Jesse McReynolds Opry Memories

Photos By Michael Gomez After the passing of Jan Howard last March, Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Jesse McReynolds became the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. In 2021 he will celebrate 57 years as a member—38 of those with his brother as “Jim and Jesse,” the longest running brother duo in the history of country music.  There’s an old John Sebastian song about the life of a musician on the road called “Stories We Could Tell.” The chorus goes: “If you ever wonder why you ride the carousel; you did it for the stories you could tell.” At 91, Jesse McReynolds certainly has some stories - many of them based around his years at the Opry. “I was just watching a TV show video the other day we did,” Jesse said, “and I got to thinking, ‘Jim Buchanan and I are the only ones left in this bunch!’ We had a good band: Jim (Buchanan) on fiddle and Don (McHan) on guitar, with Allen Shelton on banjo and David Sutherland on bass. I’ve been going through