves through farming and treacherous work in the coal mines. The two were taught to sing folk ballads and gospel songs by their mother, Savannah, a banjoist, harmonica player and vocalist. Their father was a fiddler who would perform with his brothers in his own father Charles McReynolds’ ensemble. A part of country music history himself, Jim and Jesse's grandfather was one of the honorable musicians who recorded for RCA in the 1927 Bristol Sessions, a series of recording sessions considered by some to be the “Big Bang” of country music.

Jim spent two years in the army as the war ended and returned with a mandolin in his hands. By the late 40s, the brothers were playing together regularly, performing for talent shows, dances and a regular radio program. They were versatile performers, adapting to different contexts performing everything from country to folk ballads to gospel and western swing. This helped them develop their distinctive voice as singers, composers and instrumentalists. Jesse’s approach to both cross-picking and fretting on the mandolin was revolutionary for the instrument and was widely influential to those that followed, including many of his peers.

The duo landed a gig with the Grand Ole Opry in 1964, which sustained them for the remainder of their careers. During this time they made records for several labels including Columbia, Epic, their own label Old Dominion and CMH. Their records for CMH include the LP Jim & Jesse Today!, which sports an unusual assortment of songs performed in classic styles, and the 1980 collection The Jim & Jesse Story, a double-LP collecting updated renditions of many of their most enduring tunes.

The two played together professionally for over half a century until Jim died of cancer in 2002. Jesse continued performing and recording until his death in 2023 at the age of 93. The duo received numerous awards and distinctions in their lifetimes including induction into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Honor, a place on the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “Walkway of Stars” and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. As the longest active professional brother duet in country music history, their music and influence lives on today.