Big John Wrencher

I first became aware of Big John Wrencher a.k.a. "One Arm John" in 1964 when I saw an advertisement in The Village Voice for a film entitled 'And This Is Free', a documentary film about life at Chicago's Maxwell Street open air market.

In 1964, The Village Voice was my seventeen-year-old self's guide to all things hip.  It was the first alternative newsweekly and published in Greenwich Village, it was founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, it began as a platform for the creative community of New York City.

Greenwich Village was deemed off limits to me by my parents, but that had never stopped me before.  My high school friends weren't into Jazz and Blues, so this, as in all things Jazz and Blues related entertainment, this was a solo venture.  So that Saturday afternoon, under the guise of going shopping with high school friends.  I took the A Train (yep, that A Train) from Brooklyn Heights to the West 4th Street (yep, that 4th Street)/Washington Square subway station.

'And This Is Free', was playing at Cinema Village on west 12th street, which was an "Art House", before the phrase was coined. The place was so arty and sophisticated that at the time, the snack bar in the basement was on the honor system, with a cigar box for payment. I bought a box of Raisinets (chocolate-covered raisins), and headed upstairs to find a seat.

Watching the hectic market atmosphere, along with the blues and gospel music, blew my brain.  There were hawkers, hustlers, buskers, street preachers, and salesmen who could sell hair care products to Yul Brynner, all interacting with their customers.  Blues players like J.B. Hutto, Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Young, and many others graced the stage.  The film had no narration, and was shot over multiple Sundays in 1964 by director Mike Shea using a handheld camera.  A few years later, when I learnt of cinéma vérité, I thought back to 'And This Is Free'.  You just know, Tom Waits has seen this film more than a few times.  As I was leaving the theater, I overheard someone ask, "Who was that one-armed harmonica player?" The person he was with replied, "That was Big John Wrencher."

Big John Wrencher was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. 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, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois.  By the mid-1940s he had arrived in Chicago and was playing on Maxwell Street and at house parties with Jimmy Rogers, Claude "Blue Smitty" Smith and John Henry Barbee.  

In the 1950s he moved to Detroit, where he worked with the singer and guitarist Baby Boy Warren and formed his own trio, which performed in the Detroit area and in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  Big John lost his left arm in 1958, as a result of a car accident outside Memphis, Tennessee.  

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.  He also recorded for the Testament label backing Robert Nighthawk and as part of the Chicago String Band. 

In 1977, while visiting his family in Mississippi, Big John died suddenly of a heart attack in Wade Walton's barbershop in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Today's freeload is two albums by Big John Wrencher.

This album was recorded September 1969, at Chicago Barrelhouse Studios.  Along with Big John's vocals and harp are: Little Buddy Thomas on guitar, and "Playboy" Vinson on drums.  If the style of art on the cover looks familiar to you, it's because it was done by Robert Crumb.  The freeload is a 1993 reissue on the Japanese P-Vine Records label.

Big John recorded 'Big John's Boogie' at Chalk Farm Studios in London, England, while he was on tour as part of the American Blues Legends tour.  He is backed by Eddie Taylor and his band: The Blueshounds, with Eddie Taylor on guitar, Bob Hall on piano, and Bob Brunning on bass. The album was released in 1975 on the Big Bear Records label.  The freeload is a 2003 reissue on the Austailian label Castle Music.  The album was retitled 'Big John's Boogie Plus' as it has two bonus tracks.

For the freeload, what are some of your favorite low budget independent films?