Grand Ole Opry 11/23 & 11/24

It's Thanksgiving weekend and things are in full swing in Nashville and at the Grand Ole Opry where there are two shows both Friday and Saturday night. Lots of tourists will be in town for the holiday weekend so I would imagine that all four shows will be sold out, or close to it.

Grand Ole Opry members Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider and Riders In The Sky are scheduled for both nights this weekend, while Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press are set for Friday night, while Connie Smith is listed for Saturday night.

Guest artists on the Friday Night Opry include Jimmie Allen, Waylon Payne, Chonda Pierce, David Ball, Annie Moses Band, Mike Farris (who will be making his Opry debut), and a return appearance by Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat. Saturday's Grand Ole Opry has Emily Ann Roberts, Zach Williams, and Birdtalker on the guest list, along with Jim Lauderdale, Jeff Allen and Rodney Crowell. For Birdtalker, this will be their Opry debut.

Friday November 23
1st show
7:00: Mike Snider (host); Waylon Payne; Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); David Ball; Mike Farris
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Chonda Pierce; Annie Moses Band; Jimmie Allen

2nd show
9:30: Mike Snider (host); Waylon Payne; Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat
10:00: Riders In The Sky (host); David Ball; Mike Farris
10:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Chonda Pierce; Annie Moses Band; Jimmie Allen

Saturday November 24
1st show
7:00: Mike Snider (host); Emily Ann Roberts; Jim Lauderdale
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Jeff Allen; Zach Williams
8:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Birdtalker; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Connie Smith (host); Rodney Crowell

2nd show
9:30: Mike Snider (host); Emily Ann Roberts; Jim Lauderdale
10:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Jeff Allen; Zach Williams
10:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Birdtalker; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Connie Smith (host); Rodney Crowell

Tough weekend with only three segments on each of the Friday night shows and only four Opry members on each show. I know it is a holiday weekend and I am sure most of the members are spending time with their families.

As mentioned, Mike Farris and Birdtalker are making their Opry debuts this weekend. Mike Farris was born in Winchester, Tennessee and was the founder and lead singer of Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies. A solo artist since 2001, he has put out four studio albums as well as one live record as Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue. He has also has produced a charity album, Mike Farris and the Cumberland Saints, that benefited Nashville's Downtown Presbyterian Church, where the album was recorded. That album included members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Sam Bush and Kenny Vaughan, among others. His music is described as diverse, tending to be rooted in early American gospel and blues. In September 2018 he released his latest album, "Silver & Stone."

Birdtalker consists of Zach and Dani Green, Andy Hubright, Brian Seligman, and Jesse Baker. From their website: "Zach and Dani were married in 2012 and soon after their wedding tried writing a couple songs together. They liked it, so they wrote a couple more. Andy, a friend from college and very talented drummer, was into the songs and started beating on stuff while Zach and Dani played them. It sounded good. While these 3 were playing the songs at Shakespeare in the Park on August afternoon, Brian became interested in adding his immense talent to the mix as well and began playing along with mandolin and guitar. It sounded even better. Taking the name Birdtalker, as these 4 members wrote and practiced for about a year when yet another talented friend and Birdtalker's biggest fan, Jesse, expressed interest in lending his bass sounds to the band. It is the combination of each member's specific offerings that gives Birdtalker the life and sound it now possesses."
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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from ten years ago, the weekend of November 21 & 22, 2008:

Friday November 21
7:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); Jack Greene; The Wrights
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; The SteelDrivers
8:00: Jean Shepard (host); The Whites; Bart Millard
8:30: John Conlee (host); Stonewall Jackson; Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Terri Clark

Saturday November 22
1st show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); John Conlee; Danielle Peck
7:30: Hal Ketchum (host); Jimmy C Newman; Nanci Griffith
8:00: Steve Wariner (host); Jean Shepard; Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; The Whites; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Marty Stuart (host); Connie Smith; Patty Loveless

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jeannie Seely; John Conlee; Danielle Peck
10:00: Hal Ketchum (host); Jan Howard; Jack Greene; Nanci Griffith
10:30: Steve Wariner (host); Jean Shepard; The Whites; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Marty Stuart (host); Connie Smith; Patty Loveless

Now from 25 years ago, Saturday November 20, 1993:

1st show
6:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); Jean Shepard
6:45: Bill Monroe (host); The Four Guys; Charlie Louvin
7:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Jeannie Seely; Bill Carlisle; Brother Oswald; Del Reeves
7:30: John Conlee (host); The Whites; Ray Pillow; Connie Smith; Mark Collie
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Charlie Walker; Jim Ed Brown; Jim and Jesse; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Billy Walker; Mike Snider; Rhonda Vincent; Vic Willis Trio

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); The Four Guys; Billy Walker; Vic Willis Trio; Rhonda Vincent
10:00: John Conlee (host); Jean Shepard
10:15: Bill Monroe (host); Roy Drusky
10:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); Charlie Louvin; Ray Pillow
10:45: Ricky Skaggs (host); Connie Smith; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Jan Howard; Jim and Jesse; The Whites; Mark Collie; Charlie Walker
11:30: Bill Anderson (host); Jeannie Seely; Charlie Walker; Mike Snider
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Looking back, it was on Saturday November 23, 2002 that Grand Ole Opry member Jim McReynolds, who along with his brother Jesse performed as Jim and Jesse, made his final appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

In bluegrass music, Jim and Jesse McReynolds were two of the genres' most revered musicians. With a professional career that spanned more than 50 years, they were certainly at the top of any bluegrass fan's list.

Jim McReynolds was born into a musical family. His parents were talented musicians and their grandfather, a fiddler, made a recording for Victor Records about the time Jim was born. He learned to play stringed instruments and as a teenager he, along with his brother Jesse, honed their unmistakable harmony by singing traditional mountain music at folk gatherings. Jim was the polished tenor and guitarist while younger brother Jesse developed a distinctive style of mandolin playing.

The brothers made their radio debut on a Virginia station in 1947 and moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1952. That same year they signed with Capital Records. Their reputation grew as they performed at major bluegrass and folk festivals throughout the south. Among the songs that they became famous for were "Are You Missing Me," "Border Ride," "Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes," "I Wish You Knew," "Ballad of Thunder Road," "Freight Train," "Cotton Mill Man," "Diesel on my Tail," " and Paradise." There were dozens more, too many to mention.

Jim and Jesse received many honors including membership in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame, the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame and the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honor. In a 1997 White House ceremony, they received the National Heritage Fellowship.

Here is the running order from Saturday November 23, 2002, Jim McReynolds' final Opry show:

1st show:
6:30: Tennessee Pride
Jimmy Dickens (host): Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed
The Whites: Swing Down Chariot
Steve Forbert: My Caroline Sunshine Girl/My Rough and Rowdy Ways
Jimmy Dickens: Another Bridge to Burn; Mountain Dew

7:00: Gutter Guard/Standard Candy
Steve Azar: I Don't Have to Be Me Til Monday/Waitin' on Joe
Jean Shepard: I'm Not That Good at Goodbye/Tips of My Fingers
Steve Wariner: This Christmas Prayer
Montgomery Gentry: This Is My Town/She Changed her Mind/Hillbilly Shoes
Diamond Rio: What a Beautiful Mess I'm In/I Believe/Unbelievable
Jean Shepard and Steve Wariner: The Great Speckled Bird/Wabash Cannonball

8:00: Martha White
Mike Snider (host): Smith Reel; Miller's Reel
Bill Carlisle: Too Old to Cut the Mustard
Holly Dunn: Can't Stop Now/Daddy's Hands
Opry Square Dance Band: Blackberry Blossom

8:30: Physicians Mutual
Jim Ed Brown (host): Bar Room Pals and Good Time Gals
Jimmy C Newman: Big Mamou/Cajun Stripper
Connie Smith: I Never Once Stopped Loving You/Satisfied
Jim Ed Brown: Morning

2nd show
9:30: Tootsie's
Jimmy Dickens (host): Take an Old Cold Tater
Connie Smith: Ribbon of Darkness/You Got Me Right Where You Want Me
Montgomery Gentry: This is My Town/Hillbilly Shoes
Jimmy Dickens: I'd Rather Sleep in Peace Then Know You're Gone

10:00: Lincoln Mercury/Shoney's
Jean Shepard (host): Silver Threads and Golden Needles
Jan Howard: I Can't Help It
Jim and Jesse: I Wish You Knew
Diamond Rio: Love a Little Stronger/One More Day
Jean Shepard: Half a Mind
Jean Shepard and Jan Howard: Let's All Go Down to the River/I Saw the Light/Will the Circle Be Unbroken/I'll Fly Away/Somebody Touched Me

10:30: WSM online/Wildhorse Saloon
Steve Wariner (host): On Life's Highway
Holly Dunn: You Really Had Me Going
Steve Forbert: My Caroline Sunshine Girl/My Rough and Rowdy Ways
Opry Square Dance Band: Rachel
Steve Wariner: This Christmas Prayer

11:00: Coca Cola
Jim Ed Brown (host): Morning Comes Too Early
Jimmy C Newman: Diggy Liggy Lo/Cajun Stripper
Steve Azar: My Heart Runs To You/(?)
Jim Ed Brown: The 3 Bells

11:30: Tootsie's
Mike Snider (host): Acorn Hill; Crazy Creek
Ray Pillow: I'm Still Not Over Losing You
The Whites: Pins and Needles/Keep on the Sunny Side
Mike Snider: Sourwood Mountain/Lost Indian

Jim McReynolds passed away on just a month later, on December 31, 2002. The following Saturday night, January 4, 2003, Grand Ole Opry general manager opened the show with the following dedication to Jim:

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen:
On this night, in which we honor one of country music's greatest legends, we also pause to dedicate this performance of the Opry to Jim McReynolds, half of the longtime Opry duo Jim and Jesse, who passed away this past Tuesday at age 75 from a battle with cancer.

Jim and his brother were born into a musical family in the mountains of southwest Virginia. Their grandfather, Charles McReynolds, had taken part in the landmark Bristol sessions of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. When Jim was born, both sides of the brothers' family were steeped in music, so much so that neither brother could recall having to learn to play his signature guitar or mandolin. There were always instruments around the house, Jim said, so it would be hard to say when we started.

Having embarked on a professional career in 1947, Jim and Jesse's 55 years of making music together is a record. No other family act, in the history of American music, has actively performed together for a longer period of time. Jim, who sang a clear polished tenor, and played guitar, while Jesse contributed lead vocals and mandolin playing. Together, with their Virginia Boys, they were regulars on a succession of radio shows from their native Virginia, to Ohio and Kansas early in their careers. A recording contract with Capital records during this period produced the cut, "Are You Missing Me," which became a bluegrass classic and a staple of their stage shows. Following many guest appearances, under the sponsorship of Martha White, Jim and Jesse obtained a life long goal, becoming members of the Opry on March 2, 1964. The Opry stage served as a springboard for Jim and Jesse's traditional bluegrass sound. They starred in their own syndicated television show, "The Jim and Jesse Show," from 1965 to 1972; literally criss-crossed the world playing at bluegrass festivals and recorded more than 50 albums, including chart hits like "Better Time's A Comin'," "Diesel on My Tail," "Freight Train," and "Paradise." Their contributions to the music they loved were recognized in 1993, when Jim and Jesse were inducted into the Bluegrass Music's International Hall of Fame. Indeed, their music took them from their Virginia home place to the Opry House to the White House. The brother duo received the National Endowment for the Arts's National Heritage Fellowship, the most prestigious honor in folk and traditional arts at a Washington, D.C. ceremony in 1997.

This evening, we salute a family man, a musical partner and a much loved member of the Opry. Music was one of his earliest memories, as well as an enduring gift to all of us. He made his final stage performance on this stage, on this past November 23. Tonight, the Opry honors a Virginia boy and an Opry gentleman, Jim McReynolds."

As mentioned, Jim and Jesse joined the Grand Ole Opry on March 2, 1964. After Jim passed away, Jesse continued with the Virginia Boys, and this past year celebrated his 54th year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. When you think of the great bluegrass groups in the history of bluegrass music, Jim and Jesse McReynolds are right up there toward the top of the list.

There you have it for this weekend. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving turkey and has fun doing Black Friday shopping. And if you are not too tired, I hope you can listen and enjoy the Opry this weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and if I don't say it enough, let me say it again: I am thankful for all of my readers and those who comment. Thanks again!