Spencer Wiggins (born January 8, 1942) is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer. He is an exponent of so-called "

deep soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

" and is considered one of the best kept secrets of soul music.

Life

Wiggins was born in

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 ...

, where he grew up encouraged by his parents to engage with music, especially gospel; his mother sang in the choir of the

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

where she attended services. He lived in the same area as singers James Carr and

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

. While at Booker T. Washington High School, he formed a gospel group with his brother Percy and sister Maxine and, on leaving school, formed an R&B group, the Four Stars, that included his brother Percy and David Porter, later to become a leading songwriter and record producer. Biography by Mark Deming at Allmusic.com
Retrieved April 27, 2013 In the early 1960s, he began singing in clubs in Memphis, where he was discovered by

Quinton Claunch Quinton Mavis Claunch (December 3, 1921 – April 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer and record label owner, who was responsible with others for setting up Hi Records in the 1950s and Goldwax Records in the 1960s. Bi ...

, head of

Goldwax Records Goldwax Records was an American record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, in 1964 by Quinton Claunch and Rudolph V. "Doc" Russell. History Claunch was a hardware store owner who had previously worked as a country music guitarist, a ...

. In 1964 Wiggins recorded his first single, "Lover's Crime", produced by Claunch, for the label, though his early recordings were licensed for release through the sub-label Bandstand USA. The recording was followed by eight further singles, but none became hits. His recordings for Goldwax included "Uptight Good Woman", written by

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" wi ...

and

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy ...

, and " I Never Loved A Woman (The Way I Love You)", recorded at the

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the ...

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...

with guitar by

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ...

. In 1969, after Goldwax collapsed, Wiggins went on to Fame Records, where he recorded two more singles, including "Double Lovin'", which reached no.44 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1970. However, other singles for Fame, and for the Pama and Vivid Sound labels, were unsuccessful. In 1973, Wiggins left Memphis, married, and moved to Miami, Florida, where he became active in the Baptist church and in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. He became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and choir director at the New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, and worked with a number of gospel choirs. He has since released gospel recordings, including ''Keys to the Kingdom'' released by Tavette Records in 2003. ''Spencer Wiggins unleashes "Key to the Kingdom"''
Fearofablankplanet.com. Retrieved April 28, 2013 The Japanese label Vivid Sound released a compilation of Wiggins' singles from Goldwax, and in 2006 the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

label issued another compilation. Due to copyright issues, however, this compilation contains fewer songs than the Japanese release. The album was widely acclaimed and led to Wiggins being seen as one of the greatest unknown soul singers.

Discography

Singles

* 1965: "Lover's Crime" / "What Do You Think About My Baby" (Bandstand USA 1004) * 1966: "Take Me (Just As I Am)" / "The Child or Woman That's Got No Heart" (

Goldwax Goldwax Records was an American record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, in 1964 by Quinton Claunch and Rudolph V. "Doc" Russell. History Claunch was a hardware store owner who had previously worked as a country music guitarist, a ...

308) * 1966: "Old Friend" / "Walking Out On You" (Goldwax 312) * 1967: "Uptight Good Woman" / "Anything You Do is Alright" (Goldwax 321) * 1967: "Lonely Man" / "The Power of a Woman" (Goldwax 330) * 1968: "That's How Much I Love You" / "A Poor Man's Son" (Goldwax 333) * 1968: "Once in a While" / "He's Too Old" (Goldwax 337) * 1969: "I Never Loved a Woman" / "Soul City USA" (Goldwax 339) * 1969: "Love Machine" / "Love Me Tonight" (Fame 1463) * 1970: "Double Lovin'" / "

I'd Rather Go Blind "I'd Rather Go Blind" is a blues song written by Ellington Jordan and co-credited to Billy Foster and Etta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released in 1967, and has subsequently become regarded as a blues and soul classic. Or ...

" (Fame 1470) * 1973: "I Can Not Be Satisfied" / "Take Time to Love Your Woman" (Sounds of Memphis 716) * 1973: "I Can Not Get Enough of You Baby" / "You're My Kind of Woman" (XL 1345) * 1973: "Feed the Flame" / "El Paso" (XL 1347)

Albums

* 1987: ''Soul City USA'' (Vivid Sound, Japan VGCD-003) * 1991: ''Soul Sounds of Memphis'' (Vivid Sound, Japan) (five numbers Wiggins) * 1991: ''The Goldwax Collection Volume 1'' (Vivid Sound, Japan) (two numbers Wiggins) * 1999: ''Jump for Jesus'' (cassette only) * 2002: ''Keys to the Kingdom'' (Tavette) * 2006: ''The Goldwax Years'' (Kent CDKEND 262) * 2010: ''Feed The Flame: The Fame And XL Recordings'' (Kent CDKEND 340)

References

External links

Liner notes for "The Goldwax Years"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggins, Spencer People from Memphis, Tennessee American soul singers American gospel singers 1942 births Living people