Big John Wrencher

[Admin]

Big John Wrencher (February 12, 1923 - July 15, 1977), also known as One Arm John, was an American blues harmonica player and singer, well known for playing on Maxwell Street Market, Chicago in the 1960s, and who later toured Europe in the 1970s.

Buried in Shuffordville Cemetery, Lyon, Coahoma County, Mississippi, USA

[blueescorpio2000]

The man in the picture is Snooky Pryor

[stefanwirz]

... proof: He plays his harmonica with his (missing) left hand!

[alanbalfour]

Sadly Marc this isn't the first time that photo of Wrencher has appeared on the internet as Pryor.

[stefanwirz]

Illustrated Big John Wrencher discography

[Admin]

www.allaboutbluesmusic.com/big-john-wrencher/

One-armed John blew his miked harp through a big Fender amp on Maxwell street. He played all over Tennessee and Arkansas before a 1958 car crash left him with only one arm. This did not silence the big, slurring sound he brought out of the harmonica, which he learned to hold, along with a microphone, cupped in his right hand. Moving to Chicago he'd play Maxwell Street usually backed by nothing more than an electric guitar and a drummer. During the 1960s he played with Carey Bell on bass and John Lee Granderson on guitar. Wrencher's style was country juke joint blues, brought to the city and amplified to the maximum. He died of a heart attack on a visit back home in Clarksdale, MS. His last bottle of whiskey is permanently ensconced on a shelf at Walton’s Barbershop.