Big John Wrencher (February 12, 1923 – July 15, 1977), also known as One Arm John, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player and singer, well known for playing at the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago in the 1960s. He toured Europe in the 1970s.Harris, S. (1981). ''Blues Who's Who''. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 589–590.

Biography

John Thomas Wrencher was born in

Sunflower, Mississippi Sunflower is a town in Sunflower County, Mississippi, Sunflower County, Mississippi. The population was 1,159 at the 2010 census. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 964 people, 424 households, and 278 famil ...

, United States. He became interested in music as a child and taught himself to play the harmonica at an early age. Beginning in the early 1940s, he worked as an itinerant musician in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. By the mid-1940s he had arrived in Chicago and was playing on Maxwell Street and at house parties with

Jimmy Rogers Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several pop ...

, Claude "Blue Smitty" Smith and

John Henry Barbee John Henry Barbee (November 14, 1905 – November 3, 1964)Wynn, Ron. John Henry Barbee: Biography Allmusic was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Henning, Tennessee. He claimed that he was born William George Tucker and tha ...

. In the 1950s he moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, where he worked with the singer and guitarist

Baby Boy Warren Baby Boy Warren (August 13, 1919 – July 1, 1977) was an American blues singer and guitarist who was a leading figure on the Detroit blues scene in the 1950s. Early life He was born Robert Henry Warren in Lake Providence, Louisiana, in 1919, a ...

and formed his own trio, which performed in the Detroit area and in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

. In 1958 Wrencher lost his left arm as a result of a car accident outside

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. By the early 1960s he had settled in Chicago, where he became a fixture on Maxwell Street Market, in particular playing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. In 1964 he appeared in a documentary film about Maxwell Street, entitled ''And This Is Free''; performances by Wrencher recorded in the process of making the film were eventually included on a three-CD set, ''And This Is Maxwell Street''. During the 1960s he recorded for the Testament label backing

Robert Nighthawk Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk. He was the father of the blues musician Sam Carr. Nighthawk was i ...

and as part of the Chicago String Band. In 1969 he recorded for Barrelhouse Records, backed by the guitarist Little Buddy Thomas and the drummer Playboy Vinson, who formed his Maxwell Street band at that time. The resulting album, ''Maxwell Street Alley Blues'', was described as "superlative in every regard" by

Cub Koda Michael "Cub" Koda (born October 1, 1948 – July 1, 2000) was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine considered him best known for writing the song " ...

, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Wrencher toured Europe with the Chicago Blues Festival in 1973 and with the American Blues Legends in 1974. On the latter tour he recorded an album in London for Big Bear Records, backed by the guitarist

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

and his band. During a trip to Mississippi to visit his family in July 1977, Wrencher died suddenly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Wade Walton's barbershop in

Discography

Albums recorded as leader

Collaboration albums

Albums recorded as sideman

Compilations

Anthologies

References

External links

Illustrated Big John Wrencher discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrencher, Big John 1923 births 1977 deaths American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians American blues singers Blues musicians from Mississippi American street performers People from Sunflower, Mississippi JSP Records artists P-Vine Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers