An only child, James and his mother, a farm worker, migrated through Louisiana and East Texas with the cotton and sugarcane seasons, moving often and sometimes living in tents.

Part of the money was used to buy his mother a house in Baton Rouge; the rest, with his now diminished opportunities for employment, was used to subsidize his fledgling musical career.

The establishments that served the lumber and levee camps typically stayed open all day and night and provided food, drink and lodging for two piano players, who each played a 12-hour shift for tips.

[3] Shortly after the end of World War II, Crutchfield performed in Mississippi with Elmore James and Boyd Gilmore "in places like Goodman or out in the country.

[7] In 1955, Crutchfield was appearing with Bat the Hummingbird (drums) at a bar located at 2220 Market Street that was formerly Tom Turpin's Rosebud Saloon, where Scott Joplin had performed half a century earlier.

[9] He was found there by Bob Koester, on a tip from police detective Charlie O'Brien, and recorded a few days later, along with Speckled Red, by Ralph and Ethel Hiatt.

[6] A tour included performances in Belgium, France, Germany[1] and several venues in the Netherlands, notably the concerthall Vredenburg in Utrecht, which he later said was the largest crowd he had ever played for.

[3] In the late 1980s, Crutchfield was regularly performing with a backup group consisting of Guitar Frank, Papa John (washtub bass) and Rosceaux (washboard).

[7] In the early 1990s, Crutchfield replaced the "tub" and "rub-board" with Sharon Foehner (bass) and Bill Howell (drums) and added Andy Millner (harmonica).

[4] In addition to weekly engagements, one-nighters, parties and weddings, he appeared at the 1993 St. Louis Blues Festival on the riverfront,[13] Harp Attack at Mississippi Nights,[14] and the Casa Loma Ballroom.

[15] A well-known and popular character around the neighborhood, his annual birthday celebration at Molly's heralded the beginning of the summer beer garden season in Soulard.