Betty, Dot, and Helen Wiggin, the original Shaggs, last made music together in 1975.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons to remember them half a century later. Today, they are known as “the unwitting godmothers of outsider music.” With no musical education or any experience, the Shaggs recorded their first and only album while still practically being kids.
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At first, Philosophy of the World was a total failure, and girls eventually disbanded in 1975.
However, Frank Zappa changed the course of history in the late 1970s. Zappa contributed to the rediscovery of the Shaggs. Not only did he play a couple of the girls’ songs, but he also said that “they were better than the Beatles.” Somehow, the Shaggs managed to make one of the best worst albums ever. Let’s see how it got to that point in a bit more detail.
Austin Wiggin, the father of the Shaggs, firmly believed that his daughters were destined to be superstars.
A lot has happened in Austin’s family. While Mr. Wiggin was still a baby, his mother had predicted that he would marry a strawberry blonde woman, then have two sons, and then a couple of daughters who would pursue music. Because everything but the last happened, Austin became genuinely obsessed with his mom’s premonitions.
He got his daughters out of school, bought them some cheap instruments, and told them to practice music every day.
The girls soon booked a couple of local gigs, but people would always end up throwing cans at them. The ugly truth was overwhelming: girls weren’t good musicians. Austin Wiggin didn’t accept it.
In 1969, a Fremont, NH, rock band released an album.
Dot was the lead singer, and she also played the guitar. Betty was on rhythm guitar, and Helen played the drums. Rachel, the fourth sister, joined the band later, and the Shaggs got their bassist.
One thousand copies of the Shaggs album were pressed, but only a hundred of them were released.
The remaining discs got little or no airplay, and The Shaggs music career seemed to be over. No one expected a huge comeback that was about to happen.
Terry Adams of the band NRBQ convinced a record label to reissue the Shaggs album in 1980. Soon, Rolling Stone gave the girls “The Comeback of the Year” award.
Incredibly, the Shaggs found their audience over the years. Critics described the Shaggs’ album as “charming, but unsettling,” adding that “there is no album you might own that sounds remotely like this one.”
Literally no one can cover The Shaggs, it's impossible. The rawness has been mined and quantized by a load of bands. But, I think this kind of honesty can't be replicated. Kurt integrated aspects into Nirvana pretty well, that's the closest I've found. https://t.co/NW4KM48M30
— ACTIVE PRESENCE (@active_presence) May 10, 2021
The Shaggs full album has got over a million views on YouTube.
In 2001, the Shaggs tribute album was released. Without a doubt, Wiggin girls made their music decidedly amateurish but captivating.
More than four decades later, sisters shared the stage once again at the 2017 Solid Sound Festival.
Believe it or not, the Shaggs continued to spark the public’s interest, so much so that they were invited to play at a festival together. When asked about their music, girls said, “the album sounds terrible.” Well, it seems that plenty of people disagree on that.
One YouTube comment says that Philosophy of the World is “the only truly original album ever made.”
Another user firmly claimed this is “definitely not the worst album ever made.” What do you think? Give the Shaggs a go. Let’s see if Austin Wiggin’s mother was right all along? The girl became famous in their way. Do they have a fanbase?
It indeed seems so, and their originality still baffles musicians worldwide.
Check them out in the video below:
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