Hard Core...Bluegrass!: Jim & Jesse and The Virginia Boys

Jim and Jesse McReynolds are the unsung heroes of bluegrass music.  I first got into their music in the late 70s when I became immersed in a Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Festival record.  "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." They were the longest brother duo in country and bluegrass music, playing together for 55 years, until 2002, at which time both brothers were diagnosed with cancer.  Jesse beat it; unfortunately, Jim did not.  Jesse continues performing with The Virginia Boys today.  Their contributions to bluegrass remain under the radar, but, here in this entry, let's say thanks to Jim and Jesse.

Hard Hearted

Ole Slew Foot

My Baby's Gone

When I Stop Dreaming

Please Be My Love

Keep it Close to the Ground, Boys, Keep it Close to the Ground...

The words of Grand Ole Opry founder, George D. Hay, to his performers, to ensure there was no artifice, no pretense, in their music...just heart and soul. Well, there are still a few bonafide country stars keeping it real, chief among them, Marty Stuart. On his new show on RFD-TV, which I can only view through clips, he's showcasing some great artists who don't always get the visibility they deserve, like Little Jimmy Dickens and LeRoy Troy, who must be the great grandson of Uncle Dave Macon. Comfortable in any genre--country, Americana, folk, bluegrass, rock--Marty knows himself and his audience. And, in all he does, he honors the greats who inspired him (Johnny Cash, Lester Flatt, Porter Wagoner and on and on). Now, he's become one of the greats himself, well on the road to induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The first clip features Marty, the legendary, Miss Connie Smith and Earl Scruggs; the second, a great number by The Old Crow Medicine Show.

Thanks, Marty, for keepin' it close to the ground...





http://www.martystuart.net/
Porter Tubb