Biography

Jesse McReynolds was born on July 9, 1929 in Carfax, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for My Fool Heart, Nashville (2012) and The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). He was married to Joy Tipton and Darlene McCoy. He died on June 23, 2023 in Gallatin, Tennessee, USA.

Actor and entertainer Randall Franks, "Officer Randy Goode" from TV's "In the Heat of the Night," appeared as regular guest star on the Jim and Jesse Show and he also performed on fiddle as a member of their band the Virginia Boys.

In 1964 he and his brother Jim were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. They were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1993.

He served in the military during the Korean War.

He and his brother Jim were born into a musical family. Their grandfather, Charles McReynolds, was a fiddler who led a string band from the 1890s to the 1930s, and recorded for RCA. Their father, Claude, also a fiddler, performed with his guitar- and banjo-playing brothers in their father's string band. Their mother, Savannah, played banjo and harmonica and sang ballads and gospel songs.